Summary: A Suitable Vengance (Inspector Lynley #4) by Elizabeth George
Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley,
8th Earl of Asherton, has brought to Howenstow, his ancestral home, the woman
he wishes to marry. But the savage murder of a local journalist soon becomes
the catalyst for a lethal series of events which shatters the calm of the
picturesque Cornish community (copied from Goodreads).
Book Review: A Suitable Vengance
When journalist Mick Cambrey is found dead, castrated,
local opinion is that he got what was coming to him. Inspector Lynley of
Scotland Yard investigates the murder in his hometown Howenstow where he knows
everybody from his childhood. As the investigation proceeds another murder occurs.
A
Suitable Vengance is the fourth book by Elizabeth
George about Inspector Lynley and I listened to an audio edition of it published
by Bantam Audio Publishing of 1991. I jumped right into A
Suitable Vengance and I felt it worked well as a standalone. I am curious
what happened to Lynley in the 3 previous installments. In this early release Havers
only makes a brief “guest appearance” working with the local investigator. She has
not met Lynley at this point.
The story
is set in and around idyllic Cornish village of Howenstow. He takes on the
investigation assisted by Simon St James. As they are outside their jurisdiction,
they are not working in any real professional capacity; more or less as private
citizens when investigating the murder of Mick Cambrey.
The plot of A Suitable Vengance has a number of fascinating elements. We get to read about cocaine trafficking, experiments with cancer drugs, cross dressing, posh lifestyle and complicated, bad relationships.
Main character is Inspector Thomas Lynley, 8th Lord Asherton who is heir to the Howenstow estate, has a seriously complicated relationship with his estranged mother following her infidelity. Fortunately as the story progressed, they both to become a little more mature about the incident.
Secondary character
Peter Lynley is Inspector Lynley’s younger brother who is a drop out of Oxford.
He is addicted to cocaine and lives from one fix to the next. I felt very sorry
for him as he felt abandoned by his older brother when very young and kind of
gave up on his own life.
To choose a favorite character in this story feels hard. Thomas seemed to be the hero and Peter more of tragic character. My least favorite I think was the first victim’s father Harry Cambrey, who was creating and trying to keep up a lie about his son to shield the family from prejudice.
My favorite part of the plot was descriptions of the posh
lifestyle of the Lynleys. Reminiscent of environments from Downton Abbey set in
a crime fiction story. It included everything from dinner parties and big
social events to descriptions of the manor house itself.
Fans of Elizabeth George would love A Suitable Vengance, as would readers of crime fiction.
Similar authors to explore might be Louise Penny or P.D. James.
Thank you to Kristiansand Public Libraray
for providing me with this audio CD edition of A
Suitable Vengance, which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review.
All opinions in this review are completely my own.
My rating: 4 stars / 5
Main
reasons: exiting plot, great character development, surprise ending
Get your copy here
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. Check out author's website: http://www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com/
