I received this book for free from my own shelves in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: my own shelves
Payment in Blood
by
Elizabeth George
It is part of the , series and is a detective mystery, mystery in Paperback edition that was published by Bantam Books on June 1, 1990 and has 432 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include A Great Deliverance, Well-Schooled in Murder, A Suitable Vengeance, For the Sake of Elena, Missing Joseph, In the Presence of the Enemy, Deception on His Mind, In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner, A Traitor to Memory, A Place of Hiding, Playing for the Ashes
Third, chronologically, and second publication-wise, the Inspector Lynley detective mystery revolves around the aristocratic Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, of Scotland Yard.
My Take
Payment in Blood involves murders, cover-ups, and suicide amongst a group of theatrical people.
The story starts at a country house in Scotland in the middle of winter where the group has planned an initial run-through of a new play, although it proves to be a much newer play than anyone had anticipated.The past of over 20 years has come back to haunt several of our participants and too many motives and too many suspects without a credible bit of evidence make a difficult task for Inspector Lynley and Sergeant Havers. All of which leads to a series of life-changing decisions and revelations for many.
Excellent read. I had figured out who the 1973 murderer was and then was distracted by George’s writing onto the wrong person. Excellent depiction of a man driven by jealousy to the possible cost of his career and how he gets through it with the help of his friends. It’ll drive me nuts now until I can get hold of Well-Schooled in Murder!
The Cover and Title
The cover is amazingly discreet in its display of blood on the pile of lacy pillows — mustn’t get messy, must we…! Although the title is ever so accurate in its applications.
