Careless in Red
by Elizabeth George

Summary

In her most eagerly anticipated novel yet, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George brings back Scotland Yard's Thomas Lynley to investigate a ruthless crime.

Scotland Yard's Thomas Lynley returns to investigate what may be a perfect crime.

After the senseless murder of his wife, Detective Superintendent Thomas Lynley turned in his badge and walked away from Scotland Yard. Returning to his home in Cornwall, he has spent weeks hiking the cliff-side trails of the Cornish coast, trying to cope with the painful memories associated with her loss.

But the past will not let go. On a lonely stretch of coastline, Lynley discovers the body of a young man. Thus begins a quest to unmask a clever and ruthless murderer. But this time, Lynley's not in charge. He's a witness—and possibly even a suspect. The local detective leading the investigation soon figures out that Lynley can help. So can his former associate Barbara Havers, whom Scotland Yard sends to Cornwall, ostensibly to assist in the investigation, but unofficially to check up on Lynley and possibly win him back to the Yard.

Elizabeth George is the New York Times bestselling author of fourteen novels of psychological suspense, one book of nonfiction, and two short-story collections. Her work has been honored with the Anthony and Agatha awards, the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, and the MIMI, Germany's prestigious prize for suspense fiction. She lives on Whidbey Island in Washington State.

Buy Signed Copy - $27.95 | Elizabeth George Web Site

Praise

"At the start of bestseller George's stellar new suspense novel, the grieving Thomas Lynley, a Scotland Yard detective who left the force after the murder of his pregnant wife, Helen, in With No One as Witness (2005), is filling his days with a long trek in his native Cornwall. During his ramble, Lynley stumbles on the body of teenager Santo Kerne, who apparently fell from a cliff onto some rocks, though it soon becomes evident that someone tampered with Kerne's climbing gear. As the first on the scene, Lynley himself comes under suspicion, despite his lack of history with the victim, by the investigating officer, the capable but crusty Det. Insp. Bea Hannaford. Lynley fittingly plays a secondary role in the homicide inquiry as he continues to struggle to find a reason for living after his devastating loss. The plausible resolution of the crime leaves enough ambiguity to satisfy readers who prefer psychologically sophisticated plots and motivations." — Publishers Weekly

"This is the first of Elizabeth George's novels I've read, and I finished it doubly astonished: at George's exceptional gifts and at my own dimwittedness in neglecting her work for the 20 years she's been publishing. Other readers, more vigilant than I, have long since made her elegant, complex novels international bestsellers...the real interest of the book, to the reader and probably to the author, lies in its characterizations. It isn't simply that George carries us deep into the lives of 10 or 12 main characters. What's more remarkable is how much she does even with walk-on characters, whom she lovingly brings to life... American crime fiction, starting with Dashiell Hammett and continuing through James M. Cain, Ed McBain, John D. MacDonald and current writers such as Robert Crais and Lee Child, has tended to be terse, fast-moving and action-oriented. George has made herself part of an English tradition that is more leisurely and more given to psychological probing...readers who value writing that is intelligent, surprising, sexy, funny, compassionate and wise should find 'Careless in Red' a delight. Her fans know that, of course, and those who don't know George's work can certainly start here, with what is essentially a transitional novel, as Lynley starts a new life. It would be a pleasure, however, to go back to George's first Lynley novel, 'A Great Deliverance,' and work one's way forward." — Washington Post

"True to form, 'Careless in Red,' set along the rugged coast of Cornwall, features a number of trouble-fraught families whose members are pitted against one another as often as they are entangled in the intrigues of rival clans. Even with Havers's aid, Lynley finds things hard going. 'Cornwall had always been a lawless place,' one of its inhabitants notes; and its occupants tread their own paths, carrying painful secrets and vengeful thoughts. 'He longed for simplicity where there was none,' Lynley realizes. 'He longed for answers that were yes or no instead of an infinite string of maybe.' But answers arrive in their own good time, resolving matters in a satisfying but open-ended manner, in keeping with Ms. George's psychologically nuanced approach to the evils that lurk within the family circle — and also the chances for redemptive love."
— The Wall Street Journal

Buy Signed Copy - $27.95 | Elizabeth George Web Site