I have enjoyed most of Elizabeth George's Lynley novels, although felt at times that there was too much emphasis on the traumatic romances and personal misery that the main protagonists all seem to go through. Especially Barbara - although there does appear to be some hope at last for her. But the plots are almost always great.
This is true again of this latest book, the first serial killer that Lynley and co. have to deal with, picking on mixed race young teenagers with histories of delinquency. The in-fighting and politics of the police force are extremely believable (unfortunately), as is the intimate involvement of the press. The involvement of an offender profiler (and subsequent plotline) I felt was a bit of a nod to literary fashion (and Val McDiarmid does it much better). However the policework was well written,and once again Barbara saves the day.
But without giving anything away I have to say that I came away from this book feeling completely emotionally drained, and if you have come at least to empathise with (if not to like) these characters during the series you may find it hard not to cry. There is one defining memory for me from this book, which actually overwhelms the main plot. How could she (George) do it, is my response? Does she never want anyone to be happy? Or is this to be the last of her Lynley novels?
Read it and weep, literally.
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