Well-Schooled in Murder

Rating:
Summary: Well-written, but it bothered me
Review: I had an odd reaction to this book. I am not usually horrified by reading novels about violent events, and there are other books that I have read and reviewed and have not been adversely affected by when other people have had concerns--Martha Grimes' The Lamorna Wink comes to mind.

Interestingly enough, Well Schooled In Murder upset me very much. I am not sure what the main issue is for me here, but the murder of the child Matthew, and the graphic depiction of his parents, first happy and full of joy in their world, and then plunged into horrifying grief, really bothered me. I almost stopped reading several times, and then decided that I neede to persevere. I'm glad I did, I guess, and I will certainly continue with Elizabeth George's series, which I have really loved so far, but this was hard for me.

I also found the estrangement of Deborah and Simon Alcourt St. James difficult and painful. As I think about it now, Simon's comment to Deborah's question of "how do we get back?" is important. He says "we go on," and maybe that is the answer to most of the pain in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Well-written, but it bothered me
Review: I had an odd reaction to this book. I am not usually horrified by reading novels about violent events, and there are other books that I have read and reviewed and have not been adversely affected by when other people have had concerns--Martha Grimes' The Lamorna Wink comes to mind.

Interestingly enough, Well Schooled In Murder upset me very much. I am not sure what the main issue is for me here, but the murder of the child Matthew, and the graphic depiction of his parents, first happy and full of joy in their world, and then plunged into horrifying grief, really bothered me. I almost stopped reading several times, and then decided that I neede to persevere. I'm glad I did, I guess, and I will certainly continue with Elizabeth George's series, which I have really loved so far, but this was hard for me.

I also found the estrangement of Deborah and Simon Alcourt St. James difficult and painful. As I think about it now, Simon's comment to Deborah's question of "how do we get back?" is important. He says "we go on," and maybe that is the answer to most of the pain in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Questioning Lynley's competence (minor spoilers)
Review: I have read six of George's Lynley series (A Great Deliverance, Payment in Blood, Well-Schooled in Murder, Deception on His Mind, In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner, and A Traitor to Memory) and am beginning to wonder if George deliberately writes Lynley as a bad detective. Sure, the murders get solved, but mostly through luck or a timely (if unlikely) confession. And Lynley seldoms follows police procedure, or even common sense. In one book he has Helen Clyde question/comfort a murder suspect. I hardly think she is qualified to do so, and anything she would learn would, very likely, not be admissable in court. In another book, he absolutely refuses to listen to Haver's evidence, simply because he dislikes the idea that she wasn't fired from the force. In another he disregards evidence that would solve the mystery in the hopes of pinning it on someone with whom Helen is having an affair, thereby letting jealously dictate how he conducts an investigation he should have removed himself from (conflict of interest, anyone?). It just seems as though George writes Lynley as an unlikable, sexist dolt. Pity Havers couldn't be the main character in ALL George's books, since she seems to be the brains of this crime-fighting duo.

In this novel, the murder is again solved (and committed) through luck. In this case, a lucky, if completely illogical, suicide. The killer himself seems unnaturally lucky to have been able to drag a bound child through the school and its grounds and then drag his dead body back through the school campus without being noticed once. Apparently there is no night watchman or janitor at this "prestigious" boarding school.

And then we have Lynley completely IGNORING a case of spousal abuse (there is no justification in beating your grieving wife, no matter how much YOU are 'grieving') and actually covering up for an obvious pedophile simply because he is an "Eton chum", thereby leaving this man in a position of power over children in a boarding school. Horrible. I lost all respect for the character of Lynley and the writer at that point.

While I found Havers' home life to be tragic and compelling, I found Lynley's mooning over Helen to be childish and dull. And I find the age differences between George's main "romances" (Thomas/Helen and Simon/Deborah) to be disturbing. These men treat these women like children, but then George writes these women to be LIKE children.

Worst George novel I've read so far. I will contintue to read her work, simply because I find the character of Havers to be interesting. Lynley can rot.

Rating:
Summary: Well-Schooled In Murder A Well-Done Mystery!
Review: I purchased this book in paperback three years ago, given my passion for a good murder mystery and all things English. I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN FROM THE MOMENT I BEGAN READING IT!!!! This story combines the elements of a brilliant whodunit with a look inside life at an English boarding school, and is a recipe for a well-done mystery!

Rating:
Summary: Maybe it helps to understand the system better
Review: I shan't offer an outline of the story, since there are enough reviews to do that. The book is excellent with a well plotted, thoughtful story of murder at an English public school. What struck me as curious was my fellow reviewers' observations about 'an English public school being a mandatory setting for writers of English mysteries' and 'the hypocrisy and brutality that underlie the British veneer of politeness' To comment on the first observation, I have read many, many mysteries written by English authors. I can count on the fingers of one hand, the number that have been set at an English public school (actually, private schools!). To claim that such a setting is mandatory is rubbish. In fact, what Elizabeth George does is to use her story to probe into the system. She does this well (accept that from a former pupil of a British public school, who knows how the system works). On the second observation - 'the hypocrisy and brutality that underlie the British veneer of politeness', I can only say that at least the Brits don't wish everybody 'Have a nice day' when they don't mean it. I think that is a better definition of hypocrisy! And since when were the British regarded as brutal (save for certain bad habits in the wars of the 19th century - habits shared by many other nations)? I also believe that these reviewers are confusing English with British. It's time to understand the difference. Read Jeremy Paxman's 'The English : Portrait of a People' and you'll be better equipped to make scathing comments about a culture that you don't understand. I'm not defending the English, I'm merely pointing out that some reviews lack depth and substance.

Rating:
Summary: Way too much discriptions, and not enough plot.
Review: I've read 5 Georges' books so far and loved them all, except this. You have to read about 20 pages of discriptions just to read a page or two of the story..Boring..

Rating:
Summary: My first Elizabeth George and perhaps my favorite
Review: In college I took a class in detective fiction and this was one of the six books that we had to read -- it proved to be my favorite.

The murder of a child from a British boarding school whose parental lineage is a bit of a mystery is found by Deborah St. James. This places a huge emotional strain on her as she recently suffered a miscarriage.

Enter Detectives Lynley and Havers on the scene. (This book also explores their personal lives outside of the crime scene as you get a very clear dichotomy of their social standing -- Lynley with his fine house and surroundings; Havers with her aging and ailing family members. This was heavily debated in our class and it was interesting to see how George pulls it off so well.) They explore the inner sanctum of the all-boys school and learn more than they expected (although something tells me Lynley already knew what to expect and just didn't want to mention it) along with some more than suprising twists that left many a jaw on the floor.

Elizabeth George has always had a deft handling of her characters and their emotions and this book is no different. With this book, she really hit her stride.

Rating:
Summary: One More Time!
Review: In my effort to give Elizabeth George a fair chance, I read this book, the third in the series of the Lynley/Havers books. Reading the book's description, it sounded like an interesting story.

I knew right away, though, that coincidence was going to play a large part when Deborah, St. James' wife, was the one who discovered Matthew's body in the churchyard while she was traveling around the countryside taking photos. The story would have worked just as well, and not seemed so contrived, had the body been found by someone who was not associated with Lynley or the other main characters.

As the book progressed, I found myself wanting to slap some sense in Deborah. Her "poor me" attitude and attempts to hide her problem from her husband by withdrawing seemed so immature.

Then I started doing some math and figured out that she was about 12 years younger than her husband. I also deduced that when she had her affair with Lynley, she had been 18 and he was 29! I find that hard to envision in the kind of world that George has set these characters into.

I thought the goings on, especially the hazing, in the school were a bit overdone. Maybe this does go on, and, if so, it certainly does not bode well for the reputation of British boarding schools.

I am going to read the next book just to satisfy my curiosity about the early years of these characters.

Rating:
Summary: The Original Theme
Review: In this, the third installment of the Lynley-Havers series, George expands upon her literary approach and succeeds resoundingly. Set at a typical British public school, Well-Schooled in Murder deals primarily with class and the subtle, but sometimes brutal, means by which class distinctions and pecking-orders are maintained. Disappointing however was the de-emphasis upon Havers, except for some interesting insights into her private life. I felt that this book more than either of the previous could have provided Havers with an opportunity to indict the British class system, but she merely slaps it on the hand with a few salty remarks. Regarding the mystery itself, George's skill at plot development increases with each outing in this series. Fans of Simon and Deborah will be pleased to learn that their lives and histories are explored much more fully than before and that these characters have evolved to become as important (if not more) than Havers. While pleased with the ever-improving excellence that George applies toward character and plot development, I hope that she returns to the original theme which made the first novel, A Great Deliverance, shine -- the conflict/cooperation between Lynley and Havers as representative of the evolution of Britain from an aristocracy to a meritocracy.

Rating:
Summary: A Very Slow Read
Review: The first half of the book is hard to get into. It reads very slowly. It is very cut and dry. It isn't until the last third of the book that the pace quickly accelerates. The ending is very exciting although a bit predictable. All the loose ends are neatly wrapped up.