Giveaway: This Body of Death by Elizabeth George

I'm always very excited to get my hands on a new installment in one of my favorite mystery series, the Thomas Lynley series by Elizabeth George. This is a writer that looks into the minds and motivations of nearly all of her characters, not just the principal ones, and it gives the entire series a depth that you will be hard pressed to find elsewhere. Here's a synopsis of the latest, from the publisher:

On compassionate leave after the murder of his wife, Thomas Lynley is called back to Scotland Yard when the body of a woman is found stabbed and abandoned in an isolated London cemetery. His former team doesn't trust the leadership of their new department chief, Isabelle Ardery, whose management style seems to rub everyone the wrong way. In fact, Lynley may be the sole person who can see beneath his superior officer's hard-as-nails exterior to a hidden—and possibly attractive—vulnerability.

While Lynley works in London, his former colleagues Barbara Havers and Winston Nkata follow the murder trail south to the New Forest. There they discover a beautiful and strange place where animals roam free, the long-lost art of thatching is very much alive, and outsiders are not entirely welcome. What they don't know is that more than one dark secret lurks among the trees, and that their investigation will lead them to an outcome that is both tragic and shocking.

A multilayered jigsaw puzzle of a story skillfully structured to keep readers guessing until the very end, This Body of Death is a magnificent achievement from a writer at the peak of her powers.

Thanks to Kyle at Harper Collins, I have one copy to give away. For one entry, just leave me a comment here. If you would like extra entries there are instructions below. Giveaway open through midnight eastern time on May 5th. The winner will be drawn at random and must have a US mailing address, no PO Boxes.

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Good luck everyone, thank you for visiting and entering!

Saturday Suggestions

Though she already has legions of fans, Elizabeth George is my Saturday Suggestion for this week. Have you ever read one of her books? Usually, I prefer my books to have historical settings (as I am sure most of you know). But I'll read anything Ms. George cares to write. She has a wonderful mystery series that is set in present day London and features Inspector Lynley and his partner, Barbara Havers. Her settings are impeccable, when you read one of her books you would swear that she is British, but she is not, she is American and from California. I don't think that she has ever even lived in England. Obviously, her research is excellent.

Elizabeth George

The unusual thing about Elizabeth George is that she does not hesitate to devote entire books to the point-of-view of side characters. If you are a series reader (as I am), there is nothing more interesting than to get inside the other characters. It provides a whole new dimension to the stories, a depth and richness that is not normally achieved. I read scathing reviews of her recent book, What Came Before He Shot Her, which is devoted entirely to the perpetrator of a horrible crime, his family and background. Lynley and Havers are largely missing from the book, which was the chief complaint. It is true that if you were a new reader, just picking up that particular book as your first Elizabeth George experience, you might be completely lost, but I thought the book was a fantastic addition to the series. I DO recommend that you read them in order, the characters grow over time and it helps to have started at the beginning. The series, so far, consists of:

A Great Deliverance

Payment In Blood

Well Schooled in Murder

A Suitable Vengeance

For the Sake of Elena

Missing Joseph

Playing for the Ashes

In The Presence of the Enemy

Deception on His Mind

In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner

A Traitor to Memory

A Place of Hiding

With No One as Witness

What Came Before He Shot Her

Careless in Red

I picked up Careless in Red last time I was in London. It is sitting by my bed, I haven't had time to get to it yet. When I do, you can be sure I will post a review here. The BBC has a successful television series based on this series, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. They are aired on PBS in the United States from time to time. I haven't ever had a chance to watch one but they seem to be popular. I'll have to put them on my DVD list, it would be interesting to see how they translate to television.