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A Traitor to Memory
 
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A Traitor to Memory (Hardcover)

by Elizabeth George (Author)
2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
RRP: £17.99
Price: £17.09 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

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Frequently Bought Together

A Traitor to Memory + In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner + A Place of Hiding
Price For All Three: £29.07

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  • This item: A Traitor to Memory by Elizabeth George

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  • In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner by Elizabeth George

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 664 pages
  • Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd (31 Jul 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0340767073
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340767078
  • Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 757,934 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #58 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Authors, A-Z > G > George, Elizabeth > Complete List

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

In A Traitor to Memory, Elizabeth George proves that she belongs firmly in the upper echelons of crime writers. Her 10 previous novels of psychological suspense have carefully consolidated the character of her aristocratic detective Thomas Lynley, and with this book she creates for him a narrative more tangled and (seemingly) impenetrable than ever before.

Gideon Davies is a classical violinist who has lost his ability to play. In the middle of a Beethoven trio, his mind has been wiped clear of everything related to music. But what he can remember is the weeping of a woman and a single name: Sonia. Davies is soon involved with the death of a young woman called Eugenie, who is run down by a car in the streets of London. On the track of her killer, Lynley and his associates Barbara Ramiz and Winston Nkata become aware of a connection with the violinist and a mysterious group of people somehow linked with a crime and its consequences that took place over 20 years ago.

As always, George is faithful to the demands of the classical detective narrative, and the reader is challenged by the slowly unfolding revelations just as much as her struggling protagonists. But, unlike so many of her contemporaries, George never forgets that the sense of place is quite as intrinsic to a mystery story as any whodunit elements, and the panoply of England unfolded before us here is richly and vividly realised. In earlier books, Lynley has seemed almost preternaturally gifted, but here his desperate attempts to penetrate the dark secret have much more of the quality of a struggle - and perhaps this is why A Traitor to Memory is possibly the most satisfying outing for George's detective yet. --Barry Forshaw



Review

"Praise for Elizabeth George: 'The multi-faceted surprise ending to the taut, suspenseful plot is the juiciest plum in this can't-put-down novel.' Publishers Weekly; 'She writes extremely well, plots brilliantly and reaches an emotional level deeper than most... Captivating' The Times; 'The best plotter in the mystery game, [her] elegant literate flow puts many Brits to shame' Time Out; 'She is a great storyteller. The totality is a big fat, satisfying book.' Frances Fyfield, Sunday Express on In Pursuit.. 'Elizabeth George reigns as queen of the mystery genre' Entertainment Weekly"

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

A Traitor to Memory
67% buy the item featured on this page:
A Traitor to Memory 2.6 out of 5 stars (30)
£17.09
In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner
10% buy
In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner 3.8 out of 5 stars (20)
£5.99
Playing for the Ashes (Inspector Lynley Mystery)
8% buy
Playing for the Ashes (Inspector Lynley Mystery) 3.9 out of 5 stars (8)
£5.98
With No One as Witness
8% buy
With No One as Witness 3.9 out of 5 stars (15)
£5.98

 

Customer Reviews

30 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (12)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.6 out of 5 stars (30 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
44 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Another disappointment in the formerly great series, 28 Jul 2001
By A Customer
Having been a fan of Elizabeth George's books for a long time now, I was disappointed by the previous Lynley novel and was hoping for a return to old times with this one. After a great start, however, "A traitor to memory" failed to grip this reader. It is longwinded and even though I usually love the psychological approach to crime solving, this time it was too much. Every time I came upon one of the frequent "diary" sections and another description of a nightmare, I just wanted to fast forward.

The biggest failure of the book to me however is the lack of involvement of our favourite characters. The story line with Lynley and Helen is continued briefly, but then forgotten through most part of the book. Barbara, St. James and Deborah rarely appear at all. If this were a film, I doubt they would even be considered for best supporting roles.

I don't know how quickly the next instalment will follow, but I feel that Elizabeth George has left me hanging with too many loose ends. The worst thing is that this time I felt that I had to wade through a whole lot of badly constructed plot (the killer was obvious after the first few chapters) waiting for at least some b-plot to reward me, only never to get it.

I haven't given up on her yet, but unfortunately the wait for the next Elizabeth George is no longer full of excited suspense but more of hoping against hope that things will get better.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Powerful Experience, 11 Aug 2004
By Polona Glavan "Oja" (Slovenia, Europe) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: A Traitor to Memory (Paperback)
Being a great fan of crime and mystery novels, I was pleased to see a book by one of my favourite authors of the genre on 700 pages. There's nothing like days and days of continuous suspense! I wasn't let down, quite the contrary - I've enjoyed The Traitor to Memory best of all George's novels. The plot is wonderfully complicated and finely balanced, the characters fully formed and convincing. It was the best possible break between two 'proper' novels.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Over long and mellodramatic, 27 Oct 2001
By A Customer
Miss George has overextended herself with this one. So much so that I think she forgot about the fact that St James was exammining a computer to discover what secrets it held. We never did find out. All this meant that St James and his wife Deborah were not needed and could have been left out completely. This would have resulted in a much shorter novel. The ending was obvious from the start and when it came it took too long. The charactor Gidion must have said 'I see it all now' at least five times in the final 50 pages. This author can do and indeed has done much better.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Meaty psychological feast - not for the easily bored
Twenty-eight year old virtuoso violinist Gideon Davies has lost not only his memory of music, but his ability to play the instrument he mastered as a child prodigy. Read more
Published on 15 Feb 2004 by RachelWalker

5.0 out of 5 stars a traitor to memory
Having read all elizabeth george, linley novels , I too found it quite difficult to get to grips with . Read more
Published on 6 Oct 2003

1.0 out of 5 stars Long and boring.
Not up to George's usual standards. The diary entries could have been summarised in 1 page each. Who cars about Gideon's neverending psychoblabla. Read more
Published on 20 May 2003

1.0 out of 5 stars Lacks class
I've never been convinced by Elizabeth George's crime novels. To me they are a depressing indictment of an American's starry-eyed view of British society. Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2002

3.0 out of 5 stars suprisingly good
This is my first Elizabeth George book aswell. I found her to be a very gifted writer who kept the suspense building up as the layers unfolded. Read more
Published on 8 Oct 2002 by Snoopy Doggy

1.0 out of 5 stars Yawn!!!!!!
What a tedious book. This is the first I've read by Elizabeth George, and it hasn't spurred me to read any others. Read more
Published on 14 Aug 2002 by amourjardin

3.0 out of 5 stars an enjoyable read
This is the first EG book I have ever picked up. It took me a week to finish it, not bad perhaps considering that some others are still at it after three months. Read more
Published on 7 Aug 2002

1.0 out of 5 stars I should have given up on it sooner
This book took me about three months to finish, simply because it was the complete opposite of 'unputdownable, in other words 'unpickupable'. Read more
Published on 28 Jul 2002 by Tasha Noble

3.0 out of 5 stars Characterization flaws an engrossing tale
This was an engrossing,although lengthy read. Like many readers, I had guessed the outcome of the plot,but there were enough twists and turns to keep me ploughing through the... Read more
Published on 28 May 2002

1.0 out of 5 stars Serious disappointment
I too am a great fan of Elizabeth George's previous work and couldn't wait for this one. However, it turned out to be a serious disappointment. Read more
Published on 2 May 2002

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