This Body of Death by Elizabeth George

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I did not like this book nearly as well as the earlier books. Isabelle Ardery's is designed to talke Lynley's place if he can't be convinced to come back and she is abrasive, brash, idiotically unsensitive and totally unable to see any of her team as having a lick of sense. She is finally successful in getting Lynley out of the house and working on her team, but that doesn't ring true at all. You can tell from the beginning that she is to be a love interest for him and that just is beyond sense. He could easier fall in love with Barbara Havers, who at the very least is a good detective and friend despite her penchant for going against the rules.

The mystery itself is better than the last few and I thought very clever. It isn't too hard to figure what is going on by the Social Service reports, but you still can't work out the details until the end. As a matter of fact, I have oftened wondered about the subject of this mystery. I can't really say more without giving too much away.

So, it is still a good book, but I pray that Isabelle is bumped off or sent off in disgrace before the next book. She is totally unsympathetic and as for Lynley having any interest in her, well, I would put it down to post traumatic stress disorder due to the death of his wife. In order for him to continue a relationship with her, he'd have to be mentally ill.


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