Author(s): Elizabeth George

General Fiction

Elizabeth George's masterly new novel brings Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley back onto centre stage in an intricate crime drama. While DI Thomas Lynley is still on compassionate leave after the murder of his wife, Isabelle Ardery is brought into the Met as his temporary replacement. The discovery of a body in a Stoke Newington cemetery offers Isabelle the chance to make her mark with a high profile murder investigation. Persuading Lynley back to work seems the best way to guarantee a result: Lynley's team is fiercely loyal to him and Isabelle needs them - and especially Barbara Havers - on side. The Met is twitchy: a series of PR disasters has undermined its confidence. Isabelle knows that she'll be operating under the unforgiving scrutiny of the media, so is quick -- perhaps too quick -- to pin the murder on a convenient suspect. The murder trail leads Lynley and Havers to the New Forest, and the eventual resolution of the case. Its roots are in a long-ago act of violence that has poisoned subsequent generations and its outcome is both tragic and shocking. Review: 'An intelligent book, clipped and precise, every word chosen with care ... a cool, clever book that needs concentration and a sharp brain to unravel ... Along the way to solving the crime we meet some finely drawn characters who emerge as real people with faults and frailties. Ms George is the connoisseur's crime writer. Like fine wine, her words need to be savoured ... Lynley is a policeman with a gentle touch and it is good to have him back on such brilliant form.' -- Sunday Express 'Terrific as always - and how great to have Lynley back on the force.' -- Time Out 'Hurrah, another Inspector Lynley ... This is crime writing at its finest. George's books are long, solid and wonderfully crafted; she is a modern Dorothy L Sayers.' -- Saga 'Dark, unrelenting and powerful' -- Kirkus Reviews