After finishing Believing the Lie, the latest from Elizabeth George, I am happily rereading my way through all of her Inspector Lynley series. Her main characters, an unlikely teaming, are richly complex and likeable. After all these years, they feel like family.
Inspector Thomas Lynley is the Earl of Asherton, a title which he wears like an uncomfortable overcoat. Suave and always elegant, Tommy is struggling to cope with what has happened to Lady Helen Clyde. (no spoilers here) His partner, Barbara Havers, is as always struggling with her physical shortcomings while trying to help Tommy with his latest case and her neighbor with his returned prodigal lady.
Deborah and Simon St.-James are along for the ride, and the former gets deeply enmeshed in the case in ways that worry Tommy and her husband.
These five are in every one of the Lynley novels, and it's a real treat to follow them through years of evolving relationships. The mysteries are always interesting, but for me, the murders take a secondary role in my enjoyment of George's books.
I really can't think of a comparable series.......perhaps the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels of Anne Perry, although they are set in a different time and lack the added soupcon of dealing with contemporary social mores and issues.
Need to run, will try to write again soon.
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