Seriously you guys. I hard shrugged this book throughout. Why George decided to throw out a book that shows events that took place before the first book in the series baffles me. Also there's just a look at Havers and that's it. I cannot read a whole book following Lynley and St. James again. My head was done in. Also the casual way that everyone reacted when a character was almost raped just made my jaw drop. Also the plot line following who murdered several people and why was beyond convoluted. 

 

"A Suitable Vengeance" I think takes place at least 3 years before the start of "A Great Deliverance." In this we have some of the same characters we know today (Lynley, St. James, Lady Helen, and Deborah) but of course at different places in their lives. We see Lynley in a relationship and engaged. We know that St. James has feelings for her, but because of an accident leaving him disabled he is reluctant to be with her. Lynely asks Deborah and others to come to his family home, Howenstow, in order to formally propose to Deborah. Of course a murder takes place that leaves a lot of questions and then leads to the death of another person. Lynely and St. James start investigating when it appears their family members (Lynlely's brother and St. James's sister) may be involved in some way.

 

Lady Helen continues to be the best thing about this series. I ended up despising Deborah through this whole book pretty much. She's exhausting. Lynely seemed to just be there and most of the story hangs on St. James. I don't mind being in his POV for the most part, he seems to be constantly struggling to not show people what he is feeling. We get a brief glimpse of Havers and I was ticked. Seriously, you need Lynley and Havers together, you can see without her in his life and vice versa. I think if Havers had been on the scene you would have had someone on the scene to look at things that they all kept overlooking in their rush to protect others or lie to each other about the habits of the rich and titled. 

The writing was fine, the flow was off though. I just didn't follow much of what anything was going on and we kept having twists and people going well so this is what happened and then it would be, nope this is what really happened. I ceased caring after about the third or fourth revelation. 

The ending was just a letdown. I already know what happened with all of the parties in this story so I didn't care. The resolution to the murders had me going okay...that's super complicated. I felt like I needed a flow chart to understand how everyone and thing was linked together. 

Oh thank God. This appears to be a flashback.

 

Oh cool so Deborah and Lynley are trash now? Cause that's what it seems like. 

I do like Elizabeth George's style, and her way with a mystery, but this novel epitomizes everything in her Lynley series I find the most irritating. This particular book is set before the first in the series, A Great Deliverance. Which means it's Lynley without Havers. Havers only has a very brief appearance here, more a cameo, late in the book, two appearances less than a page each and a couple of mentions. That leaves us with Thomas Lynley, Lord Asherton, up to his family manor Howenstow in Cornwall for an "engagement weekend" to introduce his fiance Deborah Cotter to his family; Lady Helen and Simon St James accompany him. The subplots involving Deborah, Simon and Helen in the other books have been my least favorite feature. Too often coincidences stretching credibility had been used to involve them in the mystery and their emotional entanglements too much a soap opera. At least in this story, since they are central to the mystery, it seems far less a distraction. And George is at the top of her game here plot-wise. I do like her way with red herrings and feints--she certainly kept me guessing to the end with more than one twist or turn. But yes, I miss Havers and her working class sensibilities scraping against Lynley's upper class crust. At times here, such as when George has people ignoring a near-rape as an unpleasantness to be smoothed over, or when Lynley bungles in securing a crime scene, I couldn't help but wonder what Havers would have made of that. Havers and Lynley compliment each other, both in professional and in a literary sense, and I do think her being missing bumps this installment down a notch.

This is more a story of Lynley and his family and relationships than a story of Lynley and Havers. Havers only makes a quite brief appearance in the story and only really as a small part. Lynley is bringing his bride-to-be to visit the family home and his mother but death makes an appearance and the bodies start to mount. His brother appears to be connected with much of it and Lynley also needs to deal with some of his own family issues at the same time. I liked the story, the complicated relationships families have is clear but it was also clear that people cared for each other. I look forward to reading more in this series.