A Banquet of Consequences: A Lynley Novel (Inspector Lynley Novel)
By: Elizabeth George
Rating: 5 of 5
It has been a number of years since I have read one of the Inspector Lynley books by Elizabeth George. It was surprising to pick up the latest “A Banquet of Consequences” and find that it fit my mood and my remembrances like a well-worn glove.
I stepped back during my read (be aware that this is a fairly long book at almost 600 pages), and took a look at some of the intervening books that I had missed. I was surprised to see that the reviews tended towards the average. If that is the case, then Ms. George is back on the mark with this book as it was truly an excellent and nicely long read.
The story begins with back history over three years in the past. As the story progresses, we move forward in time and start adding additional characters and avenues. There is a feeling of a crescendo building as layer upon layer of information is provided to the reader – well before any crime has occurred. The author lets us get to know the characters: how they think, how they act, and what they might be willing to do.
Once the crime occurred, I had a fairly good idea of how I felt about each individual and how I wanted the story to play out. I was actually surprised by the ending but I also felt that it was the right ending nonetheless. The plot is extremely well-developed. It is apparent that the author is well adept at drawing the picture she wants the reader to see and then inching us along as we read the book to that point of view.
For those who watched the British “Inspector Lynley” series, the physical descriptions of the main characters in this book, Inspector Tommy Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers is quite different from those actors you may have come to know and love. While physically they are different, I think that you will find that the characters are similar under the skin.
I still plan to go back and read the last few books of this series that I somehow managed to miss. I think the book can be read stand-alone just fine; however, there is a wealth of back story for Lynley and Havers that would great for a read to have at hand. I don’t think the books have to be read in order but the earlier books that I have read were fantastic reads. I can’t yet attest for those more recent ones but my thought is that an average book by Ms. George is probably comparable to an excellent book by a number of other authors.
I look forward to reading more in this series. I really loved the focus on Havers and hope that ensuing books will give us more about how she gets on with her new outlook (as evidenced in the waning pages of this book.)
I received a complimentary copy of this book via the publisher.