More worried about her career, she ludicrously accuses him of dirty tricks. In her desire to keep the crime a secret, Eve enlists Lynley's close friends to investigate quietly - including his fiancee, Lady Helen Clyde. The results of their inquiry, and the fallout when Lynley learns he has been kept in the dark, give the suspenseful story an extra layer of impassioned tension. For the first time, there's even a hint of a romantic subplot for Lynley's homely partner, the ever-gloomy Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers. Newcomers to the series should be aware that patience is required to savor George's overwrought, overripe prose.
Characters ache deeply and articulate at length.
The plotting can be similarly and maddeningly diffuse. One crucial piece of evidence is hinted at but not returned to for nearly 70 pages. Elegant and unsettling, classy and caustic, this is a big, fat page-turner with unusual breadth and generous depth.