Careless in Red: A Novel

Really? You guys liked this book? Unfortunately for me, I read this one after I read Playing for the Ashes and a third one - can't remember the title - In all three, the author is definitely out to get the sexually adventerous libertines of the world, even if it ultimately has nothing to do with the plot (the third one I read....the one where Lynley goes to Scotland and the two young people die out on the rocky hills somewhere). Anyway, I was puzzled by the author's apparent moralistic self-righteousness until I saw of list of books by her on Amazon which includes something about loving God with all you mind. Oh, well, that explains it. Elizabeth, relax and live a little. Jesus Christ!

As a big fan of Elizabeth George and the Lynley series, I eagerly anticipated the arrival of Careless in Red. I even had the tingle excitement we "bibliophiles" get when I finally checked it out of the library. Unfortunately, the book is a major disappointment. There are too many characters, many of whom are dysfunctional, uninteresting, and depressing. The writing is laborious at points, especially all the details about surfing, waves, isobars, and minor roads in Cornwall. Lynley was present but may as well have been left out. Havers arrived too late to redeem the book, though her late arrival made the last 300 pages bearable. I never really had any desire to know who killed Santo Kerne, though I do admit I plowed ahead and finished the book... all the while waiting to start on the new Deborah Crombie book (Where Memories Lie). Readers who liked George at her best would do well to read one of Crombie's novels.

After delivering a shocking blow in the last outing for Lynley and Havers, Elizabeth George picks up the story a few short months after the death of Lynley's beloved wife Helen. The St Jameses and Nkata are not part of the action. The St Jameses aren't even mentioned. Havers does show up nearly halfway through. I admit that this is fine with me, I don't miss Nkata and Havers had been getting on my nerves. This book showed me that Havers and Lynley are at their best interacting with each other - not pondering each other, or in Havers' case, pondering her own life ad nauseum. To each their own, I know some readers adore Havers and there are many Haverisms on display here to satisfy.

Overall, this book is classic Elizabeth George: lots of local scenery and in depth characterizations of the main suspects. As usual, the start is slow with characters being introduced and drawn but halfway through you couldn't pry this book from my hands without a gun. This time around the murder is of an 18 year old, Santo Kerne, and the group obsession is surfing. You might think this is less juicy material than, say World War Two in A Place of Hiding, but this isn't Gidget, Moondoggie and the Kahuna running around planning a beach party. The Kernes are a seriously messed up family with mother Dellen easily winning the award as most detestable character. George does a fine job with her characterizations of Dellen and her daughter Kerra.

The other characters lead by lead detective Bea Hannaford are well-drawn and interesting. George's main themes are the sins of the fathers and the painful misunderstandings between parents and children. There's a lovely subplot about an aging grandfather of decidedly fixed opinions dealing with the spiritually inclined granddaughter his son has sent to live with him. The interactions between Selevan Penrule and his granddaughter Tammy never strike a wrong note and their evolution feels earned.

The mystery is top notch if a not entirely mysterious, Thomas Lynley's emotional floundering between stunned grieve and guilty ability to survive is spot on, and the break from the usual characters actually makes their bond all the stronger. It's good to see Elizabeth George back on form.

So why only 4 stars?

The problem is Daidre Trahair. The veterinarian from Bristol is front and center throughout the book with Lynley just knowing she's not the murderer and the lead investigator smelling a rat. I'm with the lead investigator on this one. Trahair may not be guilty but she's more rodent than recurring character material.

George is too smart a writer to foist this bundle of clichés on her readers. The detective attracted to a suspect he knows isn't guilty. The woman with a mysterious past. A policeman falling for someone who doesn't trust the police. The woman with a quirkily spelled first name to clue us in that she's different. Love against class differences, etc. And that's just for starters. Maybe George sees Trahair as a strong, smart independent woman struggling to come to terms with her past. I saw a self-obsessed woman who thinks nothing of lying to suit her "privacy" when a simple deflection would have achieved the same ends. A woman who gets quite put out at the idea of the police investigating her background in a murder inquiry yet happily investigates the background of the policeman via the internet. And smart, innocent people don't lie to the police about things that can easily be found out.

Not halfway through the story Daidre Trahair's fixation on Thomas Lynley gets downright creepy. She's not just reading up on him, she's hanging around waiting for him to leave his hotel so she can talk to him or otherwise watching him (you know, like a stalker), she's asking other detectives (during her own interrogation!) about his dead wife. But the most appalling scene comes when after stupidly revealing that she's investigated Lynley's background Daidre Trahair offers Lynley spiritual advice. She presumes to tell a grieving widower how he should feel about his wife's death. I kid you not. And she doesn't let up when Lynley tells her he doesn't share her beliefs. She keeps going. Calling her ramblings "beliefs" is generous. A more formless bunch of New Age, quasi spiritual silliness you've never heard before. She spends as much time telling him what she doesn't believe as what she does. How this is supposed to help anyone or who on earth would force this on someone they've known less than three days is more a mystery than the central plot.

If Elizabeth George is setting Daidre Trahair up to be a creepy stalker in the next book, her narrative choices here are brilliant. If she's setting Trahair up as Lynley's new love interest - and why would he need one this soon? - then I'll have to rethink my 20 year relationship with Lynley-Havers and company.

Don't do it, Elizabeth George, you're too good for this!

Like most others writing a review I'm a big fan of Elizabthe George and her Detective Lynley series. After reading many of the reviews I almost didn't order the book. But I did order it, I did read it and I'm giving it 4 stars. It may not have been her best book in the series, but it was Good Enough. A good enough plot to hold my interest, a good enough writing style to keep me entertained, and a good enough series of characters to make the book worth the read.

I think its unrealistic to expect an author (any author) to always produce 5 star books. That's just too high of a standard to maintain. I love Ms. George's writing style and even if the plot had a few weak spots, I can overlook it because it held my interest.

My biggest criticism is the names of the characters. They were TOO wierd and I couldn't keep them all straight. Had to take notes and keep referring to them. Other than that I'd say the book is definitely Good Enough to buy!

I have read all the Lynley-Havers books and (with one exception) have been a huge fan of the stories and the writing style. I have enjoyed Barbara, but Lynley was the star - until now. Careless in Red may have been Lynley's book but Barbara was the best part: the interaction between Lynley and Havers, Havers and Bea, Havers and the locals. Alas, Barbara doesn't arrive until the last half. Before then the story was just okay.

What was wrong? A lot. Most of the local characters did not hold my interest. The concept of Lynley grieving and wandering alone was a good idea, but it didn't work in execution. I did not believe a smelly/haven't-bathed-in-weeks Lynley. I missed the fragments of humor; they were absent until Barbara arrived. The identity of the killer was obvious very early, which would have been okay if it had been used as part of the plot (e.g. a cat and mouse game between the police and the killer), but it wasn't. We knew (or guessed) and that was it.

I gave it 4 stars, but it should really be 3 1/2. If this had been my first exposure to Lynley and Havers I don't know if there would be a second. That said, I am looking forward to EG redeeming herself with the next installment of Lynley and Havers. It's time to bring back Deborah and Simon. I miss them. Also, shouldn't we get an update about Barbara and her neighbors (father and daughter)?