Customer Reviews

A Suitable Vengeance

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

For fans of the Lynley-Havers series, Elizabeth George offers an episode that occurs a few years prior to the time of the first book, A Great Deliverance. In this installment, she provides back-story that illuminates some of the complex inter-relationships between Lynley, Simon, and Deborah. Absent (but for a brief cameo) are Havers and her sharp words for the privileges of the upper classes -- which were in great need here. George, who is among mystery writers a master of characterization, here devises a mystery that seems not just secondary to the personal stories of her characters, but even incidental. In fact, the solution to the mystery seems a bit facile. Hopefully, in her subsequent novels George will return to the approach that worked well in the first three novels, wherein she spins a marvelous mystery that any observant reader could solve and, along the way, continuously deepens the reader's understanding of some very likable characters.

Having read all of Ms. George's books, I have found that the subplots surrounding her revolving cast of characters are often more engrossing than the mysteries they are solving. For this reason, I found A Suitable Vengeance to be most appealing since the murder(s) themselves revolve around Lynley and his family. The entire novel is backstory and a must read for any fan of the series.

*****Perfect for all: old fans and New to Elizabeth George,too: This could be read as the "first" in the series, although it wasn't written first.
*****It is definitely one of her best.
This book, in time sequence, "happened" before any of the "Lynley/Havers" mysteries. Excellent for those Lynley fans who want to know: What did happen between Thomas and Deborah? Simon and Deborah?
----AT the start, Deborah has just returned from college, home to her father (living with Simon). She announces her engagement to Tommy Lynley. They are going to his ancestral home, bringing a reluctant Simon, and a grimly cheerful Lady Helen as guests. Meanwhile Simon's young sister Sydney,has troubles with an abusive man. Tommy's younger brother may be using drugs. Why are Tommy and his mother alienated? Who's the mysterious woman that disappears without a trace?
****
When murder happens on the estate, all these story lines converge and intertwine in a way that explores the relationships, old and new of this extended "family" .
The resolution of the mystery was one of George's most inspired. As usual, the story is so intricate, it's difficult to imagine the difficulty of spinning this web.
Even more important to me, was the resolution of, at least some of the interpersonal conflicts.
*****ok I admit, I cried at the "happy" ending***********
This is an outstanding book for all mystery fans.

I first tried to read it four years ago. It starts out interestingly enough but it starts to drag just before everyone goes off for the weekend. I'm trying to read it again, and again, I stop reading when the weekend begins. Unlike the others in the series, the characters in this novel are much more self-absorbed, more full of themselves, than George's characters usually are. It's really irritating, especially Deborah's self-analysis and "dark night of the soul." And she is such a brat! I don't understand why everyone just obeys her every whim. The rest of the series will prove how truly spoiled she is (read about her overdone angst about not being able to bear a child in Missing Joseph). Maybe, I'll try reading it again in four years time, when I might be able to ignore Deborah altogether.

A friend insisted that I try reading a real Lynley and Havers mystery. I'm glad I did because the others are so much better. On hindsight, I think the mystery was just an excuse for a story of the lives of all these titled people and their set. I fully agree with the reviewer who stated that it would have been better off as a short story -- and if I may add to that, without the murder.

I enjoyed reading the first three books in this series. Each was an improvement on the previous one. But this book is awful. The fact that this book is a prequel to the series does not affect my review. But the writing is just terrible. The characters make the most outlandish and hyperbolic statements. No one talks like these characters! Their behavior is often at odds with their characters. Written in the style of a harlequin romance; there is absolutely nothing subtle about emotions or reactions. I think that the book was plotted in advance and the characters were written to meet the requirements of the plot. Never mind that none of the characters behave in a realistic manner. Never mind that the characters are only caricatures. I cannot recommend this book to anyone.

I belive that E. George fans would be pleased having some character development of the bonds between the characters of Linley, The St. James, and Lady Helen. Although I gave this review the highest marks, my criticism of George lies within the third person point of view. The main characters themselves are shrouded in mystery within the mystery of the story unfolding. I never have the feeling that I truly know any of these characters (even after reading five mysteries based upon their interactions). The characters are as elusive as the murders that they chase. Perhaps this is part of the appeal.
Also I always chuckle at the fact that all these victims seemed to be dying around these main characters with alarming frequency with alarming connections to the main characters. Even after considering the nature of Linley's and St.James' chosen profession, I believe that the characters would be afraid of being murdered themselves with all these crimes being committed on Linley's property. Just statistically speaking, this would bare out!!

I read "Deception on His Mind" and " In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner", both pretty entertaining (although a bit verbose). This book, however, is a big disappointment. The dialog is melodramatic soap opera junk. The characters are so whiney and self absorbed that I wanted them all to be murder victims.I kept reading because I thought it was going to get better. It didn't. I really wonder what kind of editor thinks this tripe is worth publishing. Do yourself a favor and skip it.

In A SUITABLE VENGEANCE by Elizabeth George, the author explores the back-story between Inspector Lynley, St. James, Deborah and Lady Helen. During a rare weekend visit to his estate in Cornwall to celebrate his engagement to Deborah Cotter, Lynley becomes involved in the vicious murder of the local newspaper publisher. During the course of solving the crime, Ms. George delves into the history of St. James' accident, the relationship between St. James, Lynley, Deborah and Lady Helen, and the reason for the estrangement between Lynley and his mother and brother. While Ms. George always makes sure that her mysteries are solved, she does not always have happy resolutions for her characters. Reading this book only makes some of the later books in the series more poignant as it deepens the reader's understanding of all the characters. This is a fine book that will definitely touch your heart.

This was the fourth book in the Lynley-Havers series that I have read (I have read them in order) and am sure it is my last. I am just not a fan of this kind of writing but I think I gave it a fair chance - trying to understand why so many readers seem to adore this author.

I find George's books to be so incredibly overwritten and overwrought that my fingers itch for a red pen when reading them! It is as though she is being paid by the word - and why say something in 10 words if she can say it in 20? This book could easily have been half the length it ended up being.

"A Suitable Vengeance" gives the early background of the characters who populate the later (in time) books. Even after reading this, I still find it hard to believe that men like Simon St. James and Thomas Lynley were so involved with a teen-ager (Deborah) when they were in their late 20s (even before this book took place)! This just seems preposterous to me and George never addresses this issue. In four books I have never really found Deborah to be all that interesting - yet she has had these two very intelligent and attractive men fall head-over-heels for her!

In this book, the main action in Cornwall starts with the murder of a man whom the readers have not yet met and who somehow never seemed very important to me. It seems to be thrown into the book - a clumsy plot device that never really gets the reader involved. I will admit that the "bad guy" was a surprise to me, but not enough to warrant all the pages that it took to find out about him.

I hate to say nothing good about a book, especially one that I finished, as it must have had some redeeming qualities. I would say that the best parts of this book, for me, were the descriptions of the Cornwall coast. George's grim depiction of drug users was probably fairly accurate as well.

I have been a fan of Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley novels for years. When I picked up this book, I was expecting her usual excellent plotting and character development. I was particularly interested in why "Tommy" Lynley is a person who has trouble with relationships, especially with women. Although this question and others are answered in "A Suitable Vengeance," unfortunately the book is something of a potboiler. It is tediously plotted and the story is melodramatic and uninvolving. Although George tends to write long novels, in the case of "A Suitable Vengeance" the novel ran out of steam well before the last page. I lost interest somewhere in the middle and plodded on to the end. George's recent books are quite a bit better than this one, I am happy to say.