Customer Reviews

For the Sake of Elena Hb

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

There's much to like in this, the fifth book published of the Lynley/Havers series. Anglophiles will throughly enjoy the details of college life in Cambridge. George does a wonderful job of capturing the little inner worlds of the colleges and the role of the Cam in the life of the city (if my memories of a semester there in the 1970's hold true). It's also a darn good mystery with a new prime suspect every fifty or so pages. The ending is a bit like a gourmet dinner - tricking to taste the complexity, a tad difficult to digest but ultimately satisfying.

The subthemes of the book are equally interesting. Much of the book has to do with well-meaning, loving people trying to meet the expectations of those they love. Elena, the victim, is deaf with parents who have spent twenty years trying to make her as "normal" as possible. But what is normal for a deaf person? Much (too much) of the book dwells on Havers internal battle over whether she should send her Alzheimer's inflicted mother to a small care facility.

I've withheld a fifth star because of my unresolved confusion about Lynley's relationship with Lady Helen. I really enjoy this series but sometimes the publication order and the actual timeline are confusing. In this book, all of a sudden and out of the blue (for me) Lynley is ardently persuing Lady Helen. There are references the "past nine months" but I felt like I'd missed something. Quite frankly, I'm not surprised by Helen's reluctance to get involved if the building blocks of the relationship of are as vague to her as they were for me.

Bottom-line: A strong and interesting mystery that should satsify old and new readers alike. New readers are encouraged to start at the beginning of the series to better understand the personal side of the players.

~ * ~ This is one of Elizabeth George's better novels. It's utterly absorbing, and the characters will evoke strong reactions- like or dislike, sometimes both! Fans of the winning combination of Inspector Thomas Lynley and Sergeant Barbara Havers will enjoy it, but you don't need to know the detectives to enjoy the story.

~ * ~ Elena, a young college girl at Cambridge, has just been killed. She was deaf. This was more than a "handicap"- it became a battleground for her, between the students who wanted her to become part of the "Deaf"- not trying to "fit in" by reading lips, etc; and her father, who tried to minimize her deafness- asking her to fit in with his life. ~

~ * ~, Elizabeth George is always strong in characterizations. She fills her story with complex characters, each of whom have weaknesses that we can sympathize with, and their own selfish and unpleasant motives. The conflicts between the characters are so well plotted; we are drawn into the story completely.
~ * ~ Unlike most of her mysteries, I started to see the conclusion. Elizabeth George usually blinds us to the obvious. She can weave a web so intricate and subtle, that despite all the clues we encounter, we don't ever "see" the solution until it is too late

. ~ * ~ My personal favorite of the Lynley/Havers series are" A Suitable Vengeance" which focuses on the early history of Lynley, Deborah and Simon; and "Deception on His Mind ", which focuses on Sergeant Barbara Havers, and an investigation which forces her to take a stand.
~ * ~

FOR THE SAKE OF ELENA is my introduction to Elizabeth George and her detectives Lynley and Havers. I enjoyed the twists in the plot; as soon as I had made up my mind that a certain character was guilty, a new piece of evidence would be discovered to deflect suspicion. All of the suspects were introduced early enough for the reader to ponder the guilt or innocence of each. I look forward to more of George's work.

I found it all too melancholic. Every single character was feeling so guilty for one reason or another they made the general atmosphere a bit too heavy / gloomy. Being a quite inexperienced book reviewer, my comments would then base on the instinctive `after taste' once I've turned over the last page. This was my first Elizabeth George book which didn't exactly make me want to rush out and find another one of hers. I didn't find the motive for the brutal murder strong enough to justify it. Finding out `who dunn it?' at the end didn't urge me to think "Oh I see., Of course it was him/her!, I could have guessed that, etc." (I'm trying hard not to give away and spoil it all for those who have not read it yet.) I think murder novel readers like it more when motives are really convincing / deserving.

The only reason why I rated this book above average was due to George's attempt to update Sayer's masterpiece, Gaudy Night. Like "Gaudy," this book is set in an English university town, examines the rarefied academic atmosphere, and has the subplot of what marriage does to women. Unfortunately, Lady Helen is not Harriet, and Lynley is most definitely not Lord Peter. All the same, she should get credit for trying and, like all of her other books, this story is a fun way to spend a rainy day.

This was my first Elizabeth George book, and I enjoyed it. She is an intelligent writer, and she knows how to develop characters. I certainly want to read more of her books. The Cambridge touch here is a good one as is the artistic information that comes out during the course of the book. There are enough twists in the plot to keep most people guessing.

While this story doesn't stack up to George's later books, her characters are well developed and believable. Readers like me who are enchanted with Havers (particularly) and Lynley will enjoy getting to know them in this book. The real story behind Lynley and Lady Helen's long-standing engagement. Anyone dealing with elderly parents will understand Haver's dilemma with her mother. George's characters always seem to be real people with real problems. I'd advise starting with her later books -- "Deception on His Mind" is a good place to start -- then work backwards.

This book is part of a series featuring the police duo of Lynley and Havers teaming up to fight crime in England. I read the first in the series for another book club, and this one appears to be quite a ways down the line. From some of the passages you can glean that a lot has happened in their personal lives, and I can't help but think I'm missing quite a bit by not having read the intervening books. That being said, if you discount that part of the book, it was a really good story. One of those that you can look back at bits (once you know the end) and go "ooooh! I see..." A very intricately woven story, full of red herrings and blind alleys.

However, that personal bit - the part about Lynley and Helen, in particular - was not at all good. Not only because I didn't get all of it because I'd missed books, but the actually interplay between the characters... it was just bad. I mean, the conversations between them seemed more suited to 18th century England that the present day. And that is one of the things that feels odd about the book - though it is placed in modern times, it somehow manages to feel very old and dated. And I don't know how, or why, it just seems that way.

Also, I don't at all understand the English school system, featured heavily in this book

I'm torn on recommending it. On one hand, it's a very well written book. Not only is the storyline incredibly compelling, it's very well written. But on the other hand... it's a very easy book to put down, and almost feels like a bit of a chore to read. And that's no fun. No fun at all.

George has done a marvelous job in bringing to life one of her minor characters, the eponymous victim. She almost becomes a prism by which we come to understand the other characters through their understanding of her. Everything is provided for the reader here: a complex plot, strong character development, and the best action scene that George has written so far. If you have been disappointed with any of the others in this series and have stopped reading them, you might want to pick this one up.

Elena is a deaf college student at St. Stephens college of Cambridge University. She is murdered in the first few pages of the story, and the rest of the book is spent with Lynley and Havers trying to solve the case while bumbling through their own personal problems. Havers' mother is past the point of being able to live independently and Havers is struggling with putting her into a home. Lynley's beloved Helen has come to Cambridge to help her sister through post-partum depression and refuses to come home and marry Lynley.

At the heart of George's stories are the characters, deeply flawed and innately sinful. Lynley and Havers crackle with chemistry as usual and the rest of the players are equally entertaining. This is a story of unrealized dreams and guilt and revenge, and when you reach the end, you won't believe the killer or the motive.