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This Body of Death: An Inspector Lynley Novel Hardcover – April 20, 2010

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,879 ratings

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"George explores her characters' dreams and fears with a penetrating grace that makes reading her books a joy."
Washington Post Book World

"Elizabeth George reigns as queen of the mystery genre. The Lynley books constitute the smartest, most gratifyingly complex and impassioned mystery series now being published."
Entertainment Weekly

The spellbinding new Inspector Lynley novel from Elizabeth George, New York Times bestselling author of Careless in Red and What Came Before He Shot Her.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Bestseller George's richly rewarding 16th novel to feature Det. Insp. Thomas Lynley (after Careless in Red) offers an intricate plot that will satisfy even jaded fans of psychological suspense. Aggressively career-minded Isabelle Ardery, the new acting superintendent of London's Metropolitan Police, boldly manages to lure Lynley, who's been grieving over his wife's murder, back from Cornwall to look into a murder case. The body of Jemima Hastings, a young woman recently relocated from Hampshire, has turned up in a London cemetery. With suspects in both locales and numerous leads to follow and interviews to conduct, Ardery succeeds in raising the hackles of Det. Sgt. Barbara Havers, Det. Insp. John Stewart, and other members of the investigating team. George tantalizes with glimpses of a horrific earlier murder case; showcases Lynley at his shrewdest, most diplomatic best; and confounds readers with a complex array of evidence, motives, and possible solutions. 6-city author tour. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Rarely can a conventional mystery sustain itself over nearly 650 pages. Some P. D. James novels have been almost that long and have succeeded in maintaining suspense and holding the reader, but this latest from George—acclaimed crime writer and winner of the Anthony Award, Agatha Award, and France’s Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière—fails on both counts. There is a too-leisurely feel throughout, a sense that the author is luxuriating in extra space, and that’s not a good fit for suspense. Detective Inspector Lynley returns, still grieving the deaths of his wife and unborn child in Cornwall, but moving forward, assisting New Scotland Yard in an investigation involving a young woman whose body was found in a London cemetery. George intersects this plotline with a real-life case, the Bulger kidnapping, involving the harrowing kidnapping and murder of a toddler by three boys. Reimagining this case, with all the details a novelist can bring to bear, seems in bad taste at best. Except for Inspector Lynley, whose character is always intriguing, the two plots limp along, making little headway. In addition, the new love interest that George provides for Lynley seems contrived. This very bloated effort will interest only George’s longtime fans. --Connie Fletcher

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper; First Edition (April 20, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 692 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0061160881
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0061160882
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.8 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.55 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,879 ratings

About the author

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Elizabeth George
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Elizabeth George was born Susan Elizabeth George in Warren, Ohio.

She is a graduate of University of California in Riverside. She also attended California State University at Fullerton, where she was awarded a master's degree in Counseling/Psychology and an honorary doctorate of humane letters

Professionally, she started out as a teacher. She was employed at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana initially, but there she gave in to her bent for organized labor and was summarily fired along with ten other teachers for union activity. She moved on to El Toro High School in El Toro, California (now called Lake Forest, California), where she remained for the rest of her career as high school English teacher. While employed there, she was selected Orange County Teacher of the Year, a tribute in part to the work she'd done with remedial students for nearly a decade. She left education after thirteen and a half years when she sold her first novel, A Great Deliverance, to her longtime publisher Bantam Books.

She has won the Anthony Award, the Agatha Award, and France's Le Grand Prix de Literature Policiere for her novel A Great Deliverance, for which she was also nominated for the Edgar and the Macavity Awards. She has also been awarded Germany's MIMI for her novel Well-Schooled in Murder.

Most of her novels have been filmed by for television by the BBC and have been broadcast in the US on PBS's MYSTERY. Visit her website at www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
3,879 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and enjoyable. They appreciate the interesting plot and well-crafted mystery. Readers like the characters Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers. The story develops relationships with the neighbors and teaches difficult truths. However, some find the pacing slow and the denouement clichéd.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

189 customers mention "Readability"141 positive48 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable and worth reading. They describe it as a page-turner with good writing quality and a satisfying story. Readers appreciate the well-developed characters and convincing portrayal of the main character Ardery.

"...One of them, Isabelle Ardery, is well drawn and so convincing that I immediately disliked her and was not particularly happy with her status at the..." Read more

"...EG writes beautifully, and I like the layering of different stories together, so long as they are relevant to each other...." Read more

"...Now, on to some specifics as to why. First, it was intrinsically excellent--a superb mystery in itself--which is, I suppose the appropriate test..." Read more

"...That is indeed Ms. George's gift. I loved the book and I love her characters! There are even a couple of very likable dogs in the book...." Read more

123 customers mention "Story quality"115 positive8 negative

Customers find the story engaging with an interesting plot. They appreciate the well-crafted mystery that covers a wide range of settings and twists and turns. The murder mystery is thought-provoking and the stories cover a variety of topics.

"...The plot is intricate and the action is hard to anticipate, plus author Elizabeth George has introduced a couple of interesting new characters who..." Read more

"...There are some hints in this book that there is an upcoming story line (although evidently not in the next book - presumably the one after?)..." Read more

"...First, it was intrinsically excellent--a superb mystery in itself--which is, I suppose the appropriate test for any book...." Read more

"...This book has a lot of surprises in it, like most Elizabeth George books, and she blends the past and the present in a very unique way...." Read more

8 customers mention "Lynley series"8 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the Inspector Lynley series. They find the characters kind and wise.

"Kudos to Elizabeth George for one of the best additions to her Detective Lynley series...." Read more

"...Best is Thomas Lynley and Sgt. Barbara Havers' opposites...." Read more

"The brilliant, complex and insightful Inspector Lynley is an engaging main character. Yes this is a long novel but I still did not want it to end...." Read more

"...Havers and Lynley are baaaaack, I'm happy to say, but I didn't like the addition of the Isabelle character...." Read more

6 customers mention "Development"6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the development of the plot. They find the plot clever and interesting, drawing them into a different community. The relationships with Lynley and her neighbors continue to develop.

"...The series regulars - Lynley and Barbara Havers - have fairly prominent roles and I especially enjoyed watching Havers struggle with her dubious "..." Read more

"...: Barbara Havers continues to entertain and her relationship with her neighbors continues to develop...." Read more

"...I learn something really interesting and important each time...." Read more

"...And I love her relationships with Lynley and with her neighbors...." Read more

6 customers mention "Thread weave"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's thread weave. They find the multiple threads woven together smoothly into a coherent story. The author stitches the complexities clearly, making the story flow well.

"...There are many threads, many glimpses into thoughts and lives of numerous characters, each story-line potentially absorbing...." Read more

"...So far within the book, the threads of the mystery are being woven deftly, but the motivations behind Lynley's actions seem thin; so on this account..." Read more

"...was used to provide the backdrop in the story, with two different threads weaving simultaneously, brought to an exciting conclusion...." Read more

"...Of all this author's works all but this one flowed well. There were sections poorly editted.." Read more

87 customers mention "Character development"60 positive27 negative

Customers have different views on the character development. Some find the characters amazing and well-drawn, with backstories that allow them to feel a connection. Others find some of the characters unlikable and questionable.

"...plus author Elizabeth George has introduced a couple of interesting new characters who seem to be on their way to becoming part of the semi-..." Read more

"...That is indeed Ms. George's gift. I loved the book and I love her characters! There are even a couple of very likable dogs in the book...." Read more

"...It rings false in so many ways. For one thing, she was a completely unsympathetic character, who George didn't supply with any context for..." Read more

"...Her characters are finely drawn and their back stories enable the reader to feel a sense of connection to them, even when they are the perpetrators..." Read more

38 customers mention "Pacing"8 positive30 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book slow and uninteresting. They feel the plot lacks depth and the ending is predictable. The acting superintendent is described as unlikable, unconvincing, and melodramatic. Many readers felt the story took too long to get to the point and was disappointing in the end.

"...with someone this bitter, irresponsible, weak, unethical and generally unpleasant. I sincerely hope she is not his new love interest...." Read more

"...In this case, the pacing of the story was so slow that it was impossible to not figure out the relationship between the story of the kidnapped/..." Read more

"...Too much extraneous, distracting noise caused by new characters is probably going to cost her a dependable reader base...." Read more

"...The plot is intricate and the action is hard to anticipate, plus author Elizabeth George has introduced a couple of interesting new characters who..." Read more

20 customers mention "Length"3 positive17 negative

Customers find the book too long. They say the prologue is too long, the story is choppy, and the words are excessive. The book is described as hard to read and slow-paced, making it difficult to enjoy.

"...I felt that the book was far too long...." Read more

"...Doesn't seem like it to me. My final observation is that this book is much too long...." Read more

"...The story itself is long and choppy...." Read more

"...Too massive to read in a sitting...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2011
    This is the most recent Inspector Lynley novel (2010) and one of the ones I like best. The plot is intricate and the action is hard to anticipate, plus author Elizabeth George has introduced a couple of interesting new characters who seem to be on their way to becoming part of the semi-permanent Lynley group.

    One of them, Isabelle Ardery, is well drawn and so convincing that I immediately disliked her and was not particularly happy with her status at the novel's end. But I don't read George to make myself happy. I read her because she writes intelligent mysteries that have characters with depth, and with whom I can empathize.

    Her ability to prompt readers' to empathize with some of her unconventional characters is one of George's great strengths, and in this latest installment she uses it to advantage regarding several of the characters that are particular to this novel and probably will not turn up again. Chief among those is Gordon Jossie, a thatcher who works in a historic village restoring the reed roofs of ancient cottages. While he is definitely a peculiar man with what is revealed to be a troubling past, George evokes a compassion for Gordon in her readers, only to give us a jolt at the novel's end when we learn the full truth of Gordon's secrets. Once I knew who Gordon was, I was surprised at how a seemingly quirky, but generally decent-seeming guy, could have been someone else entirely in his early life. George inspires a similar compassion from her readers for several of the other characters as well, including Meredith and Hastings who are plain in appearance but beautiful in spirit.

    And then there is my favorite continuing character, Barbara Havers, Lynley's detective partner and a woman who has an abundance of eccentric traits but few feminine ones. I've read several reviewers who dislike Barbara because of her slovenly ways, but I love her spirit and her willingness to follow her own star, so to speak.

    After ploughing through Careless in Red, the book that immediately preceded This Body of Death, I found George's latest to be a refreshing reversion to her more usual, superior writing. While I would never give a Lynley book a bad review, there are some that I have rated lower than others. Happily, I can give this one 5 stars with no equivocation. If you haven't yet read other novels in the Lynley series, however, I suggest that you read those before picking up this one, as there are some important plot details that take place in earlier novels, without which you will be a bit at sea in This Body of Death.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2012
    Possible spoilers, so beware.

    I'm a long-time EG fan. I liked this book in general, although perhaps not as much as some of her earlier works. EG writes beautifully, and I like the layering of different stories together, so long as they are relevant to each other. I was also glad to see Lynley and Havers back - the two best recurrent characters, IMO, although I will say Simon St. James is kind of intriguing and I like Nkata as well. There are some hints in this book that there is an upcoming story line (although evidently not in the next book - presumably the one after?) that Havers will have a more featured story line... and perhaps there's even a chance that she and Lynley will partner up again (one can hope, anyway).

    That said, I kept wondering what was meant when (in the product desciption/synopsis) they referred to Isabelle Ardery as someone with hidden - and possibly attractive - vulnerability. I thought there was nothing hidden about what a wreck she is, and also nothing attractive about it. She isn't so much flawed as unlikeable. I thought she mistook arrogance for strength, vindictiveness for leadership, intrusiveness for support, and self-absorption for compassion. She's a repellant creature. She isn't vulnerable. She's weak and self-absorbed. She lacks ethics (drinking on the job), judgment (punitively assigning a detective to guard duty when his skills would have been far better used elsewhere, thus compromising her team's effectiveness in solving a murder), leadership ability (demanding the same detective's return to guard duty when another cop was available for guard duty in a "you'll do it because I say you will and you'll be done when I say and not before" sort of arbitrary punitiveness, rather than encouraging him to draw logical inferences and use good judgment of his own), insight (her entire handling of Barbara Havers, who Lynley handled with such finesse), self-discipline (drinking on the job and after, to the point of unconsciousness; pervious drinking that cost her custody of her kids), and really, any appealing traits at all. I can't believe Thomas Lynley - remember, the epitome of class, manners, and subtlety - would fall for her. Nor can I picture him doing so after he's had to sober her up by dragging her unconscious body into the shower. People who've had that much to drink reek of alcohol and its metabolites - quite disgustingly. *SO* not sexy. While I can imagine Lynley being lonely and needing to connect with someone on a physical level, I can't imagine him being so desperate as to go for her under those circumstances - literally stinking drunk - nor can I imagine him accepting a key to her flat on the strength of one such encounter. Come to that, I can't imagine HER offering him a key after one such encounter. Who does that?

    Further, since Lylney's brother has had substance abuse issues, does it not seem that he'd be pretty dang wary about getting involved with a practicing alcoholic? Particularly since he's just had a bout with excessive drinking himself, in the wake of Helen's death? I think that one of the things you're supposed to avoid under the circustances is people who are themselves excessively drinking and/or otherwise unstable. Surely he knows that, given the family history.

    The ONLY thing I liked about Ardery was that she got him back to New Scotland Yard to work. That's it. Nothing else. No attractive vulnerability. I think her kids are better off without her. I can't picture Lynley with someone this bitter, irresponsible, weak, unethical and generally unpleasant. I sincerely hope she is not his new love interest. If she is, I'll have to stop reading, because as much as I love EG, I simply detest Ardery.

    Overall I'm hopeful that this is the beginning of a turn away from the excessive misery of recent books. Maybe EG will find it in her heart to let some of the characters be happy for a while.

    Still - well-written and well-crafted, and on the whole an enjoyable book for me.
    20 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2010
    I spent the weekend riveted to this book. It was spectacular.

    Now, on to some specifics as to why. First, it was intrinsically excellent--a superb mystery in itself--which is, I suppose the appropriate test for any book. Second, and specifically with reference to Elizabeth George's earlier works, it was less graphic. For anyone who has wondered about this, she can write a superb mystery without being so graphic as to induce nightmares. In the past, I have on numerous occasions vowed to stop reading her novels. While I found them riveting, I found them also so graphic about the terrible things that alleged humans do to each other as to cause me terrible nightmares. Why would anyone read a book like that? In any event, while terrible things are recounted in this novel, Ms George was able to accomplish this without the kind of detail that is more disturbing than it is worth. Third, again with reference to Elizabeth George's novels, she is BACK!!! This is good news. I agree with the earlier review(s) that pointed out that Careless in Red was dull and that What Came Before He Shot Her was basically unreadable (and not really a mystery anyway). I also agree that the relevant aspect of the book that preceded What Came Before He Shot Her was unforgivable. Now that I think about it, I guess it wasn't, as I have read Careless in Red and, now, This Body of Death.

    There is one aspect of the new novel (at the end) that is truly unfortunate, but it has nothing to do with the mystery itself, although it provides a real mystery about Lynley himself and a piece of profoundly inappropriate conduct in which he engages. If he keeps on this road, I may have to renew my vow not to read Elizabeth George novels any more.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2024
    Got this for a good price

Top reviews from other countries

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  • rodolfo
    5.0 out of 5 stars detective story
    Reviewed in Italy on December 21, 2022
    ho letto il libro in un baleno. un equilibrato intreccio fra detective story e vita privata dei protagonisti. Adoro Elisabeth George e il D.I. linley.
    lo consiglio a chi ama detective story e che ovviamente è in grado di leggere il libro in lingua inglese.
  • E. W.
    5.0 out of 5 stars This Body of Death
    Reviewed in Spain on September 4, 2018
    I love Elizabeth George’s books and this was a delightful addition to my collection. The mystery is intriguing and the background, where the recurring characters’ lives develop is fascinating
  • Lee W
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent as Always
    Reviewed in Australia on September 2, 2024
    Felt the book a bit too long but enjoyed it and the unravelling of the crime. Thanks.
  • Sangeeta lohani
    5.0 out of 5 stars Condition of the book and on time drlivery
    Reviewed in India on June 30, 2018
    Nice book in pristine condition ,enjoyed reading it a lot.elizabeth george is my favorite and amazon best platform to buy books
  • Alison S. Coad
    5.0 out of 5 stars Elizabeth Georges Delivers Once Again
    Reviewed in Canada on April 28, 2010
    In This Body of Death, the new novel by Elizabeth George, Inspector Lynley, aka Lord Asherton, has been asked to return to New Scotland Yard to show the ropes to Isabelle Ardery, the potential new chief superintendent in his unit. Ardery is being given a baptism of fire in the job, as right off the bat a young woman is brutally murdered in an old cemetery and Ardery leaps to the wrong conclusions over and over again; it doesn't help that she's got a problem with the bottle, either. The investigation stretches out from London to Hampshire, to the New Forest and the free-range wild ponies that live in that region, and it's up to DS Barbara Havers and DS Winston Nkata to pursue that line of inquiry, while Lynley and Ardery try to sort out the messy details of the young woman's short life and brutal death in London....I love George's Lynley series, as her characters are all so richly drawn and there's so much psychological insight in her work. While I wouldn't place entry this above my favourite in the sequence of novels, Playing for the Ashes, it's solidly in the upper tier of the now-16-book series. The mystery is well thought out, and it was not until the last 50 pages or so of this very long (692 pages!) book that I began to form an opinion as to who done it and why; the characters are all distinct and very human; and the motives all ring true. Very highly recommended!