Book Review: A Banquet of Consequences (Inspector Lynley #19) by Elizabeth George

Summary:  A Banquet of Consequences (Inspector Lynley #19)

 

The unspoken secrets and buried lies of one family rise to the surface in Elizabeth George’s newest novel of crime, passion, and tragic history. As Inspector Thomas Lynley investigates the London angle of an ever more darkly disturbing case, his partner, Barbara Havers, is looking behind the peaceful façade of country life to discover a twisted world of desire and deceit.

 
The suicide of William Goldacre is devastating to those left behind who will have to deal with its unintended consequences—could there be a link between the young man’s leap from a Dorset cliff and a horrific poisoning in Cambridge?
 
After various issues with her department, Barbara Havers is desperate to redeem herself. So when a past encounter gives her a connection to the unsolved Cambridge murder, Barbara begs Thomas Lynley to let her pursue the crime, knowing one mistake could mean the end of her career.
 
Full of shocks, intensity, and suspense from the first page to the last, A Banquet of Consequences reveals both Lynley and Havers under mounting pressure to solve a case both complicated and deeply disturbing.

Review of a Banquet of Consequences

When well known feminist, author and lecturer Clare Abbott gets poisoned, Lynley and Havers have to investigate both in London and Dorset. There seems to be connections to the suicide of William Goldacre. Dark and disturbing secrets within his family come to light.

Following William Goldacre suicide, there is a series of consequences. Dysfunctions in his family come into a glaring focus impossible to ignore. They all seem to suffer. The mother Caroline Goldacre works as PA to the murder victim. Controlling behavior and paranoid thinking is severely interfering with her work. She acts more like a gate keeper than assistant. Clare acts very forgiving about this. People wonder why she doesn’t simply fire Caroline but she keeps her on, even gives her more responsibilities.  

Through a combination of coloring outside the lines and taking advantage of connections, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers lands herself in the murder investigation. But she is not too chuffed with having Detective Sergeant Winston Nkata watching her every move and reporting to Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley the very moment she gets creative.

Reads like a combination of several timelines related to the plot, which my methodical self really appreciates a lot. There is a really thorough introduction leading up to the actual crime taking place. The sheer size of this work allows for detailed descriptions which I enjoy a lot.

The hilarious interaction between police secretary Dorothea Harriman and Barbara Havers I find beyond entertaining. Dorothea wants to contribute to Barbara meeting men, which in turn is supposed to help make her relax more and be a better police sergeant.
It’s funny and entertaining in the middle of this serious plot the way she is portrayed as a loose cannon who has a history of interpreting her orders, bending the rules and sidestepping police regulations. She achieves good results, but in the end there have been so many problems that she ends up on superior’s transfer list.

Di Lynley: seems to be all business for most of this story, having been instructed by his superior to keep DS Havers on the straight and narrow at all times. He is occupied with the London end of the investigation as well as closely and carefully managing DS Havers to make sure she goes by the book. But I enjoyed the parts where there are descriptions of his feelings and thoughts about his personal life, having been a widower for18 months.

The writing itself I find a wonderful use of the English language. Very few comes to mind that manage to express themselves in super enjoyable writing like this. The development of the plot is balanced out with funny dialog and interactions between characters.
I really enjoy when DS Haves jokes about Inspector Lynley having such a posh car. She thinks it’s so expensive; he keeps a teenager to polish the dust from the bonnet.
I also really enjoy that the plot is set in London and British countryside, with environmental descriptions to match.

The clues were so carefully laid out that I felt completely in the dark as to who the culprit might be. Expertly done I think. This work contained a large number of elements. So many, in fact, it muddied the waters for me. I was unable to distinguish the important clues from the less important ones. When the culprit was found and I thought the case was solved, yet another surprising twist was sprung on me. That made for an unusual end to the story.

There is an interesting story line about DS Havers continuing to book #20, which I think readers will enjoy. I have read it, and I certainly did. It feels like reading a teaser for the next book. It’s on my radar partly because I’m curious how DS Havers will get on in future.

This book is highly recommended for fans of Elizabeth George’s other work and readers of historical fiction.

All opinions in this review are my own.

My rating: 5 stars / 5

Book Details:

Print Length: 577 pages
Publisher: Viking (October 27, 2015)
Publication Date: October 27, 2015
Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B00L9B7CGE

About The Author

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 in Washington State.
To learn more about the author, visit: http://www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com/biography.htm