Product Description

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 been sent to solve a savage murder that has stunned the peaceful countryside. For fat, unlovely Roberta Teys has been found in her best dress, an axe in her lap, seated in the old stone barn beside her father's headless corpse. Her first and last words were "I did it. And I'm not sorry."

Yet as Lynley and Havers wind their way through Keldale's dark labyrinth of secret scandals and appalling crimes, they uncover a shattering series of revelations that will reverberate through this tranquil English valley—and in their own lives as well.


From the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #261447 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-01
• Released on: 2007-05-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In her debut novel, George too often plays to the gallery with characterizations broad enough to border on caricature. The legendharking back to violent events in Cromwell's timethat surrounds local Keldale Abbey pales in comparison to a modern-day crime committed in this quiet corner of Yorkshire, England: Roberta Teys, a silent, obese adolescent, is accused of killing her church-going father with an axe. The detectives sent by Scotland Yard to investigate are a mismatched pair. Inspector Thomas Lynley is smooth, attractive and utterly upper-class; "stubby, sturdy" detective-sergeant Barbara Havers, conscious of her plain appearance and lower-class origins, considers Lynley a "sodding little fop." Thrown together, they weigh the general conviction in the villagethat Roberta could not possibly have wielded the bloody axeagainst mounting evidence that damns the now catatonic girl. In sifting slowly through the ashes of the past, the detectives find enough horrific skeletons in every closet to lead them to a climax unexpectedly loaded with fire and fury. While Lynley seems rather bland despite emotion roiling beneath the surface, it is Havers' painful secrets and driving rage that encourage one to overlook decidedly uneven passages in this essentially intriguing psychological thriller. 35,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Spellbinding...a truly fascinating story that is part psychological suspense and part detective story."—Chicago Sun-Times

"Pure entertainment from its insidious beginning to its gripping end."—The Washington Post Book World

"Exceptionally assured and impressive...highly entertaining."—Newsweek

"Awesome...immediately thrusts the author into P.D. James' dark orbit."—Kirkus Reviews


From the Paperback edition.

Ingram
This extraordinarily well-reviewed first novel introduces Scotland Yard's Inspector Thomas Lynley and his assistant, Barbara Havers, as they investigate a brutal murder.

Customer Reviews

utterly absorbing

This is a plot thick book with plenty of fascinating characters. It is a good idea to read this novel first to get a solid background of the characters. If you love rich and complex characters you will be delighted. This novel is beautifully written, has a lot of suspense and is utterly absorbing. The author leaves a message that goes far beyond a murder mystery.

Essential Reading for Lynley and Havers Fans
"Who knows what darkness lies in the hearts of men? Only the Shadow knows." That opening from the old radio show came to mind as I reread this book about the almost unspeakable evils that people do to one another.

First published in 1988, A Great Deliverance is the first book in the distinguished series featuring Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, the English detective duo who have delighted so many readers since then. I first read this book many years ago and was impressed at the time by the careful character development. Little did I know that that character development would make the subsequent series such a remarkable delight. Rereading the book now, I must say that I don't remember a first book in a detective series that did nearly so much to establish the backgrounds, thought processes, influences and loves of the lead characters. I'm much more impressed than the first time.

As the story opens, Father Hart is on a pilgrimage to Scotland Yard to help heal a rift among those who have been investigating the beheading of a local farmer. While most detectives would feel that finding the farmer's daughter, Roberta Teys, next to the body as she confesses that she's guilty would be enough evidence, Father Hart believes that Roberta is innocent. Thus, Scotland Yard enters the case. Havers is dispatched to haul Lynley back from a wedding he's attending, and the reader is soon enmeshed in "what might have been" thoughts concerning the lives of both Lynley and Havers.

Lynley is the golden boy, the eighth earl of Asherton, who doesn't even need to work . . . but who sees work as his obligation. Havers is a loose cannon of emotions, instincts and prejudice . . . but who's brilliantly and doggedly determined to find the answers to any crime. How they develop comfort with one another is quite intriguing in the book.

The mystery itself is pretty straightforward, so don't look for that aspect of the book to delight you with its charm. If you judge mysteries by how hard the mystery is to solve, this one will be a 2 or 3 star effort to you.

But if you love rich, complex characters with nuanced reactions in tricky situations, this book will delight you.

Literature fans will appreciate the references that are included in sorting out the mystery.

Those who require absolute accuracy in all aspects of what's English will detect false notes here and there. Still, the overall result is quite impressive coming from an American. And most American readers won't be able to tell the difference anyway.

If the mystery had been better designed, this could have been one of the great mystery stories of all time. Do read on. There are many other fine books in this series. The rich character development in this book will add much delight to your reading in the subsequent ones.

Deceiving...
My expectations were maybe a bit high... anyway, they've not been fulfilled. The intrigue was straight-forward and the motive of the murder without imagination.