A Great Deliverance, by Elizabeth George (1988) // Inspector Thomas Lynley # 1
This is the first in the Lynley / Havers detective series. It provides the origin story of how Barbara Havers, a somewhat cantankerous low-level Detective Sergeant in the Scotland Yard, begins working with the aristocratic Inspector Thomas Lynley.
The novel revolves around a murder in a small village north of London. A teenage girl confessed to beheading her father, but some of the townfolk question whether or not she actually committed the crime. Enter Lynley and Havers.
The reader learns some of the backstories of Lynley and Havers. Lynley is dating Helen, but he is also something of a lothario. We are also introduced to Simon St. James, who is a close friend of Lynley and planned on a career in law enforcement before he was crippled in a car accident. Lynley was the intoxicated driver of the car. St. James just married Deborah, who was a former lover of Lynley.
Meanwhile, we learn a bit about Havers’ background. She comes from a lower-middle class family and lost her young brother to leukemia when he was a child. His death lies heavy on her family life.
I didn’t find the mystery as intriguing as other stories in the series.
Read: June 1, 2023
3 Stars
Other Books Read in the Series:
Well-Schooled in Murder (# 3) // Read June 29, 2003
For the Sake of Elana (#5) // Read February 21, 1994
Missing Joseph (# 6) // Read June 12, 1996 and January 25, 2003
Playing for the Ashes (# 7) // Read January 6, 1996
A Traitor to Memory (# 11) // Read January 3, 2004
With No One as Witness (#13) // Read May 13, 2023
A Banquet of Consequences (# 19) // Read July 4, 2018
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