Customer Reviews

A Traitor to Memory (Inspector Lynley)

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

 

 

I have read all of Elizabeth George's books and I love them. "A Traitor to Memory", however, is my absolute favorite. It tells a story of an artist who has amnesia and is forced to piece together the events of his early life from shreds of memories.

A beautiful addition to the Inspector Lynley series, this book is very long but each page is a feast to read. Don't pass it by!

I've been reading George's Inspector Lynley novels, in order, and this is the only one that's disappointed me somewhat. It was overly long and it definitely dragged, which is surprising given that these are usually major page-turners. I think she tried a new technique with this one, using flashbacks and playing with time and memory. It's an interesting approach but it made the novel feel slightly disjointed. Furthermore, I found the characters hard to warm up to, especially Gideon and Libby, two of the major characters in the plot. I think she gives Gideon's self-analyzing psychological journey too much time at the expense of Lynley and Havers, and the way he speaks and thinks is hard to imagine coming from a real person or social dynamic. I got so annoyed by Gideon's pompous discussions with his doctor that I really couldn't enjoy the plot itself that much. And finally, I think the plot is a real stretch, and is never fully explained.

I read this book twice. I forgot I read it when it was first published and started reading it again when I realized I read it before. I enjoyed it the second time through as much as the first, even though I knew the ending.

This was my first Elizabeth George book. A fantastic read by fantastic author. She gives great detail. Loved also that it was a lengthy read since I LOVE to read!!

I've read all of the books in this series and have enjoyed each in it's different way. In seems that Elizabeth George is trying different techniqes in each. I felt I knew what had happened early in this book, and I was partially correct. However, I felt that I was left dangling at the end, since there was no follow up conclusions by the investigating team. I did come across a glaring error in "A Traitor to Memory." There is no Nordstom's in England. I also felt that there were too many loose ends regarding a few of the characters, such as Webberly and Gideon. It's disconcerting to complete a book of this nature without important issues resolved or at least partially resolved. Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers make an interesting duo. The introduction of Nkada adds flavor to the mix, and it will be interesting to see where Elizabeth George will take each of them. I hope I'm not too disappointed!! I'm ready to begin "A Place of Hiding." Hopefully it has a better ending!

Slow moving. Telegraphed the identity of the murderer all through the book. Too much distracting filler material, and not enough storytelling "meat".
Other books by George move along a lot better.