Careless in Red: A Novel | Elizabeth George | Good to see you back, Tommy!

Careless in Red: A Novel | Elizabeth George | Surprised at the negative reviews

books:

Careless in Red: A...

	Careless in Red: A Novel Elizabeth George Harper, 2008 - 640 pages average customer review:based on 125 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

Good to see you back, Tommy!

After the misfire that was George's last novel - which I frankly couldn't even finish - it was a pleasure to sit down to "Careless in Red" and discover that one of my favorite book series has returned to form. While the Lynley and Havers characters have always been a bit contrived, it's easy to forget that in the sheer delight that comes from reading truly elegant writing wrapped around a complex but intriguing plot.

Of course, British policing is undergoing some radical changes thanks to its absurdly PC attitude towards criminals, and the reality of that isn't reflected in the procedures used by George's law enforcement characters. But again, it's easy enough to put what you read in the news aside in the service of a fine novel. And that's what Elizabeth George has produced here.

for more information click here

Surprised at the negative reviews

After finishing Elizabeth George's latest, I checked the reviews to see if other readers enjoyed it as much as I did. I admit that I am surprised at the number of negative reviews. I think this book is one of her best. I was curious to see how George would handle the aftermath of the senseless and shocking death of Lynley's beloved Helen. In the surfing world of Cornwall (who knew?), George deftly explores the nature of grief and loss and the secrets that can destroy an individual or family.

The vibrant prose is vintage George. Her descriptions are incredibly detailed, painting a clear picture of a world few probably even knew existed. The murder and subsequent investigation are simply a means to introduce wonderfully drawn characters, most of whom are as appealing as they are flawed. Her description of Lynley's grief is believable and touching. The complicated nature of the relationship between Lynley and Havers is addressed as well. The plot moves forward at a typical pace for George's novels -- steadily, with each scene adding just enough intrigue to keep the reader turning the pages. Although the big questions are answered at the end, there is enough ambiguity to leave the reader wanting more. And I, for one, can't wait for the next installment.

Highly recommended.

for more information click here

Slipping a Bit

I've been reading George for years and have devoured every one of her novels but, lately, it seems like they haven't quite been up to snuff with some of her earlier efforts. This novel was a real case in point.

One of the reasons why I feel that George is such a superb author is because of her very literary style. However, there is a point at which this particular style can be carried too far, and George is crossing that line more and more. This novel contains some very long and meandering passages that have absolutely no impact on the plot of the novel. The effect of this is to make it sound like George is rambling and that is not good. She waxes at length about the Cornish coastline and I found myself thinking, "Enough, I get it already!" In fact, there is such a propensity for doing this in the novel that I found that I was losing the plot threads. How can I keep up with all the characters when George abandons them frequently for paragraph after paragraph of superfluous prose?

The variety of characters in the novel is interesting but keeping track of all of them is rather daunting at times. I consider it a strength that George presents the reader with multiple points of view rather than having a narrower focus. To me, it is interesting to get into the heads of the people who are touched by the crime, to find out what impact said crime has on them. The down side of this style is that, naturally, some characters are more interesting than others. I didn't think there were any particularly weak characters in the book, per se, but I was definitely more interested in some of them than I was in others. I also felt that, at times, their stories were being dragged out rather too much so that the merest crumbs were being offered to the reader. This seemed to particularly be the case with the characters of Alan and Kerra.

Lynley is a character that I do enjoy but it seems like he's grown a bit stagnant. It seems almost like Helen's murder was a way to try to give him some new facets or something. I wasn't quite sure I bought the way that he totally fell apart and then seemed to put himself back together rather quickly. At times, Lynley feels more like a cipher than a person and I can't help but wonder if maybe George has reached the limits of what she can do with his character. He is certainly likable but he's not all the compelling.

The character who is compelling is Havers. I found myself growing positively cheerful when she finally made her appearance in the novel. In Havers George has created one of the most unique and diverse characters in contemporary fiction. Havers seems so alive that it wouldn't surprise me if she were to walk off the page, which is more than can be said for Lynley. The appearance of Havers is what really saved the novel for me in the end. Once she was in the picture, the dialog became more sparkling and witty and there was someone to liven up what seemed to be a rather dull cast of characters.

The mystery itself was less than compelling, perhaps because the reader never gets a real sense of the victim. He is more or less dismissed as a playboy and it's hard to take any real interest in him. George would have been better served by making the victim a more multi-dimensional character as it would have given his death greater impact. As it was, the mystery seemed less about the death itself and more about how it inconvenienced other characters and brought out the various and assorted secrets they had been attempting to conceal. The revelation of the perpetrator was meant to shock but the killer's identity wasn't all that well concealed and so by the time it was revealed, I had already figured it out. Perhaps if the book had been more focused it would have been a good reveal and the killer's motives would have been more compelling. As it was, the ending was frankly anticlimactic.

Hopefully George will narrow her focus in her next novel and hopefully there will be a whole lot more of Havers. I've never quite been able to put my finger on why George will concentrate more on characters like Lynley and the St. Jameses than she does on Havers.

for more information click here