Customer Reviews

Believing the Lie

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(30)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

Elizabeth George, in "Believing the Lie," examines how base emotions--greed, jealously, vengefulness, and lust, to name a few--destroy relationships and lives. The story focuses on the dysfunctional Faircloughs, whose patriarch, Bernard, married a wealthy woman and has run a successful family business for years. When a member of the clan dies in an apparent accident, Bernard calls in a favor. At his behest, Assistant Commissioner Sir David Hillier dispatches Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley of New Scotland Yard to Cumbria to discreetly look into the matter. With the help of his old friends, forensic specialist Simon St. James and Simon's wife, Deborah, Tommy tries to determine if someone had the motive, means, and opportunity to orchestrate the victim's death.

"Believing the Lie" is a lengthy, complex, and melodramatic tale that picks up some of the threads left dangling in the previous installment. Tommy, a grieving widower, uncharacteristically throws himself into an imprudent love affair. Deborah and Simon are despondent over her inability to bear a child. In addition, the self-deprecating, lonely, and good-hearted DS Barbara Havers is once again involved in the ups and downs of her neighbor, Taymullah Azhar, his partner, Angelina Upman, and their adorable daughter, Hadiyyah. Tommy, Deborah, Simon, and Barbara join forces to uncover the secrets of the Fairclough clan. Unfortunately, their efforts may ultimately do more harm than good.

The author has created a large and juicy cast. Among them are: Bernard's squabbling adult children; an ambitious but inept reporter; a monstrous mother; a gorgeous but reticent Argentinean woman; and an impulsive fourteen-year-old boy who soothes his emotional pain by injuring himself and behaving recklessly. This is more soap opera than whodunit, since prurient revelations, not sleuthing, dominate the proceedings. Lynley and company spend a great deal of time asking repetitive questions and, in the case of Havers, conducting endless Internet searches.

Ms. George is a skilled writer who beautifully integrates setting and story (readers will be tempted to visit the Lake District thanks to her evocative descriptions of the gorgeous English countryside), and she includes some delightful moments of much-needed humor. Although "Believing the Lie" holds our attention, it is weakened by an over-the-top plot and a surplus of angst-ridden characters who make one foolish mistake after another. Fans will welcome the return of Lynley, Simon, Deborah, and Barbara, but "Believing the Lie" has too much sensationalism and too little depth to rank among George's best work. (Three and a half stars.)

I agree with other readers that the series is somewhat in decline, but I still enjoy the masterful writing skills employed by Elizabeth George. "Believing The Lie" is really more an exploration of the various ways that people deceive both themselves and others (and how that deceit comes back to haunt them) than it is a traditional mystery. If you are looking for a fast-paced whodunit and if you are not already familiar with the characters in the Lynley series than you probably won't like this book. If you enjoy George's writing style and her ability to spin a solid and engrossing tale, "Believing The Lie" delivers. I will continue to read Elizabeth George and she ends the book with a twist that will intrigue devoted fans of the series.

This dreary convoluted tome, Believing the Lie, stands as testament to the fact that the life went out of Elizabeth George's books about the time she killed off Helen. This follows the basic formula--many characters and many subplots--but the primary plot is completely implausible. Lynley is sent off on a "secret" mission to see if the accidental death of one of the Fairclough clan was really an accident. He blunders around for days--although the time frame is not very clear because how could Zed, the tabloid reporter (yet another subplot), meet and fall in love in those few day?? Lynley discovers what any half-way intelligent private detective could have discovered in half the time--and with far less fallout. Deborah and St. James go along to help--but since this whole thing is off the books, how they are going to submit expenses isn't clear. Maybe rich people just donate days of their time to solving imagined crimes by other rich people. Havers spends most of the novel having an anxiety attack over having her hair cut and getting new clothes. Really???? Isabelle, the super that Lynley is bonking, spends the entire novel pissed out of her mind because she doesn't know what Lynley is up to and Havers does. The poor dead guy was gay, a perfect opening for just about every tired homophobic cliche George could find. Good grief. The LGBT community seems responsible for family destruction, duplicity, and self-loathing--not to mention a little sprinkling of pedophilia and child pornography. Poor Deborah ends up with the worst role of all--a pregnancy/child-wanting obsessed nutcase chasing after another unfortunate woman who wants a child.

How does all this connect, you might ask? Well, believe me, by the time you get to the end of the book, you won't care.

It seems to me that the most repellant characters (I include Deborah in that group) just wander around here and there, wrecking other people's lives and never suffering much in the way of consequences--not even much of a dent to their self-satisfied little conscience. Whereas, the most likable characters (I include Barbara in this group) accumulate nothing but disaster, sorrow, and punishment. I know this is a work of fiction and perhaps the unrelenting campaign against Barbara, works to provide tension (will Charlie Brown EVER get to kick that football?) but for me, it makes reading these books increasingly dissatisfying. How many times is it possible to involve yourself in these characters, only to have things turn out this way? Even in real life, villains sometimes get their due and heroes sometimes catch a break. Lynley is not very likable in this book either--using others for dubious ends and putting them in the way of risk. Was he always so wimpy? I understand the heart has been cut out of him by Helen's death and I'm not suggesting he just "get over it". But I think it's time the stories moved beyond this.

The premise underlying the plot was so ridiculous, it made the investment in reading it feel like a big cheat. The pretext to involve Scotland Yard in this investigation and the motive for it, are insulting to any reader--even one who is willing to be co-operative in suspending judgment for the sake of a story.

I suppose I just disappointed. I enjoyed Elizabeth George's earlier books so much, that when I read something like this, I feel let down. The characters are not developing, they're wallowing. The story has so many threads. Perhaps the problem is the attempt to introduce so many important themes in one book, when they might have been dealt more satisfyingly in separate novels.

Ms. George is an excellent writer, and it's that quality that keeps me coming back, but if I have to be dragged through yet another "poor Deborah can't get past her barren state, followed by her obsessive, monstrously selfish pursuit of her own ends" book, I will give it a pass.

Unfortunately, Deborah is a prominent figure in Elizabeth George's new book, "Believing The Lie". I have always found her "little girl-lost" persona unappealing but tolerable. In this book she is so selfish, so lacking in introspection, and so stupid one must ask, "What where you thinking Elizabeth George?" Besides the "Deborah problem", the book has too many story lines and characters. I felt the author couldn't decide which way to go and didn't have an editor who was willing or able to point this out to her. This book is not up to the standards fans of fans of George have come to expect.

Ms. George used to be a terrific writer, but here we have another long rambling so-so "mystery" novel without much of a mystery. What a bore Deborah has become and what a tedious busy body: you just want to slap her. And, yes, regardless of what Lynley said, she is responsible for a death. What a bore the drunken flake Isabelle is. I can't believe she would be placed in charge of anything, much less a department at Scotland Yard. Even Barbara Havers is boring in this one. Why can't she just have a functional OK haircut from the UK version of the Hair Cuttery and be done with it? Barbara is smart enough that she would have grown more in the course of the series. Enough with the hair symbolism. Also I could not believe for a minute that the emotionally cool Simon would ever consider an open adoption with teenage parents and their parents given admission into his controlled life. He wouldn't consider it for a second. I am bored with the whole baby theme. And I think I am finally bored with Lynley too.

Ms. George should not try to write about sex. She has no talent for it. She is just plain embarrassing.

She has toned down the British slang, but her editor--assuming she has one which I doubt--should have cut out most of the many uses of "suss" and all variations of "comprise." She actually uses comprising twice in one sentence.

Years ago I discovered Ms. George from a glowing recommendation given in passing at a meeting at the old Book-of-the-Month Club. Those days are long gone. So sad. What happened I wonder? That's the mystery.

Wow. Is it still Tuesday?

Loved this, and I only wish that work hadn't interrupted my reading. I'm not a fan of the kind of reader review that includes a superfluous plot summary--the publisher's blurb is perfectly adequate for that--and when I read reviews I always want to know just this: am I likely to enjoy/learn from/appreciate the book, and is it worth spending the dosh?

1) If you're a lover of only spare, plot-driven novels, probably not. If that's what you want, you're likely to call this `bloated.' A novelized haiku it ain't.

2) If you haven't read the other Lynley novels, again, probably not. One of Ms George's strongest points is her character development throughout the series. Read from the beginning and then buy this one.

3) If you've loved all the other Lynley novels, heck yeah! It's totally engrossing, although even I have to admit that it could have been trimmed down quite a lot without sacrificing much.

Ms George continues her trend of exploring an old crime, developing an intense feel for place, and hanging a novel off it. Although I found this absolutely excruciating in `This Body of Death,' which was hard to read because of how close it was to a real crime that hit me hard at the time, it's much lighter here--the tragedy of the cocklers in Morecombe Bay is barely mentioned but was nevertheless clearly important to the plot development.

As a Brit I should mention that Ms George's ear for dialogue is superb, and she's even caught the British sense of humor. That's rare for American authors.

The novel's much like life, wrinkles, warts and all. One gets the impression that Ms George lives pretty much in her characters' collective heads wherever she sets them down, and writes it all--something that's sooner or later going to limit her market to wallowers like me who thoroughly enjoy intense character development. I agree with other reviewers that Deborah's obsession with bearing a child (and Ms George's intense exploration of it) is getting a bit much, but it's true to life for anyone who's ever known a woman who lets the issue become all-important and thus destructive. In this book it becomes truly, tragically destructive, and thank goodness Deborah seems to have got a metaphorical slapping at last. Secrets, lies, obsessions, and willful ignorance all cause lives to implode and ineluctably alter in 'Believing the Lie'; the characters are given no choice but to grow up, or fall.

One note: `Here, here'??? Seriously? Some copy editor also needs a good slapping.

But I'm happy to see that the ending makes it apparent that another novel is well on its way.

Believing the Lie is not a mystery at all; it is a character study. Thus, this review will examine it as such. I make no effort to discuss the plot, mostly because there is none. Even if there were one, which I suppose there sort of is, it is not important to the overall success (or failure) of the novel, at least in my opinion.

I also plan to focus on the flaws of the book. I am not exactly sure what its strengths are. I do know, however, that I kept reading, and was riveted by the book, from start to finish. It takes strong writing to compel any reader to stay riveted. It takes even stronger writing to compel any reader to stay riveted when the book is as profoundly problematic as this one.

The most obvious problem for me is the family at the center of the book. The book is essentially about the process of this family coming unraveled. The difficulty is this: all of the members of the family (or almost all, I am not going to give away the entire story line) are deeply dysfunctional. They have, however, managed to conceal this not only from the rest of the world but from each other. They live and work together; in any event, they see each other all the time. It is inconceivable that people who are supposed to be as intelligent as these are could be so utterly oblivious as to fail to recognize each other's failings as human beings and as family members. Lynley's involvement in this family's affairs turns out to be the result of an act on the part of one of the characters that is taken in the absence of any intelligent thought about its implications and the destruction that might (and, of course, does) result. The story lines go downhill from there. The gloom and despair are unremitting.

A second serious problem lies with Lynley himself. His affair with Acting Superintendent Ardery, shocking on many grounds at its inception in the preceding novel, is indefensible, inexplicable, offensive, and soulless. I had thought better of him, but he apparently has no sense of honor. He also does not hesitate to get his loyal underlings (especially Barbara Havers) into trouble with their (and his) boss, something I would have thought he would not do either. He had better stop wallowing in his own frailty if he wants people to keep reading about him. It is all very well and good to create a detective with faults, but his are eating him alive.

The third serious problem involves Deborah. Her conduct in the novel is deeply disturbing as well as inexplicable, and the forces she unleashes create massive destruction in many lives. She is utterly blind to anything except her own needs, apparently not caring whom she hurts as she charges at whatever windmill she thinks she is fighting. At the end of the novel, it sounds like she is going to be able to forgive herself all too easily for the wreckage she has produced. I hope that she cannot do so, as her conduct was unforgiveable.

A fourth problem lies with what seems to be Ms George's infinite desire to torture Barbara Havers. Why can't she ever get a break? What did she ever do to deserve the smackdowns she is forever being handed by Ms George?

I suppose I need to acknowledge Ms George's success as an author in light of the above review--obviously I care about the people she has created. What I do not like is the infinite and unremitting despair that the novel reflects. In all fairness, there are two bright spots in the novel: one of the family members (I'm not saying which one) and Yaffa, a relatively minor character, who is a delight. There is some redemption. But not much. And none for Lynley.

If you don't have time to read this review, let me distill it down to four words: Don't Buy This Book.

With that said, I will cut right to the chase: this was the most boring book I've ever read. I was disappointed each night that I had to power up my Kindle and read it due to my stupid rule, which today I rue, that I will finish any book that I start. Yes, I realize this sounds kind of mean, but it's true, and I don't want it to happen to you.

I'm a George fan, always have been. But the wheels have come off for this series, with characters I barely recognize and who no longer seem to have redeeming characteristics. I'll admit that I remained optimistic after her last book, though it was only mediocre. But this book is the second strike. We have Lynley, who now lacks any judgment at all in his personal and professional affairs. He comes off in this book as utterly clueless and fairly unlikeable. Deborah is now so self-absorbed that she is nearly intolerable, while Simon putters around doing everyone's bidding. The rationalizations of these characters for their behavior in this book is laughable. You will wish to slap each and every one of them. So, while the characters are stinking up the joint, can the plot save them? Not in this book, baby. There *is* no plot, and I do not exaggerate. There is nothing...nothing at all going on in this book. You will read it and wish you had some drying paint to watch.

The thing that annoyed me the most about the book was that the only pages worth reading are the last ten. There, George casts a nearly irresistable hook into the water. Will I buy the next one because of it? I'm the forgiving kind, so I'll bet I will. But if that's the third strike, George is out.

I really liked Elizabeth George's early works and anxiously awaited each new book. However she has not maintained the level at which she once wrote. For example the book she wrote after she killed Helen off (What Came Before He Shot Her)was so bad I couldn't finish it. I hoped she would return to writing better books so I tried again with this one. Sadly it is quite a disappointment. Frankly, I found it to be rather silly in places and it just didn't hold together. Actually the whole premise of the book is off. I do wish that the real Tommy Lynley would return. At least we can be fairly sure that the next book will center on Barbara Havers, so hopefully the author will return to her early form and actually write a good book again.