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A Great Deliverance

(Inspector Lynley #1)

Elizabeth George (Goodreads Author)

4.05 · Rating details · 40,865 ratings · 1,866 reviews

To this day, the low, thin wail of an infant can be heard in Keldale's lush green valleys. Three hundred years ago, as legend goes, the frightened Yorkshire villagers smothered a crying babe in Keldale Abbey, where they'd hidden to escape the ravages of Cromwell's raiders.

Now into Keldale's pastoral web of old houses and older secrets comes Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas L ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 413 pages

Published June 1989 by Bantam Books (first published May 1988)

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Aug 19, 2017 Phrynne rated it it was amazing

This is a series I have been meaning to start for ages and I am so glad I have got around to it at last! This book is great! It has everything I like in a mystery.
1. A really attractive, talented, charismatic main character who knows exactly what he is doing. And so far he does not appear to be an alcoholic or have any other unappealing trait as most MCs in crime books do these days. (although as this book was written in 1988 nearly everyone smokes all the time)
2. Due also to the date it was wri ...more

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Apr 14, 2018 Christine rated it really liked it

Shelves: police-procedural-fbi, british, 1st-of-series

This is a novel that had been sitting on my tbr list for some time. Though the idea of picking it up really peaked my interest, I think the fact that a number of books in the series are quite long put me off. Since I’m retired, I finally figured if I was ever going to read long books, now’s the time.

This is a terrific British tale, surprisingly written by an American author. Elizabeth George is a wonderful writer. Her prose is reminiscent of old-time British writing, though not as stilted. Ever This is a novel that had been sitting on my tbr list for some time. Though the idea of picking it up really peaked my interest, I think the fact that a number of books in the series are quite long put me off. Since I’m retired, I finally figured if I was ever going to read long books, now’s the time.

This is a terrific British tale, surprisingly written by an American author. Elizabeth George is a wonderful writer. Her prose is reminiscent of old-time British writing, though not as stilted. Every page or so contains a word I was unfamiliar with, and I loved using the kindle dictionary to learn the definitions. I really didn’t find this to be a flow-breaker as the book moves along at a relatively leisurely pace as it is; furthermore, many of these words have meanings that are clear in the context they are used, so one really doesn’t need a dictionary to understand the content.

Characterization is outstanding. Our protagonist, Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley, is also the eighth earl of Asherton. He is newly paired with Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers who has difficulty getting along with others and low self esteem. As they pair up in an effort to discover the truth about a number of unfortunate occurrences in rural England, we learn their fascinating back stories and see them attempt to form some sort of working relationship. This tale has a large cast. I did have a bit of trouble remembering who was who, so was happy I was reading on the kindle with its helpful “search” button.

The author has a real handle on delivering imagery to the reader. I feel like I grasped a true sense of the British countryside in this novel.

The plot is captivating. There are quite a few threads and threadlets to keep track of, but all came together beautifully at the end. I would, however, have liked the pace of the final revelations to have been slower so that I could better savor the unraveling of the puzzles.

Ms. George makes liberal use of Shakespearian references. This will be a delight for Shakespeare lovers. Alas, I have never been much of a fan of his so feel I missed out a bit here.

I found A Great Deliverance engaging enough to continue on with the series. In fact, if not for a ridiculously late spring blizzard, I would have immediately trekked down to the library for a copy of book 2. Oh well, that will be a book I can look forward to on another day. I highly recommend A Great Deliverance to all lovers of British crime stories with great characterization and sense of place.
...more

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Jul 24, 2009 Lewis Weinstein rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime-and-thrillers

UPDATE 2/1/17 ...

I found "A Great Deliverance" as outstanding on second read as I did the first time around. My 5***** rating remains unchanged.

George's ability to present an evolving and developing character is outstanding for any genre, but even more so for a mystery story, where character is often far subordinate to plot. This is especially true of the characters who continue in George's series but also for the the main one-off's. We don't ever get it all at once, but in pieces, each one add UPDATE 2/1/17 ...

I found "A Great Deliverance" as outstanding on second read as I did the first time around. My 5***** rating remains unchanged.

George's ability to present an evolving and developing character is outstanding for any genre, but even more so for a mystery story, where character is often far subordinate to plot. This is especially true of the characters who continue in George's series but also for the the main one-off's. We don't ever get it all at once, but in pieces, each one adding to what builds into a nuanced understanding of the character's strengths and weaknesses.

George also has a great facility for moving quickly from one venue/character to another while always assuring the reader does not lose the thread of the story. This avoids ever having scenes which are too long. We are always dealing with a fresh aspect of the story.

Finally, a criticism, sort of. George's descriptions of places is superb, but I think she sometimes overdoes it with unnecessary detail, which I usually skimmed.

PREVIOUS COMMENTS ...

This is the first of the Lynley-Havers stories, and also the first that I am re-reading. I hope I don't remember too much of the plot (it's been 10 years at least) but my real purpose in re-reading is to study George's writing techniques. Her use of setting, development of character, and plot surprises, among other elements, are superb. For fans of Elizabeth George who are also writers, I recommend Write Away: One Novelist's Approach to Fiction and the Writing Life.

George unfolds the layers of a complicated story in a way that builds the emotion and tension but never leaves the reader confused. There are many characters whose roles keep evolving, but George always gives the reader the 2-3 words that assure you always know the connection of the character to previous points in the story. (NOTE: This contrasts so vividly with books like Wolf Hall and The Casual Vacancy (first half) where the authors make no such effort and the reader is often left adrift.)

Much of the emotion in "A Great Deliverance" comes from the relationship between Lynley and Havers, as each helps the other deal with debilitating attitudes that threaten their personal and professional futures.

I didn't realize until very recently that this was George's first novel. Wow! ...more

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Jun 17, 2015 Margitte rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015-read, drama, fiction, murder, mystery, american-author, reviewed, crime-novel, detective-story, british-novels

OFFICIAL BLURB

To this day, the low, thin wail of an infant can be heard in Keldale's lush green valleys. Three hundred years ago, as legend goes, the frightened Yorkshire villagers smothered a crying babe in Keldale Abbey, where they'd hidden to escape the ravages of Cromwell's raiders.

Now into Keldale's pastoral web of old houses and older secrets comes Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley, the eighth earl of Asherton. Along with the redoubtable Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, Lynley has be

...more

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Dec 21, 2010 Idarah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I initially saw the television adaptation of this book on PBS Mystery!. I was moved by the dark, Yorkshire setting and the budding friendship of Lynley and Havers. It had such a gritty conclusion, that I went to the library the next day and checked out the next book in the series. That was almost 9 years ago! After finishing book six in the series last year, I felt it was time to read the book that started it all.

I can't believe I waited so long! Thus far, this my favorite book in the series! F I initially saw the television adaptation of this book on PBS Mystery!. I was moved by the dark, Yorkshire setting and the budding friendship of Lynley and Havers. It had such a gritty conclusion, that I went to the library the next day and checked out the next book in the series. That was almost 9 years ago! After finishing book six in the series last year, I felt it was time to read the book that started it all.

I can't believe I waited so long! Thus far, this my favorite book in the series! From the beginning, there's an onslaught of disappointments and ghosts among the protagonists. Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, who has recently been demoded to a uniform policewoman, is put back into the detective role when a "delicate" case is brought before Scotland Yard. To her utter horror, she is partnered with the infamous Inspector Thomas Lynley. Apart from having a well-known reputation as a rogue, he also happens to be the eight earl of Asherton, which only widens the barrier between the staunch, blue collar Barbara. He isn't his usual carefree self either. He's just watched his best friend marry his ex-fiance and seen them off on their honeymoon.

The case? Set your mind to the gray, windy moors of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. There, in the sleepy Yorkshire village of Keldale, a respectable farmer and his dog are found decapitated inside a barn. Seated next to the headless body, is the farmer's daughter. Found in her best dress and an axe in her lap, her only words when she is found are "I did it. And I'm not sorry." Open and shut case? I think not! The village priest and locals maintain that as sweet and caring as she was, Roberta Teys couldn't have possibly murdered her own father in such a brutal way.

What follows is a careful investigation into dark closets and past sins. What makes this book so much more than a Scotland Yard mystery is George's ability to marry historical and literary elements with the here and now. It's amazing! I didn't expect to find so many allusions to Shakespeare and the Brontes, or that they would be critical to understanding the whole case. Check this book out sometime. If you don't have the patience, I recommend the BBC's The Inspector Lynley Mysteries television series.
...more

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Aug 29, 2016 Melindam rated it did not like it

Shelves: meh, bleak-thriller, crime-detective-fiction, why-oh-why-did-i-bother

For me, the author's Inspector Lynley series checks all the boxes why I give "modern" detective fiction a wide berth.

1) useless, mind-numbingly boring navel-gazing of the detectives for 290 pages out of 400 - CHECK
2) (as a consequence of 1) story moving at a drunken snail's pace - CHECK
3) (as a consequence of 1 & 2) there's hardly any info about the ongoing investigation - CHECK
4) (as a consequence of 1 & 3) almost non-existent police procedurals - CHECK

Personally, I also could not find any trac ...more

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Nov 20, 2011 Icewineanne rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-crime, mystery-pub-bookclub, 2018-bayb

A 61 yr old farmer lies in his barn, brutally murdered, his head chopped off......the head lying a few yards from the body, where it had rolled after being severed. His grossly obese daughter sits beside his headless body, seated on a stool, holding the bloody axe that killed him and says “I did it. I’m not sorry.” Or did she......?

Two unlikely detectives from New Scotland Yard are paired together to solve the case. Inspector 'Lord Asherton’ Lynley is a wealthy upper class handsome man, while Se ...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Richard Derus rated it really liked it

Rating: 4 solid stars of five

The Publisher Says: To this day, the low, thin wail of an infant can be heard in Keldale's lush green valleys. Three hundred years ago, as legend goes, the frightened Yorkshire villagers smothered a crying babe in Keldale Abbey, where they'd hidden to escape the ravages of Cromwell's raiders.

Now into Keldale's pastoral web of old houses and older secrets comes Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley, the eighth earl of Asherton. Along with the redoubtable Detective Ser ...more

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Feb 20, 2009 Nicole rated it liked it

Shelves: borrowed-loaned, mystery-contemp-british

Mixed feelings on this one.
Lynley and Havers are fascinating characters, complex and marvelously well-drawn (except for one somewhat gratuitous Lynley interlude). I love the way Havers is allowed to express her resentment and how her inbred distrust and dislike of nobility is thwarted by Lynley's compassion and decency.
There are some interesting secondary characters, as well, my favourite being the little girl, Bridie, and her pet duck, Dougal.
However, at times the book is too description-hea ...more

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May 29, 2014 Mary Beth rated it really liked it

I finished this book last night and I was filled with mixed emotions. After reading this I thought Is it O.K. to murder someone? Even though I could never do this, I now have a different view on this question. The ending was just full of horror. It was almost too much for me to handle. I really did like the book though.
This book starts out with Inspector Lynley of Scotland Yard in a village of Keldale, investigating a murder there with Sergeant Barbara Havers. Sergeant Havers gets demoted from ...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Jennifer rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, library-loan, read-2012

I was surprised to dislike this book intensely. I'd not read (or seen) any Inspector Lynley and I was expecting to enjoy this tale of an aristocrat police detective. It's the first in the series and sometimes the first outing is not the best whilst an author is establishing characters but I am really not sure I can bear to try another unless the author has been given a sound talking-to and promised to reform. It has left my teeth feeling as if the enamel has been stripped off.

I can cut the plot ...more

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Jul 27, 2018 Allison rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: award-winner, published-1980s, series-i-dropped, setting-britain-ireland, series-episodic, mystery, detectives, setting-1900s, first-in-series, adult-content

First the superficial. I'm having a hard time getting over how annoying a couple of the characters were. The horribly caricatured American tourist was too much - I ended up skipping any passage with him. And felt he was completely unnecessary to the plot. It's difficult to enjoy a book when you have such antipathy to ridiculous characters.

I did like Lynley, but his partner... I'm sure that she will get better as the series progresses, but did she really have to shriek and shrill so much? And sh ...more

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Oct 11, 2016 Anuradha rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Everyone!

Recommended to Anuradha by: Aarnima

Shelves: ankles-are-sexy, favourites, in-your-closet-in-your-head, masters-of-the-macabre, badass-women, ghosts, travel, drama-drama-drama, literary-realism, ro-ro-romance

I've been in a book slump for the longest time. Well, I've been in a slump in general, for the longest time. I'd been having "one of those days" for the past couple of weeks, and this book got me out of it.

I was apprehensive about starting this book after the disappointment that was J.D. Robb, but this did not disappoint. Elizabeth George is an exceptional writer. She pens what seems, from the onset, a cosy mystery, a la Ms. Marple or the likes, but gradually turns out to be something much dark I've been in a book slump for the longest time. Well, I've been in a slump in general, for the longest time. I'd been having "one of those days" for the past couple of weeks, and this book got me out of it.

I was apprehensive about starting this book after the disappointment that was J.D. Robb, but this did not disappoint. Elizabeth George is an exceptional writer. She pens what seems, from the onset, a cosy mystery, a la Ms. Marple or the likes, but gradually turns out to be something much darker and more sinister. She takes time to build her characters, and the story itself; she has the knack of portraying her characters as realistic, rather than as empty shells of people merely existing to progress the story. Each of her characters have both good and bad attributes to them; you can't really hate any of them. This book marks the introduction of the characters that spawned the popular PBS detective series based on the titular Inspector Lynley, and his friends and foes. Inspector Lynely is the proverbial prodigal son, the golden boy - Eton-and-Oxford educated, attractive, and an Earl, no less. Reputed for his impeccable suits as much as for his skills as a cop, he is paired with the frumpish, difficult, and self-loathing Sgt. Barbara Havers. Havers is, as it is always in tales like this, the polar opposite of Lynley. Think Andy Sachs from The Devil Wears Prada, but as a cop. Thirty year old Barb lives with her parents on the "wrong side of Acton" in utter mediocrity. Her parents are, it seems from the beginning, slightly crazy. Also weak and frail, both physically and emotionally. The reasons, of course, are mentioned later in the novel, but one can't but wonder...

Due to her innate inability to work well with others, she was demoted from the CID, but is paired with our good Inspector to travel to the beautiful countryside of York to solve what seems to be the gruesome murder of a man by his daughter. Eager to prove her chops, she sets out to perform reasonably well during the course of the investigation, only to, for lack of a better word, fuck up, because of her bitterness and anger. That is not to say that she doesn't do her bit for the case; she does. If I had to fault Ms. George for anything, it would be for Barb's excruciatingly annoying inner monologue. Barb is not only self-deprecating, she also hates everyone and everything else in the world. While I would forgive such bitterness in a 16 year-old, it doesn't bode well with me when the character is about twice that age. Having said that, I also kind of understand where the self-loathing comes from, so I don't completely blame her. Also in the novel, are newly-weds Simon and Deborah St. James, characters that I came to adore; similar were my feelings towards Lady Helen Clyde, Lynley's special lady friend. Ms. George teaches you that with a little help from your friends, anything is possible. Even apprehending a "cold-blooded killer". Wonderfully interwoven with references and elements from popular gothic novels, especially the Bronte novels, A Great Deliverance hits all the right notes. There is, of course, also the curious incident of the dog at the nighttime.

There is definite comic relief provided in the novel, by way of Hank and JoJo somethingortheother, two over the top, crass Americans totally taken by the "English charm" and looking for the "verified, certified poop" about everything they come across. Ms. George plays wonderfully with the dry elements of British humour that I have come to love in such novels. It's hard to believe that she's actually American. There's elements of goth and horror in the book, also, but in its essence, the book remains a classic whodunit that will leave you saying "damn, I could've seen that coming, but I didn't." ...more

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Sep 14, 2010 James rated it did not like it

Shelves: fiction, crime

I wavered between strongly disliking this book, actively despising the author and reading it in a compulsive how could this get any worse kind of way.

The plot in brief: a lord who for reasons unknown works in scotland yard is paired up with a working class police woman to solve a grisly decapitation in Yorkshire.

I understand some suspension of belief is par for the course when you read a crime thriller and that the depth of character plotting is not a universal strength of the genre. But there ...more

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Feb 08, 2017 Panda Incognito rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2017, mystery-suspense

Surely a great next step in my exploration of the mystery genre would be to read a book by the great Elizabeth George, right? Nope.

This was the most atrocious book I have ever read. The novel started off badly enough, with no central character's journey to follow and a series of disjointed, head-hopping scenes. About halfway through, the story started to pull together, but we'd still take lurching jaunts off into the utterly boring and irrelevant backstory and activities of minor characters who ...more

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Apr 08, 2008 Jude rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

Don't let the public television series distract you - they mostly just took the names and killed off most of the players.

For a treat and a journey that only your willingness NOT to read reviews can preserve, begin here at the beginning. The arc of personal story that runs behind the crimes and through the novels is truly wonderful, and her brilliant portrayal of race and class issues builds to the truly startling "With No One As Witness" and the revelatory "What Came Before He Shot Her."

George ...more

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May 29, 2009 Lobstergirl rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction, mystery-thriller

In this, the first Inspector Lynley mystery, Elizabeth George unrolls a particularly hideous plot and typically unappealing supporting cast of characters. Even our main characters, Lynley and Havers, are unappealing; Lynley is a serious slut who apparently will bed down with any redhaired woman and who crippled his best friend in a drunk driving accident, and Havers is shapeless yet also barrel-shaped and has tiny pig eyes. Oh, and Lynley is blond. (In my mind he became antiques expert identical ...more

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Jan 26, 2010 Lisa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mysteries-and-thrillers

Goodness Gracious, I love this series. Elizabeth George is, in my opinion, the best mystery writer alive today. The ending hits you like a slap and yet you're left wondering how in the world you never saw it coming. Of course THAT was what was happening! But Elizabeth George is a master manipulator and character constructor. There are few characters in literature I enjoy more than Barbara Havers and Sir Thomas Lynley. The ins and outs of their relationship over the course of this series is enthr ...more

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Sep 26, 2018 C. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: riedel-titles-2018

I usually dock a star if an animal is killed because that is always needless. The reasoning in this police case was especially preposterous. No would disagree that a million other distractions could have been devised for a human murder; not by committing an animal's. That was the most disturbing fiction, in a very domestically disturbing novel. However this mystery, its characters, their compassion, and personal histories are so stunningly well-written that five stars are amply earned.... as is ...more

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May 24, 2019 Obsidian rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-library-books, booklikes-opoly, favorites

Wow. Just wow. So going to say first off that this book starts off slow. I found myself getting bored with Inspector Lynley and with Havers. Lynley felt too distance and Havers started driving me mad with her self-sabotage. But the more we get into the case that has them in their grips the more I wanted to keep reading. It took me getting to almost 40 percent though before I became seriously engrossed in this one. The characters we are introduced too had me wanting to know more (Lady Helen, Debo Wow. Just wow. So going to say first off that this book starts off slow. I found myself getting bored with Inspector Lynley and with Havers. Lynley felt too distance and Havers started driving me mad with her self-sabotage. But the more we get into the case that has them in their grips the more I wanted to keep reading. It took me getting to almost 40 percent though before I became seriously engrossed in this one. The characters we are introduced too had me wanting to know more (Lady Helen, Deborah, St. James, etc.) and we know that there is more of a story than the one that Havers wants to believe. We also have the mystery that takes a while to unfold. The ending shocked me and I loved Lynley for being an avenging angel, at least in words.

"A Great Deliverance" follows Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sargeant Barbara Havers as they go to investigate who decapitated a man living in Keldare. Though the man's daughter is accused of the crime many say that it's not possible that she did it. So Lynley and Havers start combing through the dead man's life and find out that there are a lot of things that don't add up.

So I really liked Lynley after a while. George starts off giving you Havers impressions of him and the rumors, but you start to realize that what you think of him doesn't really add up. And the same goes for Havers. She seems hell-bent on ruining her reputation and forever being in uniform. She has good instincts but is reluctant to let anyone in. She believes she was given a second chance with Lynley since she's so unattractive he would not try anything with her. Though Havers resists at first, she and Lynley actually work very well together.

The secondary characters are wonderful. I loved the characters of Deborah and St. James and I wish we had gotten an inkling on how they wound up together. Lady Helen is great and though I thought at first she was in love with Lynley, it does not appear to be so. They seem to be very good friends though so I wonder if she will show up in future books. Though we don't get to really know much about Roberta Teys (the woman accused of murdering her father) we do hear a lot about her via other characters. I can't get into much without spoilers, but definitely enjoyed how George had that character revealed to not only Lynley and Havers, but to readers just via the surroundings that Lynley and Havers observed and what was told to them.

I did enjoy the main plot in this one and how George lets the story sit with you and then little kernels are thrown out here and there until the final reveal was very well done. It felt a bit like Louise Penny's older Inspector Gamache books.

I did enjoy the writing. George does set a scene. I could picture everyone in my mind and the setting of Keldare very well. The flow was hard going though. It was a bit tough to get through the first 30 percent of this book. I found myself getting bored here and there and wanting to just DNF it. I am so glad I kept up with it though. The secrets that start to unravel, the things we as readers are able to find out are great. I do like the fact that we are privy to some aspects of Lynley that Havers is not.

The setting of Keldare at times felt wonderful and then oppressive depending on where Havers and Lynley were. The old farmhouse gave me the creeps as did several places where the characters traveled. You get why later on in the book though, but I did love the atmosphere that George presents.

The ending was wonderful and I think I would have had words with [redacted] too. Definitely going to check out the second book in this series when I get a chance. ...more

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Aug 20, 2017 Andrea rated it did not like it

I had the terrible misfortune of reading this book this weekend, and I fervently wish that I could unread it so I could have two days of my life back. You, too, could read it, if you want the nonstop sex of a Law & Order: SVU, the shocking ickyness of a V.C. Andrews, and the fascinating character development of a basket of sock puppets.

This aggravating novel stars:
- Man Too Rich and Sexy For His Own Good (Who Can't Have the Woman of His Dreams :( boohoo)
- Stubborn Woman With No Sex Appeal and Th ...more

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Apr 29, 2020 Jeff Dickison rated it it was amazing

To me, this book has one of the most astonishing conclusions that I have ever read. The first 90% of the book is a fairly good English murder/mystery, but not amazing literature. The last 10% grabs you by the throat and just shakes you. Oustanding, fantastic, unbelievable, and in a debut novel. I did not see any of this foreshadowed in the story, although in retrospect all the clues are there. Wow! Highly recommended to anyone who can handle adult literature.

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Feb 14, 2018 Laurie • The Baking Bookworm rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

3.5 STARS - I picked up this mystery because Elizabeth George is one of the authors that had escaped me over the years. Too many authors and not enough time.

I knew next to nothing about this series and didn't know what to expect for characters, locale or time frame. What I got was a murder mystery with wonderfully complex, well-drawn, yet flawed main characters in Lynley and Havers. I enjoyed the contrast between aristocratic Lynley paired with chip-on-her-shoulder, working class Havers. They e ...more

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Jul 17, 2018 Janice rated it really liked it

Shelves: mysteries, audio-books, 2018-reads, suspense, series-starred, book-for-all-seasons, favorite-series-2018, new-series-2018

This was my second read of this novel, my first time having been over 20 years ago, in the mid 1990’s. For some reason I did not find it a particularly engaging read at that time, but have been reading good reviews of more recent additions to the series. So I had been thinking I might start the series again and see if I enjoyed it more now. And then a “challenge” in the group A Book for All Seasons was presented, to re-read a book one had read at least one year ago, and not particularly liked, a ...more

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Sep 23, 2018 Ellen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: my-favorites, elizabeth-george, inspectors-lynley-havers

A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George.

A book like this comes along perhaps once in a lifetime. Each character so intense with emotional depth adding to the story that creates an atmosphere impossible to abandon. I was unable to turn away from the characters and the story they brought to life with the turning of each page. I must thank another reader/reviewer for recommending this author.

Inspector Lynley has been assigned CID Barbara Havers to accompany him on this case. Pairing these two perso ...more

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Jul 15, 2020 Carol rated it it was amazing

I read this book as well as the entire series over a period of 30 years and loved each and every one of them. I was really great to revisit with my ‘old friends”. The supposed killer…Roberta Teys, a silent, obese adolescent…gives Lizzie Borden a run for her money here even though she did the job in less than 40 whacks. She says she did it and “I’m not sorry”. So end of mystery right? No way! We are only getting started. I have always loved the character of Inspector Lynley while finding Barbara ...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Larry Bassett rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, crime

This is my first Elizabeth George and is part of my search for women authors with feminist protagonists. In this case it will be the second in command protagonist, not, on the face of it, the most- promising start in finding a strong, independent woman. I am defining feminist as someone who supports and works toward equal rights and opportunities for women. I am interested in the development of the relationship between the two main characters. There is a tension and occasional antagonism between ...more

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Mar 30, 2008 Nikki Nielsen rated it really liked it

As exhausted as I am, Elizabeth George has managed to hold my attention into the wee hours of the morning. That, in itself, says something.

I was surprised to learn, after finishing this book, that the author is American. I have read a great deal of British Mysteries, and I have to say she does it well. I learned this about her after reading the book, because I never read the inside cover or back of a book until I have finished. I don't like to start out with pre-conceptions. I like to be surpris ...more

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Dec 05, 2009 Amanda Patterson rated it really liked it

Elizabeth George tells a wonderful tale; crafted as carefully as an elaborate quilt. She deserves the accolades she’s received, including the Anthony & Agatha Best First Novel in the USA for A Great Deliverance.
I’ve read all of her novels and recommend this for all lovers of crime fiction and good writing. If she weren’t boxed into a genre, her novels would be considered for more than the usual crime prizes.

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Dec 17, 2012 Marie-Jo Fortis rated it really liked it

Mysteries no longer seem mysterious. At least the ones that have fallen into my hands in the past few years.

What the hell do you mean? will be the retort of the critical friend. A non-mysterious mystery? And then, a glance will follow with this implication, criticism now tinted with concern: Marie-Jo must have hit her head on a real hard surface. Main be it’s time for brain surgery.

Before I am being taken to the hospital, however, let me explain. I believe that what has been placed on the fo Mysteries no longer seem mysterious. At least the ones that have fallen into my hands in the past few years.

What the hell do you mean? will be the retort of the critical friend. A non-mysterious mystery? And then, a glance will follow with this implication, criticism now tinted with concern: Marie-Jo must have hit her head on a real hard surface. Main be it’s time for brain surgery.

Before I am being taken to the hospital, however, let me explain. I believe that what has been placed on the forefront this past decade or so is the technical novel. This type of crime fiction centered on police procedure, forensics, etc., chooses action over introspection. The prose is precise; the pace, never slow but always controlled. What’s wrong with that? Absolutely nothing, except that, devoid of explorative psychology, these books are basically interchangeable. And, honestly, a bit cold. Brr...

For, more often than not, they also dismiss flesh and bones. Well, duh. The critical friend is back, I see. Isn’t that what a murderer does? Eliminate life — flesh and bones? Murderers are allowed, I want to say. I don’t know if authors should be given that permission. If an author is too vague about her characters’ physiognomies, she is also a murderer in some way: she kills an essential part of creativity —its backbone, in my opinion. For this descriptive part alone can take fiction to greater intricacies than the just mentioned cold, technical novel. Ah, yes, but we do live in a cold, technical society, and this affects writing. But writing can affect societies as well. Bring back the flesh, bring back the bones, bring back the colors. Think of the famous Hercules Poirot’s mustache, which underlines his vanity, and an arrogance that Agatha Christie ridicules, despite the fact that he is one of most brilliant fictional detectives of all times. Remember also Poirot’s oh-so-gentle voice, which makes him sneaky and just a bit snaky. Dangerous to his prey which, we are happy to know, will be a killer.

That’s where Elizabeth George, who writes in the tradition of the grande dame of crime, comes in. In A Great Deliverance, the character makes the mystery. Psychology, as much as the murder investigation itself, constructs the plot. Which basically goes like this: A man is beheaded with an axe, and his daughter admits to the crime. She is then placed into a psychiatric hospital where she refuses to say another word. The investigators have to rely on the testimonies of character witnesses who seem to contradict each other.

I wouldn’t go as far as saying that the crime is secondary to the plot. Not quite. But around its fragile center other mysteries unravel. More tranquil mysteries. Just as —or more— fascinating. That’s what a good mystery author does: make her mystery more mysterious until that final, emotional explosion. In the not-so-quiet British village where the murder occurred, there are bastioned doors that finally come unlocked: unrequited loves, sex addictions, unsustainable cruelties, unforgivable cowardice.

As if this complex plot were not enough to captivate the reader, George adds yet other layers with the detectives, torn with individual, as well as social issues. The angry female detective comes from the people; her male superior is mild-mannered and aristocratic. If they clash at the beginning, they end up finding some truce, in part because they are inhabited by personal demons that know no class difference. Suffering is the great equalizer.

A Great Deliverance is not the latest sensation. In fact, it was first published in 1988. But I think I am about to become an Elizabeth George addict. Because of flesh and bones. Color. All that. In a world that is cold, that all too often discourages passion, this narrative warmth is, well, refreshing. ...more

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About Elizabeth George

Elizabeth George

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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Susan Elizabeth George is an American author of mystery novels set in Great Britain. Eleven of her novels, featuring her character Inspector Lynley, have been adapted for television by the BBC as The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.

She was born in Warren, Ohio, but moved to the S ...more

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Inspector Lynley (1 - 10 of 20 books)

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“He had never thought of himself as much of a praying man, but as he sat in the car in the growing darkness and the minutes passed, he knew what it was to pray. It was to will goodness out of evil, hope out of despair, life out of death. It was to will dreams into existence and spectres into reality. It was to will an end to anguish and a beginning to joy.” — 32 likes

“buying gunk for her hair.” — 0 likes

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