Believing the lie

*Starred Review* In the seventeenth Inspector Lynley mystery, Bernard Fairclough, who catapulted himself from sketchy origins and a line of improved lavatories to enormous wealth and a title, uses his pull to get Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley of New Scotland Yard on a death investigation involving Fairclough's nephew. The nephew, a grown man, has drowned after slipping from a scull on Lake Windermere in Cumbria, within sight of his uncle's stately home. While the death has been officially ruled accidental, Fairclough is convinced that his nephew met with foul play. And the standout suspect is Fairclough's son, Nick, very shakily rehabilitated from a lifetime of addiction. As Lynley and his friends, Simon and Deborah St. James, take on the family from different perspectives, they learn that prodigal Nick is just the most obvious one in a Medusa's tangle of family snakes. George moves Lynley from London to Cumbria for a good, old-fashioned country home mystery. Lynley himself only gets more fascinating, as each novel adds more layers to his characterization. The plot gets mired at times, though, in George's overexpansive exposition she can take most of a page to lay out a character's musings over whether to don a winter or a summer suit. Tension would be greater with less verbiage, but this is still great George. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Although an American, George stands shoulder to shoulder with P. D. James and Ruth Rendell as a grande dame of the British mystery. The ongoing success of the Lynley mysteries on PBS continues to bring in new fans.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2010 Booklist

Narrator Davina Porter turns in an engaging and entertaining performance in this audio edition of George's 17th mystery featuring Det. Insp. Thomas Lynley. This time around, the aristocratic sleuth is, at the request of a wealthy industrialist named Lord Bernard Fairclough, investigating the accidental death of his nephew, Ian Cresswell, an accountant who, before drowning, kept the books for an affluent family. Porter's narration is sharp, well paced, and captures the spirit of George's text. From the very beginning, Porter's acting chops are on display, with her voicing reporter Zed Benjamin and tabloid editor Rodney Aronson, who is less than satisfied with Benjamin's latest story. Additionally, Porter ably juggles the book's vast cast of characters, imbuing all of them with distinctive voices and personalities. A Dutton hardcover. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Because Inspector Thomas Lynley (This Body of Death) is romantically involved with his new boss, acting Det. Supt. Isabelle Ardery, she is doubly miffed when Lynley accepts an assignment from a superior officer that he must keep secret, even from her. The case involves the discreet investigation into the drowning death of Ian Cresswell, a member of the rich, dysfunctional family of Lord Bernard Fairclough. Lynley recruits his old friends Simon and Deborah St. James to accompany him to Cumbria to assist with the case. The couple, in the middle of an adoption crisis, are glad to help. Meanwhile, Lynley's old sidekick, the inimitable Barbara Havers, attempts to juggle a beauty makeover mandated by the stern Ardery with a covert probe on Lynley's behalf. Verdict The whodunit element peters out at the end, and the story, as is typical for George, is quite melodramatic. George's many fans, however, will be thrilled with this new episode in the lives of her lovable cast of characters. Strongly recommended for readers of British procedurals. [See Prepub Alert, 7/25/11.]-Jane la Plante, Minot State Univ. Lib., ND (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The Body of Death, 2010, etc.) is dispatched incognito to the Lake District, where his task is to determine whether Fairclough's wastrel son Nicholas perhaps jimmied loose the boathouse stones on which Ian slipped to his death. The coroner thinks not, but Lynley has asked forensic specialist Simon St. James and his photographer wife Deborah to nose around just in case there's evidence of foul play to be found. Meanwhile, back in London, DS Havers is engaged in another sort of research on the morosely dysfunctional Faircloughs, which includes Fairclough's warring twin daughters Manette and Mignon; his nephew Ian's corrosively angry son Tim and sexually rapacious ex-wife Niamh; as well as the man Ian left his family for, the foreign-born Kaveh; and, of course, there's Fairclough's recovering junkie/alcoholic son Nicholas and his beautiful, secretive Argentine wife Alatea. Muddying the landscape is a tabloid reporter who's eager to save his job with a juicy sex scandal, even if he has to make one up. Pedophilia, homophilia, infidelity, illegitimacy and greed will come into play, but it is Deborah, consumed with her own infertility, who sets in motion the final tragedy. Pared-down George, weighing in at a svelte 600 pages, but still strewn with subplots, melodrama, melancholy, a wretchedly unhappy Havers and the impossibly heroic, impossibly nice Thomas Lynley.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

*Starred Review* In the seventeenth Inspector Lynley mystery, Bernard Fairclough, who catapulted himself from sketchy origins and a line of improved lavatories to enormous wealth and a title, uses his pull to get Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley of New Scotland Yard on a death investigation involving Fairclough's nephew. The nephew, a grown man, has drowned after slipping from a scull on Lake Windermere in Cumbria, within sight of his uncle's stately home. While the death has been officially ruled accidental, Fairclough is convinced that his nephew met with foul play. And the standout suspect is Fairclough's son, Nick, very shakily rehabilitated from a lifetime of addiction. As Lynley and his friends, Simon and Deborah St. James, take on the family from different perspectives, they learn that prodigal Nick is just the most obvious one in a Medusa's tangle of family snakes. George moves Lynley from London to Cumbria for a good, old-fashioned country home mystery. Lynley himself only gets more fascinating, as each novel adds more layers to his characterization. The plot gets mired at times, though, in George's overexpansive exposition—she can take most of a page to lay out a character's musings over whether to don a winter or a summer suit. Tension would be greater with less verbiage, but this is still great George. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Although an American, George stands shoulder to shoulder with P. D. James and Ruth Rendell as a grande dame of the British mystery. The ongoing success of the Lynley mysteries on PBS continues to bring in new fans. Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews.

Because Inspector Thomas Lynley (This Body of Death) is romantically involved with his new boss, acting Det. Supt. Isabelle Ardery, she is doubly miffed when Lynley accepts an assignment from a superior officer that he must keep secret, even from her. The case involves the discreet investigation into the drowning death of Ian Cresswell, a member of the rich, dysfunctional family of Lord Bernard Fairclough. Lynley recruits his old friends Simon and Deborah St. James to accompany him to Cumbria to assist with the case. The couple, in the middle of an adoption crisis, are glad to help. Meanwhile, Lynley's old sidekick, the inimitable Barbara Havers, attempts to juggle a beauty makeover mandated by the stern Ardery with a covert probe on Lynley's behalf. Verdict The whodunit element peters out at the end, and the story, as is typical for George, is quite melodramatic. George's many fans, however, will be thrilled with this new episode in the lives of her lovable cast of characters. Strongly recommended for readers of British procedurals. [See Prepub Alert, 7/25/11.]-Jane la Plante, Minot State Univ. Lib., ND (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Lord Bernard Fairclough, a wealthy industrialist, asks Det. Insp. Thomas Lynley to secretly delve into the accidental death of his gay nephew, Ian Cresswell, in bestseller George's less than satisfying 17th novel featuring the Scotland Yard policeman (after 2010's This Body of Death). Det. Sgt. Barbara Havers and other series regulars help Lynley try to unspool a tangled web of drug addiction and recovery, gay marriage, extramarital affairs, egg donation, and online sexual predators. As usual in George's work, the process of detection reveals more about those doing the detecting than the mystery itself. Some of the subplots—such as Havers's attempts to spruce up her appearance—lead to dead ends. Zed Benjamin, a bumbling rookie journalist, offers some farcical moments to lighten up the general gloom. Statements of the obvious ("Deborah hated being at odds with her husband") and platitudes for unbearably painful situations will annoy some, while others will see the denouement from a mile off. Agent: Robert Gottlieb at Trident Media Group. (Jan.)