A Great Deliverance

"The Inspector Lynley Novels, who wrote them again, oh, Elizabeth George, read those, those are good." That's what one of my colleagues told me as we were discussing books. My crazy form of OCD always wants to start these series from the beginning, even though it isn't always necessary. "A Great Deliverance", released in 1988, was the first of the Inspector Lynley novels and that is where I started in my discovery of Elizabeth George.

As I jumped into this novel, the first thing I had to adjust to was the British sensibility and back drop. While George is an American, born and bred, the Cast and locale of her story in in Great Britain and while I am not a stranger to these sensibilities, it's not a common thing for me and it takes some adjusting.

This book took me a long time to read, and while I adjusted at some point to the mindset, I never really rallied for any of the characters until the very end of the book. While the end was quite intense, overall, I was left with something missing and still have an uncertainty that lingers.

Since starting the book, two more people I know have raved about their love for Elizabeth George including one, an avid reader, English major and library buff, referring to George as her favorite writer. This all encouraged me to hang in there and forge ahead, and despite finishing this book with no real sense of how I feel about George as a writer, will at least get me to read another of her books.

After all I've already said, I can't clearly say that I liked this book but I am not certain I can in good conscience say that I didn't like it. I know, I am no help at all, right? Should you give it a whirl? That's going to be your decision - somewhere down the road, I will grab another of her books and try again.