Since others have outlined the plot I won't go into detail on that. Suffice it to say the stricken Thomas Lynley, mourning the loss of his murdered wife, has set off on a long walk intended to help him sort out his grief. When he discovers the body of a dead youth he becomes first a suspect and then,when his identity becomes known, a party to the investigation.

Personally, I consider this one of George's best in the series. Her novels are becoming increasingly literary and she excels here in illuminating a complex cast of intriguing characters. My only regret is the late entry of Barbara Havers into the fray. But she does arrive and participate in her ebullient way and is even teamed up with an equally fascinating female in DI Bea Hannaford.

The interplay of the characters, a sufficiency of mystery and red herrings and the colour of life in Cornwall made this a thoroughly enjoyable read for me. I can't wait to see what George will offer us next.

This is the first Elizabeth George book I've read and will probably be the last. I found the sheer number of characters unnecessary and confusing. There is an overload of distracting "side" information and stories. Ultimately, I feel the author has confused me into the murder being a mystery.

I am a huge fan of Elizabeth George and, in particular, of Thomas Lynley. But to say this book was a disappointment is an understatement. It was way overwritten with many side stories that don't contribute at all to the outcome, nor do these story lines get wrapped up in a satisfactory way; they sort of trail off to nowhere. George must have made good use of a thesaurus because she uses the most arcane words imaginable. At the end Lynley is left wondering and so are we. I finished it and thought "Is that all there is? Is that it???"

This novel has a cast with too many supporting characters.It needs a table in the front to list who is related to whom.
The opening chapters in particular lack sufficient focus to hold one's interest.
Not her best novel by any means.She now has stiff competition from other British police procedural writers such as Graham Hurley,whose principal characters are generally more believable,don't have titles,don't live in South Kensington

I started to bail on this book several times, and now I wish I had. I was intrigued by Santo's murder, since initially he didn't seem to be one who had enemies. This book is way too long. Should have been edited to make it cleaner and quicker. I like my mysteries to zip along more than this lumbering tale. I wish it were tighter, with fewer characters. Definitely one of the plot lines did not move the story along. The ending was unremarkable.

Elizabeth George in my favorite writer, and I purchased "Careless in Red" the day it came out. I was so disappointed in the reviews that it took awhile for me to start it. Big mistake. I thought it was terrific. Perhaps not quite in the league with "Playing for the Ashes" or "Deception of his Mind", but close enough. First, I did not find the characters names hard to remember, or the plot hard to follow. If you are writing about people who live in Cornwall, Tom, Dick and Harriet are not realistic choices. While I did eventually guess the murderer, it took awhile, and certainly made sense. I never found the "who" to be really important in an Elizabeth George novel, but rather the "why".

Second, I found her group of primary and secondary characters to be very appealing and sympathetic. More so then in most of her book. Reviewers who complained, surely could not be regular readers. Elizabeth George's topics have always been realistic, and some of her themes are not pretty.

Third, what do you do with a character who has lost his beloved wife and son in such a horrible manner. To me, having Lynley walk for 43 days until he stumbles upon a body, is as good as any other means for opening the book. I certainly would not have expected him to hit the bars or the booze. I liked Helen and will miss her. During the last 2 years, I have periodically re-read all 13 books, and realize while Helen may have appeared to be fluff on the outside, she was a class act with a strong inner core. I felt the same way about Daidre, who was also a class act, in different ways. She appeared to be exactly what Lynley needed to come back to the world of the living. There was nothing improper about their relationship, as some reviews have suggested. I wondered if she would reappear in future books, much down the road, as their differences would be interesting to see play out on paper. Yes, Havers comes back to aid her dear friend, and as always she is perfect. I did not like Bea, as much as some readers. At times, she appeared too much like (not in looks)to Havers, and there can only be one. With the exception of "A Place of Hiding" all of Elizabeth George's books are 4 to 5 star rating. My only criticism is that it was Helen, not Deborah, who was done away with. I can not figure out what two such dreamy men could see in such a boring, dim-wit women. 13 books, no growth, no personality, leads to boring story-line.

Really? You guys liked this book? Unfortunately for me, I read this one after I read Playing for the Ashes and a third one - can't remember the title - In all three, the author is definitely out to get the sexually adventerous libertines of the world, even if it ultimately has nothing to do with the plot (the third one I read....the one where Lynley goes to Scotland and the two young people die out on the rocky hills somewhere). Anyway, I was puzzled by the author's apparent moralistic self-righteousness until I saw of list of books by her on Amazon which includes something about loving God with all you mind. Oh, well, that explains it. Elizabeth, relax and live a little. Jesus Christ!

For the record, the three is based solely on the fact that like it or not the woman is a bloody brilliant writer...Now having said that.. I will take up the choice of my title...;-) I now see why a fan can learn to hate the writer... although hate is not truly how I feel, I am still not over the killing of Helen (and I speak for many of us) but also that ridiculous attempt at social statement, trying to in some way let us the readers understand, quote "what came before he shot her" unquote...a total rip off for consumers as these books are not cheap, and falsely called a Lynley/Havers novel.. to which I still take umbrage.. 'Whatever'..as in another review I wrote, I say to her: "Ms George you developed your popularity based on serial detective novels.. Dickens you are not".... But let me get back to 'Careless in Red' The only saving grace for me about this novel was the truly realistic suffering on the part of Thomas Lynley... I needed that catharsis myself.. although some readers felt it out of place, I felt it the only wise thing she has done since before the deed itself.. Why, because he was suffering unbearably just like many of us, at the loss of our beloved Helen and her unborn child.. and in doing so it made Ms George accountable for having inflicted this upon him in the first place...As a writer she must have some bond with Lynley, and so now she must look at what she caused by her decision...
The book as a whole botherd me for many reasons..Mainly most of the characters were so annoying... and self pitying.. I could go on.. As for the end of the book with a murderer getting away..another, Whatever... But I am at the mercy of the writer, because, as most fans will agree, like it or not, any book with our Barbara in it is a must read... ;-)

After delivering a shocking blow in the last outing for Lynley and Havers, Elizabeth George picks up the story a few short months after the death of Lynley's beloved wife Helen. The St Jameses and Nkata are not part of the action. The St Jameses aren't even mentioned. Havers does show up nearly halfway through. I admit that this is fine with me, I don't miss Nkata and Havers had been getting on my nerves. This book showed me that Havers and Lynley are at their best interacting with each other - not pondering each other, or in Havers' case, pondering her own life ad nauseum. To each their own, I know some readers adore Havers and there are many Haverisms on display here to satisfy.

Overall, this book is classic Elizabeth George: lots of local scenery and in depth characterizations of the main suspects. As usual, the start is slow with characters being introduced and drawn but halfway through you couldn't pry this book from my hands without a gun. This time around the murder is of an 18 year old, Santo Kerne, and the group obsession is surfing. You might think this is less juicy material than, say World War Two in A Place of Hiding, but this isn't Gidget, Moondoggie and the Kahuna running around planning a beach party. The Kernes are a seriously messed up family with mother Dellen easily winning the award as most detestable character. George does a fine job with her characterizations of Dellen and her daughter Kerra.

The other characters lead by lead detective Bea Hannaford are well-drawn and interesting. George's main themes are the sins of the fathers and the painful misunderstandings between parents and children. There's a lovely subplot about an aging grandfather of decidedly fixed opinions dealing with the spiritually inclined granddaughter his son has sent to live with him. The interactions between Selevan Penrule and his granddaughter Tammy never strike a wrong note and their evolution feels earned.

The mystery is top notch if a not entirely mysterious, Thomas Lynley's emotional floundering between stunned grieve and guilty ability to survive is spot on, and the break from the usual characters actually makes their bond all the stronger. It's good to see Elizabeth George back on form.

So why only 4 stars?

The problem is Daidre Trahair. The veterinarian from Bristol is front and center throughout the book with Lynley just knowing she's not the murderer and the lead investigator smelling a rat. I'm with the lead investigator on this one. Trahair may not be guilty but she's more rodent than recurring character material.

George is too smart a writer to foist this bundle of clichés on her readers. The detective attracted to a suspect he knows isn't guilty. The woman with a mysterious past. A policeman falling for someone who doesn't trust the police. The woman with a quirkily spelled first name to clue us in that she's different. Love against class differences, etc. And that's just for starters. Maybe George sees Trahair as a strong, smart independent woman struggling to come to terms with her past. I saw a self-obsessed woman who thinks nothing of lying to suit her "privacy" when a simple deflection would have achieved the same ends. A woman who gets quite put out at the idea of the police investigating her background in a murder inquiry yet happily investigates the background of the policeman via the internet. And smart, innocent people don't lie to the police about things that can easily be found out.

Not halfway through the story Daidre Trahair's fixation on Thomas Lynley gets downright creepy. She's not just reading up on him, she's hanging around waiting for him to leave his hotel so she can talk to him or otherwise watching him (you know, like a stalker), she's asking other detectives (during her own interrogation!) about his dead wife. But the most appalling scene comes when after stupidly revealing that she's investigated Lynley's background Daidre Trahair offers Lynley spiritual advice. She presumes to tell a grieving widower how he should feel about his wife's death. I kid you not. And she doesn't let up when Lynley tells her he doesn't share her beliefs. She keeps going. Calling her ramblings "beliefs" is generous. A more formless bunch of New Age, quasi spiritual silliness you've never heard before. She spends as much time telling him what she doesn't believe as what she does. How this is supposed to help anyone or who on earth would force this on someone they've known less than three days is more a mystery than the central plot.

If Elizabeth George is setting Daidre Trahair up to be a creepy stalker in the next book, her narrative choices here are brilliant. If she's setting Trahair up as Lynley's new love interest - and why would he need one this soon? - then I'll have to rethink my 20 year relationship with Lynley-Havers and company.

Don't do it, Elizabeth George, you're too good for this!

As a big fan of Elizabeth George and the Lynley series, I eagerly anticipated the arrival of Careless in Red. I even had the tingle excitement we "bibliophiles" get when I finally checked it out of the library. Unfortunately, the book is a major disappointment. There are too many characters, many of whom are dysfunctional, uninteresting, and depressing. The writing is laborious at points, especially all the details about surfing, waves, isobars, and minor roads in Cornwall. Lynley was present but may as well have been left out. Havers arrived too late to redeem the book, though her late arrival made the last 300 pages bearable. I never really had any desire to know who killed Santo Kerne, though I do admit I plowed ahead and finished the book... all the while waiting to start on the new Deborah Crombie book (Where Memories Lie). Readers who liked George at her best would do well to read one of Crombie's novels.

Like most others writing a review I'm a big fan of Elizabthe George and her Detective Lynley series. After reading many of the reviews I almost didn't order the book. But I did order it, I did read it and I'm giving it 4 stars. It may not have been her best book in the series, but it was Good Enough. A good enough plot to hold my interest, a good enough writing style to keep me entertained, and a good enough series of characters to make the book worth the read.

I think its unrealistic to expect an author (any author) to always produce 5 star books. That's just too high of a standard to maintain. I love Ms. George's writing style and even if the plot had a few weak spots, I can overlook it because it held my interest.

My biggest criticism is the names of the characters. They were TOO wierd and I couldn't keep them all straight. Had to take notes and keep referring to them. Other than that I'd say the book is definitely Good Enough to buy!

I have read all the Lynley-Havers books and (with one exception) have been a huge fan of the stories and the writing style. I have enjoyed Barbara, but Lynley was the star - until now. Careless in Red may have been Lynley's book but Barbara was the best part: the interaction between Lynley and Havers, Havers and Bea, Havers and the locals. Alas, Barbara doesn't arrive until the last half. Before then the story was just okay.

What was wrong? A lot. Most of the local characters did not hold my interest. The concept of Lynley grieving and wandering alone was a good idea, but it didn't work in execution. I did not believe a smelly/haven't-bathed-in-weeks Lynley. I missed the fragments of humor; they were absent until Barbara arrived. The identity of the killer was obvious very early, which would have been okay if it had been used as part of the plot (e.g. a cat and mouse game between the police and the killer), but it wasn't. We knew (or guessed) and that was it.

I gave it 4 stars, but it should really be 3 1/2. If this had been my first exposure to Lynley and Havers I don't know if there would be a second. That said, I am looking forward to EG redeeming herself with the next installment of Lynley and Havers. It's time to bring back Deborah and Simon. I miss them. Also, shouldn't we get an update about Barbara and her neighbors (father and daughter)?

Detective Superintendent Thomas Lynley is semi-retired and wandering the coast of Cornwall, trying to come to grips with the death of his wife, Helen, when he stumbles upon the body of a rock climber and becomes embroiled in a local investigation of the young man's death. It's a smallish town, populated with suspects and motives, and a small but determined police squad led by a strong and competent woman, who at first is suspicious of Lynley when she doesn't know who he is, but who quickly presses him into unofficial service to help her with the case. Lynley is drawn to a local woman with secrets of her own, and this tentative friendship does much to bring him back to the land of the living. Our dear Barbara Havers does not make an appearance until 300 pages have gone by, but it is delightful to see the two Scotland Yard partners feeling their way back to a connection again. Naturally, the author is skilled at weaving the tidbits of townspeople's lives into the developing investigation, and naturally, Lynley's hunches pay off with the big reveal of murderer and motive. There may be a tad too many characters, however, and the almost romantic attachment of Lynley to Daidre (the local mystery woman) actually seemed unpleasant to me.

Amazon is selling the abridged version of Careless In Red by Elizabeth George as the UNabridged version. Check the description of the audiobook before you buy!

This was a welcome surprise after the What Came Before He Shot Her; I found the book more tedious than enjoyable. I was pleased to see the reluctant return of Lynley who is still processing the death of Helen, his wife, by taking a walking holiday. This book is full of his internal angst and his reluctantance in being drawn into a murder investigation; he happened to discover the body of the victim during his walk. I appreciate the way she deals with the internal struggles of Lynley, how he reluctantly gets drawn back into life and his work. His partner Barbara Havers joins the investigation and they also renew their friendship and working relationship after Helen's death. I was happy to have Lynley and Barbara back and look forward to her next book.

I can only repeat what many other reviewers on this page have written. I am a major fan of Elizabeth George and her Inspector Lynley/Barbara Havers series, but Ms George is definitely losing her touch. WHAT CAME BEFORE HE SHOT HER was different, but readable in most parts, but this latest installment is a mess. An unrecognizable Thomas Lynley, bad characterizations(by the end of the book you still won't know who's who, and probably won't care)burdened with strange names that make it hard to remember who is who, and so overwritten that after page 300 I skimmed most of the book and didn't miss anything .. well, I cannot say it any better than many others have done. Next book Ms George publishes I will borrow from the library. A real disappointment.

This was one of the first books I downloaded onto my new Kindle several weeks ago. I've enjoyed some of Elizabeth George's Lynley books although I found "What Came Before He Shot Her" simply unreadable. The free sample first chapter of "Careless in Red" was OK so I bought the whole book. (And I think the novelty of clicking right there on the Kindle to order, and having it download almost instantly, played a big part in the decision.)

That order was a sad mistake.

If it weren't for the novelty of reading a book on my new (at the time) Kindle I might not have finished this one. It was much too long and full of characters about whom I could never be persuaded to care. Sometimes George gives us characters whose suffering we can understand, but then there are the ones I just want to tell "get over yourself and on with things." The latter type were all over this book - self-indulgent, angst-ridden, inflated egos and all. Despite doggedly reading the whole book I can remember very little about the mayhem and foolishness (to borrow a phrase from Niecy Nash, who come to think of it would be a really fun addition to the Lynley crowd) involved.

Too bad I can't get my money back for a Kindle book, or even try to sell it used.

I must confess I abandoned this after 217 pp, a third of the way through. I used to like Ms. George, but she has gotten into a rut by building stories longer than they need to be, cramming in all the main characters in the first 100 pp without any relationship of each to another or to the main crime. They just "pile on," a penalty in football. Eventually, you can't remember who's who, and her books are simply too long to care whodunnit or even why. That said, I really enjoyed Ms. George's non-mystery, WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE HE SHOT HER. I think she should turn to case studies like that rather than mysteries. Despite mixed reviews, I bought this one because I am very fond of Cornwall. I'm sure she's been there, but by p. 217 she hasn't evoked it. I give it two stars because I did not play fair with it. Jack Crane, Santa Fe, NM

My first Elizabeth George mystery. My last. Overwritten. Pointless detail and dialogue. And all for very little at the end.
Phooey. Read something else.

Thomas Lynley, still coming to terms with the murder of his wife Helen, has retreated to Cornwall where he is hiking the bleak, rugged coastline alone with his thoughts, memories and demons.

On the forty-third day of his walk, he finds the body of a young man who appears to have fallen to his death. As the first person on the scene, Thomas Lynley himself is under suspicion.

Thus begins one of the most interesting mysteries I have read for some time. Can Thomas Lynley overcome his inner demons (and does he want to?) to assist the undermanned local police to solve what appears to be a carefully planned murder? Almost everyone in the local town appears to know something that might be relevant and almost no-one wants to volunteer any information. There are plenty of secrets and an abundance of red herrings to engage and distract the reader. Even if you do work out who did it, and why, before the end of the book as I did there are other aspects of the story which kept me interested to the end.

Barbara Havers is sent to assist the investigation. So we have a version of the old partnership between Lynley and Havers in operation together with a new partnership between Havers and Detective Inspector Bea Hannaford. There are plenty of interesting characters here and some complex (and not so complex) motivations come into play.

So, why four stars instead of five? Some aspects of the story worked brilliantly for me, others less so. But overall, this is an engaging novel which has me hoping that we've not seen the last of Lynley and Havers (and some of the other characters introduced, as well).

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

While the reviews seem to split between longtime fans and newbies, if you haven't read George before you might not understand that all these stories link. This allows a depth of character development that's rare these days and creates a sense that the people in these novels live and breathe. I for one am glad to hear George back in voice with her characters full of doubts and contradictions as usual. She has an unerring eye for setting too, capturing the distinct atmosphere of the Cornish coast. I found this book particularly overloaded with suspects, but some new and interesting actors have appeared. I hope they stick around. I found Lynley's thoughts on Havers, which appear on the last page, particularly touching.

I just finished listening to the audio version, masterfully read by the formidable John Lee. As with most of the series, I was awed by George's impeccable research, her large cast of characters (at least 20 important ones) and her architectural use of relationships to support the particular psychological areas she's investigating while Lynley, Havers and the frustrating, dogged and fascinating Bea Hannaford investigate a murder. George, in this latest installment in the vast Lynley-Havers canon, meditates on grief, vengeance, the ways each generation winds up deforming the lives of their children in the name of various abstract ideals. Each couple, trio or quartet of characters carries another piece of this monumental portrait of the human condition that also manages to be a page-turner. More! And what about Simon and Susan? Get to work, Elizabeth, we are insatiable!

This won't be long. Careless in Red is the very best yet of Elizabeth George's novels. I didn't want it to end. I've ordered all Inspector Lynley DVD's so I can relive this wonderful series and not have to watch tv drivel.

Elizabeth George's fans have come to expect nothing short of perfection, and CARELESS IN RED is not a disappointment in craftsmanship, but it will ruffle a few feathers as Inspector Lynley moves on with his life post- Helen. I'd expect some protests. . . In no way is this novel comparable in emotional intensity to WHAT CAME BEFORE HE SHOT HER, but it is classic George and mystery writing just doesn't get much better than what she gives us.

As a great fan of Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley novels, all of which I have read over the years, I was looking forward to reading this one. As I expected, it was full of Lynley-angst following the shocking deaths in the previous book in the series, but it was strangely unmoving. It was peopled with a large number of characters - many with unlikely names, to no apparent purpose - none of whom I cared about or was interested in; there was too little Havers, and the plot was contrived, convoluted and at the same time obvious.

I finished reading it because a book has to be truly dire before I abandon it half way through, but I can only hope the next novel,if there is one, is a return to form. Another one like this, and I'll give up on this series. There are plenty of other great writers of crime fiction!

Elizabeth George has not lost her touch with her latest novel "Careless in Red". I found the book as extremely compelling, as all of her books have been. She continues to shine as an outstanding author, drawing out intensly interesting stories complemented with the best drawn charecters I have ever read. Bravo! Please continue to write additinal books. It is a long wait for avid readers of the Lynley mysteries.

Elizabeth George is one of the best British Mystery writers today - even though she is American. Her books are deeper psychological portraits, and have the recurring characters of Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers, among others. In her last book, the author got herself in a bit of a jam; having killed off Lynley's wife, and having Lynley resign from New Scotland Yard, she somehow needed to write him back into this book. Unfortunately, she had limited success. To be honest, I got tired of reading about Lynley feeling sorry for himself.

The book unfurls in a small community in Cornwall, and deals with the death of a local boy, a surfer and reluctant rock climber. Lynley literally stumbles across the body while walking along the coast in a bout of self pity. While never officially engaged in the investigation, he helps out the local investigator, and soon Havers enters the picture as well. There is never anything black and white in Elizabeth George's books, which is part of their attraction, and the murder is both solved and unsolved.

Lots of information about surfing in the UK - I had no idea they did surf in the UK. Fine writing, but I hope the next book puts Lynley back where he belongs, in London, back on the job, and no longer wallowing in self pity. Few writers hit the mark with every book; George just missed it with this one.

I love Lynley. I love Havers, and all the New Scotland Yard personnel they entail. Never thought I cared about Helen, until she was killed. ("Without any witness" and "What came before he shot her" are mandatory reading. These are tour de force novels, regardless of the series. The former is the only mystery that has ever made me cry.) "Careless in red" was the hoped-for continuation of the Lynley-Havers series.

"Careless in red" is a very good read, but I hope it is merely a transition to new work. The story is interesting and certainly in the George tradition. Lynley is sort-of back, a little too interested in the new attractive woman to be believed. Havers is her wonderful self. The character of the new police chief in the small town Lynley stumbles upon is also terrific. (I could envision a new series featuring her and Havers.)

Whatever direction Ms. George decides to take with Lynley and Havers, I'm there -- as long as they don't realize they are "meant for each other." The characters are the ultimate pairing, and their new relationship provides many new directions. I can't wait to see what happens next.

This is the first Elizabeth George book I have read and it will be my last. It was so hard to get through and could have easily been 150 pages shorter in length. To much useless information. Do I really care if the Detective is computer dating? I think I have wasted my time.

Everything tied up in a neat little package at the end which took forever to arrive! Despicable characters, every last one of them. Only a shoulder injury which immobalized me for a time and the fact that I'd spent my hard-earned money on this Fiction 101 effort compelled me to keep reading until the unsatisfying ending. Why were some of these characters there? Did they propel the story? No! It will be a very bleak fiction market indeed before I buy another of this author's attempts.

I have just started the book on tape and was very disappointed that Donata Peters is not the reader. I'm listening to the Unabridged version and I believe his name is John Lee or something. It's just not the same, somehow it changes the book. George almost lost me when she killed off Helen. It took me a year to read/listen to "WHAT CAME BEFORE HE SHOT HER" and draw myself back into the fold. This will be a stumbling block for me. Please bring Donada Peters back. It's not the same story without her.

I've read all of George's books. This one is the worst. It drags on and on to the point that it has become rather boring, and I'm only on Page 207.

600 pages! Elizabeth George is not Tolstoy. She desperately needs an editor with a CTL-x button.

After the misfire that was George's last novel - which I frankly couldn't even finish - it was a pleasure to sit down to "Careless in Red" and discover that one of my favorite book series has returned to form. While the Lynley and Havers characters have always been a bit contrived, it's easy to forget that in the sheer delight that comes from reading truly elegant writing wrapped around a complex but intriguing plot.

Of course, British policing is undergoing some radical changes thanks to its absurdly PC attitude towards criminals, and the reality of that isn't reflected in the procedures used by George's law enforcement characters. But again, it's easy enough to put what you read in the news aside in the service of a fine novel. And that's what Elizabeth George has produced here.

I've read just over 100 pages since picking this up from the library today. It has more (useless) characters than War & Peace. I swore I would never BUY another of George's books after With No One As Witless, but now I won't even bother to carry any more home from the library. The Corny names make the plot very hard to follow, and I just can't get interested. I own all George's books in first edition, but never again.

I've been reading George for years and have devoured every one of her novels but, lately, it seems like they haven't quite been up to snuff with some of her earlier efforts. This novel was a real case in point.

One of the reasons why I feel that George is such a superb author is because of her very literary style. However, there is a point at which this particular style can be carried too far, and George is crossing that line more and more. This novel contains some very long and meandering passages that have absolutely no impact on the plot of the novel. The effect of this is to make it sound like George is rambling and that is not good. She waxes at length about the Cornish coastline and I found myself thinking, "Enough, I get it already!" In fact, there is such a propensity for doing this in the novel that I found that I was losing the plot threads. How can I keep up with all the characters when George abandons them frequently for paragraph after paragraph of superfluous prose?

The variety of characters in the novel is interesting but keeping track of all of them is rather daunting at times. I consider it a strength that George presents the reader with multiple points of view rather than having a narrower focus. To me, it is interesting to get into the heads of the people who are touched by the crime, to find out what impact said crime has on them. The down side of this style is that, naturally, some characters are more interesting than others. I didn't think there were any particularly weak characters in the book, per se, but I was definitely more interested in some of them than I was in others. I also felt that, at times, their stories were being dragged out rather too much so that the merest crumbs were being offered to the reader. This seemed to particularly be the case with the characters of Alan and Kerra.

Lynley is a character that I do enjoy but it seems like he's grown a bit stagnant. It seems almost like Helen's murder was a way to try to give him some new facets or something. I wasn't quite sure I bought the way that he totally fell apart and then seemed to put himself back together rather quickly. At times, Lynley feels more like a cipher than a person and I can't help but wonder if maybe George has reached the limits of what she can do with his character. He is certainly likable but he's not all the compelling.

The character who is compelling is Havers. I found myself growing positively cheerful when she finally made her appearance in the novel. In Havers George has created one of the most unique and diverse characters in contemporary fiction. Havers seems so alive that it wouldn't surprise me if she were to walk off the page, which is more than can be said for Lynley. The appearance of Havers is what really saved the novel for me in the end. Once she was in the picture, the dialog became more sparkling and witty and there was someone to liven up what seemed to be a rather dull cast of characters.

The mystery itself was less than compelling, perhaps because the reader never gets a real sense of the victim. He is more or less dismissed as a playboy and it's hard to take any real interest in him. George would have been better served by making the victim a more multi-dimensional character as it would have given his death greater impact. As it was, the mystery seemed less about the death itself and more about how it inconvenienced other characters and brought out the various and assorted secrets they had been attempting to conceal. The revelation of the perpetrator was meant to shock but the killer's identity wasn't all that well concealed and so by the time it was revealed, I had already figured it out. Perhaps if the book had been more focused it would have been a good reveal and the killer's motives would have been more compelling. As it was, the ending was frankly anticlimactic.

Hopefully George will narrow her focus in her next novel and hopefully there will be a whole lot more of Havers. I've never quite been able to put my finger on why George will concentrate more on characters like Lynley and the St. Jameses than she does on Havers.

After finishing Elizabeth George's latest, I checked the reviews to see if other readers enjoyed it as much as I did. I admit that I am surprised at the number of negative reviews. I think this book is one of her best. I was curious to see how George would handle the aftermath of the senseless and shocking death of Lynley's beloved Helen. In the surfing world of Cornwall (who knew?), George deftly explores the nature of grief and loss and the secrets that can destroy an individual or family.

The vibrant prose is vintage George. Her descriptions are incredibly detailed, painting a clear picture of a world few probably even knew existed. The murder and subsequent investigation are simply a means to introduce wonderfully drawn characters, most of whom are as appealing as they are flawed. Her description of Lynley's grief is believable and touching. The complicated nature of the relationship between Lynley and Havers is addressed as well. The plot moves forward at a typical pace for George's novels -- steadily, with each scene adding just enough intrigue to keep the reader turning the pages. Although the big questions are answered at the end, there is enough ambiguity to leave the reader wanting more. And I, for one, can't wait for the next installment.

Highly recommended.

Less complex, but more puzzling? Is that what I concluded as I finished reading CARELESS IN RED? As with any novelist, Elizabeth George is primarily an engaging author who writes with a complex style that requires effort to read, and one who usually brings discovery, awareness and resolution to problems of the myriad of person puzzles she presents us during the course of the novel. I did not feel that way about her most recent CARELESS...; I was not satisfied with Lynley's "rapid recovery" following his Cornish walkabout, nor how quickly he mitigated his grief over Helen's murder simply by the introduction of a bright, achieveing and sensitive young woman with a questionable upbringing. Then I realized that CARELESS IN RED is a transition novel, a preparation for the reunion of Lynley and Havers, as well as the others of the series.

George's latest novel is an easier read, less complex in sentence and paragraph structure, far fewer obscure English phrases and allusions, and more road signs to where our literary journey is taking the reader. George very deftly helps us to remember those who were left standing by the side of the road earlier in the novel. I enjoyed the book, not as much as some of the others. My problem is that when I read BEFORE HE SHOT HER, I found it a brilliant and refreshing change to some formulaic wrting that had been developing. Perhaps I expected more of the same with this latest work. I would rate it high, and reccomend that George fans not neglect it. The transition is necessary before we can all move on with our lives.

Following the shocking murder of his wife, Thomas Lynley resigned from Scotland Yard and returned to his native Cornwall, where he began a walking tour from one end to the other--not bathing or shaving and living in only the clothes he wore. In this state, he attempted to insulate himself from the tragedy and escape. But along the way, he finds a body at the foot of a cliff, and, as a result he is forced to awaken to his police background and relationships with people.

Thus begins this detailed story of various family histories, past and present mistakes between and among the family members and the possible reason for the death of the person Tommy finds, which is soon judged to be a murder. The investigation soon uses Tommy in a semi-official capacity, and later his old Met partner, Barbara Havers, is sent to Cornwall by her superiors in an effort either to protect him or entice him to return to the fold.

In this rather long novel, the author's eye for detail is exhibited to a faretheewell. The reader is engulfed in all kinds of minutiae, about geography, history, personal backgrounds and other aspects of the story. But however buried the reader may be, one is not overwhelmed, nor hardly bored. The novel is so well written, the 650 pages turn quickly, as the reader is drawn forward to find out the next revelation. Very highly recommended.

I have previously enjoyed all of Elizabeth George's Lynley-Havers novels.
After the huge shock of the senseless murder of Helen Lynley in "With No One as Witness" and Elizabeth George's sojourn into social commentary in "What Came Before He Shot Her", I was looking forward to a return to the murder/mystery genre.
It only happened in part.
While "Careless in Red" was stated to be a Lynley-Havers story, much of this book was devoted to George's examination of the consequences of the careless use of love. The author still seemed to be locked into social commentary.
I found much of this book to be over-written, with some didactic examination of the relationships between various people living in Cornwall.
This, to me, disrupted the flow of the story, and I would have felt more sympathy for some of the characters if Elizabeth George had not given them such outlandish names. Did she deliberately search out unusual Cornish names? I found it difficult to differentiate between some of them, or to relate to them.
Lynley, himself, seemed like a modern-day Hamlet, full of self examination and introspection.
It was not until the appearance of Barbara Havers that I could rouse myself to some interest in the progress of the plot. Her common sense was a breath of fresh air in a morass of self- absorbed characters.
I enjoyed DI Bea Hannaford.
I look forward to future Lynley-Havers stories, but I hope that Elizabeth George will not continue her trend to make each novel longer than its predecessor.

George is my favorite author, bar none. I've heard her speak at 2-3 signing events, and found her fascinating and bright. Her books are complex, they step away from the trend in American fiction to simplify and shorten novels, and she often deals effectively with societal issues like immigration, racism, sexism, etc.

Careless In Red is easily her least captivating book. I simply didn't care much as I read this routine fiction. There was never a sense of "can't put it down" and I never was excited to return to reading it. That's a sea change from all other George novels for me.

The book lacks any of the societal issues interwoven in many of her books, perhaps because it takes place in a location (Cornwall) where that would be difficult to address. This is just a mystery, and not a strong or intriguing one at that. The weakness of the BBC series has been that they lacked all the societal aspects of her novels and just winnowed the story down to a mystery - this book makes the same error - using a weak tale at that.

Lynley's video interview here on Amazon says the book is about Lynley's grief. I found the coverage of this unoriginal and shallow. Certaintly not the depth of character writing we saw in "What Happened before he shot her" or previous novels.

George has alluded at past signings that it's difficult producing these books as time goes by, and she implied that "With No One" and "Before He Shot" were written originally as one book. Thus, I have to wonder if "Careless" is the first really new writing in quite some time for her and if there is some burnout involved here.

I really hope my favorite author can return in fine form and wish her all the best in doing so. If it takes a return to a London locale, different or more deceased characters, so be it.

Paul S

This was my night-night book. One chapter & I was sleepy. Who cares about these characters in Cornwall & some young man's murder!

Careless in Red is a big disappointment to me. Ms. George, in trying to invent new characters for her book, has introduced way too many. I found it difficult to remember them all and their relationship to each other. Inspector Lynley has been relegated to a subordinate position under DI Bea Hannaford. The loss of his wife, Helen, in a previous book (which was a 4-star review) has left him disconsolate and caring little to help in solving the case. The return of Havers, on a loan from New Scotland Yard, to assist the DI helped a bit in bringing back the old team, but the story was definitely more about the newcomers rather than Lynley/Havers. I hope that Elizabeth George will take us back to the familiar characters we have known and loved in future books.

This is a very large book and filled with a lot of descriptions, including the sex lives of its characters. I don't remember Ms. George getting into so much depravity in earlier stories.

Elizabeth George has been my favorite author since I picked up my first Lynley/Havers book, and I have eagerly consumed each and every one. This book seemed so unlike Ms. George's previous works that I wondered if she was using a ghostwriter. I struggled to make myself finish it. I found it uninteresting and hard to follow. The characters seemed contrived and there were too many of them. The "red" theme seemed more of an add-on that didn't integrate naturally with the story. I will still eagerly await the next book and hope that the old George returns.

I'm a big Lynley fan, and I'm about a third of the way through Careless in Red. So far, it's a big disappointment. The premise of Lynley hiking along the desolate coast weighted down in grief was very promising. So far, though, he has played a miniscule part, and the other characters are not very engaging. I keep waiting to get some information about the murder victim that will make me care about finding his killer, but that hasn't happened yet, and his family is very unpleasant. Other good reviews I've read will keep me reading for a while - maybe it will pick up.

Years ago, I picked up a book called Payment in Blood (Inspector Lynley) on a pure whimsy on a lunchtime break at a used bookstore.

After reading that novel, I was hooked and I tore through all the available Elizabeth George novels. At that time, her latest novel was For the Sake of Elena.

I adored the style that mixed a mystery with a dose of the human touch. I liked that the victims were made to be real instead of a prop in the series. But more than that, I enjoyed the rocky road to friendship and professional camaraderie of Lynley and Havers.

But then came Missing Joseph and something really felt missing for me. I thought it was a rare miss. But then the novels got longer and more esoteric and less about Lynley and Havers and more about people that were just names on a page instead compelling characters in a story.

When I saw that this story would be the reunion of Lynley and Havers, I jumped at it hoping that it would be George's return to the basics that made me fall in love with her work.

But that was just a tease. Sure, Havers comes into the story around pg 200 but she and Lynley don't work together. They barely have any interaction. Instead, we get a murder and then a bunch of people who come and go into the story and I couldn't keep up with them. Worse, I couldn't connect to any of them.

George is obviously a very good writer. But I really wish she'd get back to the basics of writing a tight mystery and for goodness sake, get the Havers/Lynley team back to work and doing what they do best: solving crimes.

Having been very disappointed in the CD "Inspector Lynley#4", I was looking forward to a story comparable to the previous series. It was a struggle to get through the overly-long book: too many irrelevant details and characters introduced, obscure references to minor characters and events, etc. The more I read, the less I wanted to finish the book, but I did, just to satisfy myself that I was thinkig accurately. There was absolutely no reason to include so much detailed sex and leave out any "good" people (surely there were some normal people in those locations). To me, the story was an exploratiion of sick people doing sick things. I wish I had not read it! If Ms. George thinks that this sort of "smut" sells, I sincerely hope she will change her mind if she writes another Lynley book. Would anyone like to buy my "Inspector Lynley, Series 5" ...cheap!!! Talk about disappointing!!! Introducing a "new" Helen was the last straw! I wish Ms. George had ended the series with the death of Helen, allowing Lynley to retreat to Cornwall in peace.

Despite the shock and disappointment many George fans endured throughout No One as Witness and What Came Before He Shot Her, both of those books were better than Careless in Red. While George certainly continues to craft her skill at character development and aptly describes presence, personality and English landscapes, in this book she has picked up a terrible habit most notable in Kellerman novels - everything is described with a taint and ugliness that is almost offensive. In this book we get a very good glimpse of Lynley's grieving as he is forced back into the criminal mire. Havers, sadly, is left behind and the reader is still left unresolved on all levels with her own personal struggle in her relationships with Lynley and the fallen Helen. There is so much dysfunction in all the families in this story that one wonders how they ever managed to survive at all. Is the book worthy of reading? Certainly. Is it her best? Certainly not. The George promise of opening up new avenues in the series by the murder of Helen is not played out in this novel and readers may have to wait another year to find any kind of relief. Sorry, Havers, we do miss you.

The author has explained her execution of Helen Clyde as part of her plan to keep her characters evolving. I can accept this; however, this next "Lynley" mystery has Lynley and Havers as almost incidental characters and does not reward the readers with the promised development. Ms. George: Get back to Lynley, Havers, Deborah and St. James and the heart of the series. You want us to care about the key people but you have strayed too far into areas and plots which are mainly of interest only to you. You may feel that your writing brings your readers back to you, but you are not Tolstoy. You are a good writer who created characters and plots that drew in a readership. Remember us.

I've read every one of the Lynley series and all I can say is they keep getting better and better. Each one leaves you wanting more. After the last book: What Came Before He Shot Her, I thought I surely would never want to pick up another ever again. It was a totally devastating turn of events, and I was more than a little miffed that Helen should be the victim of such useless violence; but, Elizabeth George's books are nothing if not thought-provoking and so by the time Careless In Red was released, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

It is a thoroughly good read. Take your time. Savor the new Lynley and Havers. The story grabs you from the start. The descriptions of Cornwall and the countryside are so visual you want to go there, you can almost smell the cold salt air.

I loved it! A truly wonderful read!

Iris Smith