Pros:

- Barbara Havers
- Interplay between Havers and Lynley

Cons:

- Red herrings galore, the mystery seemingly solved several times only to have you be yanked back, "surprise, just kidding!"
- 1990's sensibility, still homophobic, and some violent pedophile descriptions
- What is described as "bullying" is actually sexual assault
- Side story of Deborah and St. James and trouble in their marriage, again 1990's sensibility on abortion this time

It's always interesting to re-read a book and see how it's aged. In this case, several things have not aged well: Lynley's "school tie" to a pedophile (researching a book--surrrrrre), a character's attitude toward abortion and subsequent "punishment by god," and, to my surprise, Lady Helen's Mitfordish behavior & speech patterns stood out the most. There are other things.

Sorry. I liked it but couldn’t go the 5. Real score 4.12.

Okay, I am officially hooked on Inspector Lynley and Sergeant Havers (I know, took me long enough, right?). Already, in the second book, tropes are developing among these characters that I expect will develop as the series expands. Once again, Lynley is asked to investigate a murder in "his world" -- the privileged upper crust -- and must balance his loyalty to his peers with his quest for the truth. He pokes a pretty nasty bear in this one, revealing the seedy underbelly of the private school, where integrity is measured by the strength of a person's allegiance to his fellow students, and to the hierarchy and code. A student is tortured and murdered, but nobody at the school is willing to reveal the awful reality, even when freedom and morality are on the line, and Lynley's own sense of right and wrong are tested. Meanwhile, the backstories of Havers and of Simon and Deborah St. James are also filled in, with Havers struggling to balance her aging parents' needs with the demands of her career (aren't we all right there with her??), and the St. Jameses pulling apart over tragedy and grief, when they should be facing them together. The mystery in these novels is satisfying, but it is the humanity of the characters that will keep me coming back. I'm already looking forward to the next volume, which is a prequel that will no doubt tell me even more about how this disparate team came together.

If I start nitpicking these books I will definitely find issues. First in this case I don't much relish torture murders of children. There was quite a bit unnecessary melodrama and a couple instances of sketchy coincidence and questionable epiphanies. BUT I kept reading. And this is still early in the series, I'll soldier on with the next one.

My very first Elizabeth George mystery. I loved much of her early work but after awhile, she seemed to stop having her work edited. The books got too long and seemed too loose and sloppy. If you want a treat, read her first 5-6 novels and you'll see why she has so much talent.

A solid 3.5. But I find it unbelievable that Tommy, a Scotland Yard policeman, does not report his old classmate for possession of child porn BECAUSE THEY WENT TO ETON TOGETHER. Wtf???

I like these characters so much ... but this subject matter was very difficult. I wouldn't read it again, just for that reason. It's my least favorite "mystery" of the series so far, but I think the best character development.

Although I will say that the coincidence factor was too high in books 2 and 3, so I'm hoping she gets away with that in the rest of the series.

Third book into this series and I'm fairly hooked. There are some pretty cheesy elements especially in the personal relationships of the main characters but but that doesn't lessen their likability. The stories themselves are definite page turners that, although I think I've figured out a bit of the mystery, continue to provide surprises that I didn't expect.