Careless in Red

From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. 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. 10-city author tour. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist You can’t keep a good detective down. George has put longtime series hero Detective Superintendent Thomas Lynley of New Scotland Yard through quite a bit lately: in her last novel, With No One as Witness (2005), Lynley’s much-loved wife was shot to death on the street, reducing him to a grief-stricken shell andxa0leading to his resignation from the Yard. How to resurrect him? George uses a pretty klunky (but familiar to all mystery fans) deus ex machina device. Lynley has embarked on a walk along the coastal path in Cornwall; his rationale is that if he doesn’t keep moving, despair will overtake him. Sure enough, on day 43 of his walk, he spots, far below, what seems to his trained eye to bexa0the vivid red and crumpled shape of a man who has plunged to his death. The machine creaks into place, with Lynley (whose walk has made him appear like a homeless man) being treated as a suspect, then with grudging respect from the local, bumbling constabulary, and finally as someone his old associate Barbara Havers of New Scotland Yard seeks to restore to his post. Despite the obvious restoration device, George delivers, once again, a mystery imbued with psychological suspense and in-depth characterization. --Connie Fletcher “One of the most powerful, beautifully nuanced and honest novels to appear in ages. . . . A portrayal of love and loss and secrets and family . . . I didn’t want it to end. When it does, this time most readers will be smiling.” — Plain Dealer (Cleveland) “Will make new readers instant fans who will then be tempted to read all of George’s Lynley novels.” — USA Today “One of George’s best books in years. . . . George plays the cross-eddies of a dozen or so characters, making each so vivid. . . . The return is to be immersed in a small village in Cornwall in which everyone’s life becomes an open book.” — Daily News (New York) “A tale of fathers and son, of revenge served cold, and perhaps, of the perfect crime. But at its heart, it’s a meditation on the importance of fighting every day for even a single, tiny scrap of redemption.” — Times-Picayune (New Orleans) “Readers who value writing that is intelligent, surprising, sexy, funny, compassionate and wise should find Careless in Red a delight.” — Washington Post “As is her wont, George will wrench your heart and return it enriched.” — Richmond Times-Dispatch “Stick with Careless in Red for the deftly drawn local characters, the alluring descriptions of Cornish country and custom, and for a fiendishly clever surprising ending.” — News & Observer (Raleigh) “Elizabeth George’s Careless in Red is a mystery wrapped in a psychological enigma, which has become true to form for Ms. George....the classic scene of her favorite detective team probing the whys and hows of violent death, yet she has put a twist in that trail....It’s a chaotic and fascinating mix of the kind of which Ms. George excels and she manages to tantalize the reader....Ms. George has outdone herself.” — Washington Times “ Careless in Red is no mere whodunnit. Everyone in this novel has something to hide and something to admit....George lifts us up again. There is hope of renewal, if only we are strong enough to accept it.” — St. Petersburg Times “Intricate, deeply satisfying.” — Strand magazine “As readers of George’s top-notch mysteries have come to expect, the plotlines are dense, the characters complex, and there are enough dark secrets to fill Pandora’s box.” — Christian Science Monitor In her most eagerly anticipated novel yet, Elizabeth George brings back Scotland Yard's Thomas Lynley to investigate a ruthless crime. After the senseless murder of his wife, Detective Superintendent Thomas Lynley retreated to Cornwall, where he has spent six solitary weeks hiking the bleak and rugged coastline. But no matter how far he walks, no matter how exhausting his days, the painful memories of Helen's death do not diminish. On the forty-third day of his walk, at the base of a cliff, Lynley discovers the body of a young man who appears to have fallen to his death. The closest town, better known for its tourists and its surfing than its intrigue, seems an unlikely place for murder. However, it soon becomes apparent that a clever killer is indeed at work, and this time Lynley is not a detective but a witness and possibly a suspect. The head of the vastly understaffed local police department needs Lynley's help, though, especially when it comes to the mysterious, secretive woman whose cottage lies not far from where the body was discovered. But can Lynley let go of the past long enough to solve a most devious and carefully planned crime? Elizabeth George is the New York Times bestselling author of sixteen 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 in Washington State. Read more