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Title: Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George ISBN: 0-553-28734-6 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 June, 1991 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.82 (22 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Intricately Woven Plot, Gripping Detail
Comment: "Well-Schooled in Murder" was the first book in the Inspector Lynley series that I had read, having been attracted initially by the murder's setting in a British school, rather than by the author's name, with which I was unfamiliar.
Although I found the subject matter extremely disturbing, i.e. the torture and murder of a young male student, the level of detail Elizabeth George gives to the physical setting and the fleshing out of her characters, made me feel as though I were an internal observer of the events themselves, rather than simply a reader on the outside.
Despite this, I felt the primary characters and array of suspects lacked warmth; I didn't experience any particular empathy for them and, consequently, focused my attention more on the brilliantly-conceived plot, which kept me eagerly turning the pages as each layer of the story was revealed.
"Well-Schooled in Murder" is well-crafted and an excellent addition to the Inspector Lynley series and has spurred my interest in reading other books in this British mystery series.
Rating: 3
Summary: Well-written, but it bothered me
Comment: I had an odd reaction to this book. I am not usually horrified by reading novels about violent events, and there are other books that I have read and reviewed and have not been adversely affected by when other people have had concerns--Martha Grimes' The Lamorna Wink comes to mind.
Interestingly enough, Well Schooled In Murder upset me very much. I am not sure what the main issue is for me here, but the murder of the child Matthew, and the graphic depiction of his parents, first happy and full of joy in their world, and then plunged into horrifying grief, really bothered me. I almost stopped reading several times, and then decided that I neede to persevere. I'm glad I did, I guess, and I will certainly continue with Elizabeth George's series, which I have really loved so far, but this was hard for me.
I also found the estrangement of Deborah and Simon Alcourt St. James difficult and painful. As I think about it now, Simon's comment to Deborah's question of "how do we get back?" is important. He says "we go on," and maybe that is the answer to most of the pain in this book.
Rating: 2
Summary: Questioning Lynley's competence (minor spoilers)
Comment: I have read six of George's Lynley series (A Great Deliverance, Payment in Blood, Well-Schooled in Murder, Deception on His Mind, In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner, and A Traitor to Memory) and am beginning to wonder if George deliberately writes Lynley as a bad detective. Sure, the murders get solved, but mostly through luck or a timely (if unlikely) confession. And Lynley seldoms follows police procedure, or even common sense. In one book he has Helen Clyde question/comfort a murder suspect. I hardly think she is qualified to do so, and anything she would learn would, very likely, not be admissable in court. In another book, he absolutely refuses to listen to Haver's evidence, simply because he dislikes the idea that she wasn't fired from the force. In another he disregards evidence that would solve the mystery in the hopes of pinning it on someone with whom Helen is having an affair, thereby letting jealously dictate how he conducts an investigation he should have removed himself from (conflict of interest, anyone?). It just seems as though George writes Lynley as an unlikable, sexist dolt. Pity Havers couldn't be the main character in ALL George's books, since she seems to be the brains of this crime-fighting duo.
In this novel, the murder is again solved (and committed) through luck. In this case, a lucky, if completely illogical, suicide. The killer himself seems unnaturally lucky to have been able to drag a bound child through the school and its grounds and then drag his dead body back through the school campus without being noticed once. Apparently there is no night watchman or janitor at this "prestigious" boarding school.
And then we have Lynley completely IGNORING a case of spousal abuse (there is no justification in beating your grieving wife, no matter how much YOU are 'grieving') and actually covering up for an obvious pedophile simply because he is an "Eton chum", thereby leaving this man in a position of power over children in a boarding school. Horrible. I lost all respect for the character of Lynley and the writer at that point.
While I found Havers' home life to be tragic and compelling, I found Lynley's mooning over Helen to be childish and dull. And I find the age differences between George's main "romances" (Thomas/Helen and Simon/Deborah) to be disturbing. These men treat these women like children, but then George writes these women to be LIKE children.
Worst George novel I've read so far. I will contintue to read her work, simply because I find the character of Havers to be interesting. Lynley can rot.
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Title: Payment In Blood by Elizabeth George ISBN: 0553284363 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 June, 1990 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: A Suitable Vengeance by Elizabeth George ISBN: 0553295608 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 February, 1992 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George ISBN: 0553278029 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 May, 1989 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: For the Sake of Elena by Elizabeth George ISBN: 0553561278 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 April, 1993 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Missing Joseph by Elizabeth George ISBN: 0553566040 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 May, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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