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.
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Theodore Feit
The authors next book Two of the Deadliest will be issued in July 2009.