Elizabeth George is perhaps best known for being a Californian from Ohio who somehow writes pitch-perfect British police procedurals. She's even received the ultimate imprimatur, having the BBC turn her books into a tv series. That's how I was introduced to her Inspector Thomas Lynley (Nathaniel Parker), who's also the eighth Earl of Asherton, and his bitter working-class sidekick, Barbara Havers (Sharon Small). The films are diverting enough, but this first novel goes a long way to filling in just why Havers is so insecure, self-loathing, and difficult for even the eminently understanding Lynley to work with, a theme the series relies on heavily.
Ms George packs her mystery too full of stock background--haunted manors and ripper murders--and overbroad characters--amusingly enough, it's the American tourists who are the worst caricatures--but a first-time novelist can always be excused for trying too hard to please; after all, they may never get another chance. But the mystery at the heart of Ms George's story--about a beheaded farmer, whose near-catatonic daughter is found soaked in blood beside him--is so deftly handled and the Lynley/Havers interaction so compelling that she won both the Edgar and Agatha awards for Best First Novel and was launched on her best-selling career. Excuse her some rookie jitters and set aside a decent-sized chunk of time as you're not unlikely to gulp down A Great Deliverance in just one sitting.
(Reviewed:27-Aug-05)
Grade: (A-)
