Rating: 
Summary: Would rate it zero if that were an option
Review: I am extremely angry that I paid money for this poorly written, confusing, much too long assemblage of miscellany. I have complained before and will again about how badly Havers routinely gets treated, about the author's misogyny, her bizarre adoration for some very shallow upperclass characters she created, and her attitude toward Americans. This time I can add her open and cruel hate for fat characters--in the first scene, a character gets run over because she is too fat to run out of the way of a car. Give me a break. All of that I could forgive because once upon a time, George wrote a good story. No more. it was impossible to be interested in the main characters of the mystery, the myster was confusing and seemed to have so many red herrings that it signaled a lack of control of the narrative on the writer's part. I will not be buying George's books any more.
Rating: 
Summary: Ho Hum
Review: I have been a fan of Elizabeth George from the beginning but I'm never buying another of her books until she gets a new editor. This book could have used some pruning. Come on, Liz! We all care about what happens to Lyndley and the lot, but could you get us there a little more efficiently?
Rating: 
Summary: The Police Procedural Soap: Keeping up with Elizabeth George
Review: A Traitor to Memory, Elizabeth George's most recent mystery, continues the pattern of mystery plus soap opera. Thomas Lynley, aristocrat (handsome, rich, sensitive), Barbara Havers, working class (obligatory chip on shoulder), and Winston Nkata, ethnic (Brixton-bred, Caribbean descent, loves his mother) plod on for the London Metropolitan Police Force. The class and culture mix work better in some of Ms George's mysteries than others; some are good examinations of class and culture. Others look like Dorothy Sayers on a bad day. This is one of the latter. The mystery centres on a hit and run homicide. Gideon, 28 year old ex-child prodigy, has forgotten all he knows of music. Part of the novel takes the form of a diary he is keeping for his psychiatrist, examining his childhood. We discover the victim of the homicide is his mother, who abandoned the family when he was ten years old. Gideon does not remember his music, but he does remember a great deal of other material: the drowning of a previously forgotten two year old sister, the behaviour of the adults around him at the time. His sister's nanny, convicted of the murder of the child, is released from prison at the same time. There's a nice mix of possible suspects, but the mystery element is very predictable. We guess who dun it early on; the red herrings are blatant. Ms George has several recurrent themes in her books: children, and the desire for children, the parent child relationship, particularly adult children and their parents. These form an important part of the book. Gideon's younger sister is mentally and physically impaired. How does a parent balance the obligations towards this child with obligations to other children? Ms George tries to deal with serious themes, but the treatment seems formulaic, particularly in contrast to some of her earlier treatment of the same issues. George's books need to be read in order. Her major characters mature, have affairs and break them off, get married...and her police officers continue, in this book, to have private lives. If you are an Elizabeth George fan, I'd recommend the book -- to keep up with what's happening on the home front with Lynley, if for no other reason. But I found the book disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: A valiant effort, but overall, a disappointment
Review: I've read all of Elizabeth George's mysteries and most of them are excellent. But her latest was a disappointment, not because it was without merit, but because it failed to maintain momentum and ultimately got bogged down under its own weight. This was particularly unfortunate because the author clearly wanted this novel to transcend the mystery genre. And to a great extent she succeeded, at least in the first half. The story itself is not all that complex, though some readers have complained about the switching from the inner-narrative of a major character to the author's third person narrative. There are some connections between characters that seem a bit far-fetched, but that's not all that unusual in a mystery. The real problem with the plot development is that there are simply too many threads to the story, and even a writer with Elizabeth George's gifts is unable to hold things together. Some reviewers have criticized the author for including gay characters and cybersex, but I give her credit for pushing the boundaries and keeping her work current. She also gets points for introducing some interesting new characters, though she let too many of them drop out of the story when she was ready to bring the plot to a conclusion. So, the author gets three stars for having the courage to stretch herself, even if the final product does not live up to its early promise.
Rating:
Summary: Less Gideon, please...
Review: I've loved all of Elizabeth George's books, but I only liked this one. It started out in a rather intriguing way - but the ending was not only predictable, but confusing. The format started out as an interesting device - from the diary of a tormented child prodigy (Gideon), to the familiar and well loved characters of Lynley, Havers, and Nkata. However, the change of "timeline" at the end doesn't work as well as intended, and the revelations at the end are less revelations than confirmations. I wanted less Gideon and more Lynley. There are various love affairs and love objects in this book, and not all work well. The introduction of a lesbian love triangle is an interesting touch. Still, these characters dissappear towards the end of the book, even though these smaller, peripheral characters are often more interesting. I also felt Lynley and Havers, who I've followed throughout the series, were relegated to secondary characters in this book. I will say that George, as always, kept my interest up to almost the disapointing end. She still can add certain twists and turns to keep the reader interested.
Rating:
Summary: Slogging through Memory
Review: Although I finally finished it, I must say that it became somewhat tedious. The story never came to a very satisfying end, and I disliked most of the characters (except for Lindley et al). The time frames became confusing and who did what to whom never really was answered well. Unlike previous books by George, this one seemed too labored and psychologically muddled.
Rating: 
Summary: A brilliant, perceptive book
Review: What a wonderfully perceptive book. George's ability to draw characters that are real is exceptional. She understands psychology so well, and this is such an important part of a well-written book. In fact this was a book I have lived in for over two weeks. It had my attention the whole time, even when I was doing other things, I would be wondering about things I'd read. At the end it all hung together in a complete way. I discovered Elizabeth George's books last year (2000) and read all of them in subsequent months. I have been waiting ever since for her next book. Unlike Ruth Rendall, who writes in the same genre, and whose books never have any hope for something better in them, George balances hers. In Traitor to Memory, hope is held out for several characters. Justice is done in the main, although for one character who is severely penalised unjustly, it is not, but this is a reflection on her character. Keep it up Elizabeth George. For serious readers, who are not shallow and simply looking for thrills, your writing is perceptive, gripping and satisfying.
Rating:
Summary: Elizabeth George tries something new
Review: It's hard waiting for a new Elizabeth George book, so the length of her latest felt like a reward for being so patient. Her writing falls into the category of "good things I can't get enough of," and very little of it turned out to be extraneous. The story requires a gradual unfolding of the characters' histories in order to understand their perceptions and motivations. Ultimately, the most bizarre behavior makes perfect sense in the context of each character's limitations. And just when you think one of them has succeeded in transcending those limitations there's an ironic - and inevitable - twist. George's ongoing characters take a backseat here, and that seems like a wise decision. Their presence gives us a touchstone in a story of people trying to come to terms with the past. We already know them as the good guys, yet their shared history haunts the present with enough angst to fuel a melodrama. Is it any wonder then that the less stable characters in the book have trouble escaping the events that shaped them? Altogether a satisfying foray into the psychological mystery genre.
Rating:
Summary: Needed an Editor
Review: I love Ms. George's books. Her mystery's with Lynley and Havers and Co. on the case, with an in-depth look at their lives outside of policing, are terrific. This book was just a mess. 700 pages? Only the bible could be that long and get away with it. Too many story lines, i.e. lesbian lover, cyber sex, past family relations, changed names, adultery, and it really all goes no where. Gideon and his doctor's sessions were about 1/2 of the book and was totally unnecessary. I found myself skimming and if it was not for the hope that it would get better, I would have put it down and forgotten it. I hope that Ms. George's next story comes out before 2 years and includes the cast we love. I do wonder, however, if Winston and that gal get together.
Rating:
Summary: Deeply problematic book
Review: At this point, with so many reviews being posted, it's hard not to write a review without taking others' comments into consideration. Here goes: A number of people have complained about the main characters -- Havers, Lynley, and so on -- becoming more peripheral in this story. I didn't mind that. I find Havers' pathetic qualities annoying, and the whole British aristocracy thing has always been the element of George's writing which I find the least believable. The essential plot here, I felt, was interesting. However, the timing was very strange. Apparently, some of the events occur well before Eugenie's death, but we don't find out that they are supposed to be timed that way until well into things. It's confusing, to say the least. There's also a point which is either a huge continuity error or sufficiently confusing to totally perplex me: Katja Wolff comes to see Gideon and ask for money, but he refuses because he doesn't recognize her. But throughout the first half of the book, Gideon speaks as though it's Eugenie, his mother, who came to see him. Huh?? The characterization of the prodigy, his disturbed father, and the father's demanding, selfish but believable fiance is good, although the psychoanalysis journal motif got a little nebulous. Gideon's girlfriend, though, was a ridiculous caricature of an American. The relationships of Katja and her lovers seemed believable, though I find it hard to credit that real British police officers are able to threaten people they are questioning with the revelation of their homosexuality. Even if believable, this behavior certainly made Nkata look like a bad guy. The end is horrible. I don't demand endings which are all sweetness and light, but this was simply awful.
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