A Traitor to Memory by Elizabeth George Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of A Traitor to Memory
Book Review: An editor, quick!
Summary: 1 Stars
Normally Elizabeth George's mysteries range from solid to outstanding. This is the exception--a loonnnggg, dreary, depressing novel of superficial characters, irritating psychobabble, a dead obvious culprit and a dearth of what sustains the series, the wonderful interaction between detectives Lynley and Havers.But what really makes this book bad is the poor editing. Any amateur could easily have cut this down to one-third its size and lost nothing important. And it sure would have saved the rest of some hours we'll never see again. Maybe George's usual editor was sunning herself in the South of France that month, but I suspect this is a symptom of a larger syndrome aflicting many successful authors. Once they become huge bestsellers they think they can do no wrong. What's a few extra 100, 200, 500 pages? After all, every golden word lodged in their word processor is like a drop of nectar from the gods that grateful fans will swallow with pleasure. Or something like that.
A more minor quibble but no less infuriating is the shiny cardboard cutout character of Libby, THE AMERICAN. I don't know if George is perpetuating groundless stereotypes in an attempt to apologize to British readers for the fact that she's an American writing London-based police procedurals. But I for one have never met anyone *real* who talks or thinks like Frank Zappa's Valley Girl. And I lived in L.A. for three years. I also lived in London for a while and know that even the British don't believe that crap about us.
You may love the rest of the series, but do yourself a big favor and avoid this one. I wish I had.
Book Review: Botched the genetics again...300 pages too long
Summary: 2 Stars
I have read a number of Elizabeth George books and I liked this one the least. It is slow-moving, confusing and at some points, just plain dull. My biggest complaint, however, is with her research. There are several medical and genetics mistakes in this work (as there are in her some of her other works) that make me wonder about her research methods.
- An "imperforate ..." at eight months?! WRONG (Did no one notice that the child hadn't dirtied her diaper (or nappy) in eight months?)
- A balanced translocation of ONE chromosome? WRONG.
- A balanced translocation leading to NO livebirths. WRONG.
If she can get these wrong, what else is in error? While these are all minor storypoints, I believe that they cast doubt on all facts in the novel. Ms. George seems to like to incorporate medical/genetics knowledge into her books but should get appropriate professional input.
While these are minor points, they made a boring book insufferable. Her editor needs to start double check her facts and chopping boring storylines. If this book had been three hundred pages shorter, it might have been endurable.
Book Review: Contrived to Confuse
Summary: 2 Stars
Elizabeth George lets her own agenda get in the way of telling an intriguing tale with this effort. Too many subplots to advance the backstories of each of her stock characters, and too much manipulation of the reader by jumping back and forth in time so that significant clues are not revealed too early, result in a book not up to her previous standards. Moreover, her depiction of English cultural idiosyncracies is beginning to be formulaic rather than charming.Book Review: Disappointing Addition to a Great Series
Summary: 2 Stars
A hit-and-run driver kills Eugenie Davies on a rainy night in London. Superintendent Webberly has a special interest in the victim and assigns Detective Lynley and Constable Havers to the case. Their investigation of Eugenie's trauma filled past turns up a wealth of suspects. Meanwhile, Gideon, violin genius extraordinaire, is struggling to overcome his sudden inability to play by revisiting his childhood memories with a therapist. Gideon's story and the murder investigation are woven together into an explosive collision course.
I'm a fan of George's Lynley/Havers mysteries, so it pains me to say that this one really needed some editing. At over 1000 rambling pages, it's a long slog to get to an uncharacteristically disjointed ending. George does paint a fascinating portrait of a severely dysfunctional family, but that doesn't make up for unexplained motivations and weak plot elements. One of George's strengths has been getting readers involved in the personal lives of her detectives as well as getting drawn into the mystery at hand. Unfortunately, Lynley, Havers, and the rest of the usual inhabitants feel more like supporting characters in A Traitor to Memory.
Ultimately, I found this book hard to get into and difficult to finish. If you're new to Elizabeth George, you might want to start with A Great Deliverance or Payment in Blood.
Book Review: Eeew, it's a shrink session....
Summary: 3 Stars
This departure from my favorite mystery writer's style was not worth the read. The ending was extremely disappointing and after I read it, I thought, "Oh, no, she's never going to write a good book again, and I loved her so!" but fortunately this wasn't true. Whew. Sigh of relief. I would not have minded the length, if I didn't hate reading the interview- and inner process-type chapters. Plus it was spotty and disconnected feeling and there were few people to like. I would rather discover the creepy character's motivations by just doing my own story deciphering. Anyway, skip this one if you want a typically great E. George mystery novel.