Rating: 
Summary: A real disappointment
Review: Normally I am an enthusiastic fan of Ms. George, but this book is confusing and full of whining, one note characters. Of course a mystery novel must contain some unpleasant characters, since the reader has to believe them capable of murder, but they don't have to go on grating on the nerves for hundreds of pages.Long before I finished this book I was hoping for a mass murderer to come along and wipe out the entire mopey cast. I can only hope that Ms. George will return to her usual fine form in her next novel.
Rating: 
Summary: It's A Plod. Surely Elizabeth George's Next Will Be Better.
Review: I cannot elaborate any better or further than the previous reviewers of A Traitor To Memory. Having read and enjoyed previous novels in the Lynley-Havers series, I entertained lofty expectations of this latest book by Elizabeth George. However, it required a supremely concerted effort to grind through the ponderous text, plough on through the cumbersome plot, and endure the maximum insult delivered in the conclusion of this tepid tome. Back to P.D. James and beloved Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine for the holidays. I would advise fans to do likewise. Spend your precious reading time enjoying the masters of the genre or cozy up with a few of Sue Grafton's mysteries and your Christmas will be merry and bright.
Rating: 
Summary: Elizabeth George - read this - Bring back Havers!!
Review: I wonder if Elizabeth George reads these? She must! I would, if I were her. Look, I think that all of us Elizabeth George fans know that this was not her best. But, Elizabeth George mediocre is still a four out of five compared to other mystery writers. Elizabeth George, if you are reading this, please put in more about Havers next time!! Would it really kill you to give her a lover or what? I mean, I'm sure you could match her up with some interesting character and then tell us about all her doubts and reservations as she goes along. Also, I would like to see Winston get involved with Daniel in the next book as that was very well done. I find your Dorothy Sayers character (Linley a la Peter Whimsey) works well when he is with Havers and Winston and when you are describing how well dressed he is. But, I don't like the Deborah, St James, etc crowd. I suppose it's good he ended up with Helen, but all of them are just a little too toff-esque. I also agree that you really do not have to bring sex into it as graphically. Did some marketing people tell you that your readers would like this?? Not!! You were already doing fine. Don't take free advice from anyone but your loyal fans!! We do not need to see a guy masturbating in the bushes to understand his character. Keep the romance in and the sex out. Anyway, bring back Havers!!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing effort
Review: A very disappointing effort from a usually dependable writer. At least half the book is occupied by the ramblings of the violinist Gideon Davies, which does little to create tension and makes Lynley and Havers almost cameo figures in a series in which they usually star.
Rating: 
Summary: Superb. A Big Book in Every Way
Review: Wow! was my final thought as I read the final line of Elizabeth George's latest novel. I have never read such a long book which seemed to pass so quickly. This book, in paperback, will be about 850 pages, and to this date will be the longest book I've read (but i Am only 15, so i have a lot more opportunity to enlarge upon that figure.) The 664 pages passed (i am referring to the English edition) as if in the flicker of an eyelid. i was expecting to be busy for at least a week while reading this book. It is her largest so far, tipping the scale at a massive page number, and God knows how many words. And every moment of it was pure pleasure. It is probably one of the best book's I've read this year. Elizabeth george's writing continues to astound me. Her prose is so beautiful. It's complicated, yet infinitely understandable. Her characters are all drawn superbly, they're realistic, not always likeable, yet always interesting. I for one do get tired of the constant passages concerning the lives of Lyley, Havers, and the St James's, in many of her other novels. However, in this book she backs away from them, and concentrated much more on her other characters, and is clearly making Gideon Davies the star. I found this book SO hard to put down. There were twists and turns a-plenty, and her psychological perception is so astute. The fact she has a psychology Ph.D is obvious. The psychlogy is better than that of Minette Walters books. (which is something i never thought I'd come to say) It was such an interesting book, on every level. The psychology of the characters was fascinating (I'll try and stop using the "p" word now, ive used it about five times thus far) and just that fact kept me ploughing on, waiting for more of the personal revelations. the why's, the where's, the hows, of not only the crime, but the people. Her characters are as good as Tami Hoag, her the psychological (there it is again) aspects as good as Rendell, the plots as beautiful as any Walters, and the language as complex as any P.D. James. The ending was great! it was so frustrating to the reader, and because of that you completely understood Gideon's reaction to what Libby has done, as it is also frustrating to him. Of course, it is not her fault. I also liked the way George still left the events which happened 20 years ago, in "the bathroom" as somewhat of a mystery. We don't really know what actually happened, and it is up to the reader to pick one of two solutions. I found the way Gideon changed gradually throughout the book, in his opinions, beliefs, and thoughts surrounding everthing. And it was very well done how he slowly came to believe so much in what he was doing, and the fact that the thing which Dr Rose has prescribed him to do, IS actually helping him, so he perceveres willingly. Although George is an American, she does capture England quite well(I am from england, os have a pretty good idea). Although she does centre very heavily on either the upper class, or lower class. Also, the things she has us doing are quite stereotypical. There are a couple of errors about culture/tradition, but they can't possibly spoil the enjoyment of this great novel, nro do they really matter. I doubt most people even notice them. Unless i knew she wasnt an Anglophile, i would probably not be able to tell. I cannot wait for her next book. The long wait will be agonising. In short, this is a superb book. If you like psychology this is most certainly book of the year for you. Buy it now. Now. Go on, what are you still reading this for? Buy it NOW.
Rating:
Summary: A Traitor to Memory
Review: I've reached the last few pages of this tome, and I'm not sure that I have the interest or energy to carry on. This one has exhausted me! I have always enjoyed reading and rereading Elizabeth George's novels, and I waited anxiously for "A Traitor to Memory" to be published. I have been both bored and disappointed by this novel. I wanted to know how she had advanced the lives of the characters that people her stories: Havers, Lynley, Helen, St. James, Deborah, and Winston. Each is intriguing in his or her own way. However, they and the unfolding of their lives were obscured by the narcissistic demands of the central character, violinist Gideon Davies, his Victorian father, his maniac grandfather, and the hollow women who took to the shadows in the madhouse of Gideon's childhood. I look forward to Ms. George's next book. In the meantime, I think I'll spend my Christmas holidays enjoying her earlier works again.
Rating:
Summary: Too much gratuitous sex
Review: I have enjoyed Elizabeth George's mysteries in the past even though they don't compare to the likes of Ruth Rundell or P.D. James - but this one was not good. It was choppy and substituted grapic and gratuitious sexual scenes and language for a seamless plot and quality of characterization. After I read the last sentence, I thought - "who cares" and felt like I had wasted my time reading a potboiler.
Rating:
Summary: Most boring book
Review: This book is much too long to keep the reader's interest up. The characters are hardly believable and Linley and Havers are on the perimeter never helping the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as the others
Review: I am a great fan of E. George's and have read almost all her previous books. As a thriller it was quite good, and I read it at a fast pace to finish it and find out who was the murderer. The book had a number of positive aspects to it: very good character portrayal of Gideon, and his mother and the psychological analysis as to why he developed his phobia is quite convincing. But there were a lot of repetitions and details which slowed the naration at some points, and made it somewhat boring. The motivation to the murders was not quite convincing, and at a few points I got the definite impression that George confused the times of the narative(no wonder since she kept taking us to various points in the past and then bringing us back to the present). The ending also left me with a bit of disquiet and dissatisfied. Overall, A Traitor to Memory is quite thrilling, and interesting compared to other writers of the same genre, but not as good as George's previous novels.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing and cumbersome
Review: Elizabeth George is one of my favorite writers so I was very disappointed with this cumbersome and uninteresting book. Instead of integrating the lives of her ongoing characters into the plot, the story focuses on an ensemble of unlikeable strangers who I couldn't have cared less about. And Gideon's monologue was downright boring. The only thing satisfactory about the ending was that I didn't have to read anymore about these people. I've read every book in this series and can only hope that Elizabeth George picks up on a the warm, rich progression of her characters from her earlier books!
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