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Payment in Blood is one of Elizabeth George's popular series of mysteries featuring two central characters; the aristocratic Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his associate, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers. In this installment, a murder is committed at a remote Scottish hotel, and, despite the fact that it's out of their jurisdiction, Lynley, Havers, and forensic scientist Simon Allcourt-St. James are assigned to the case. Matters get progressively more complicated on a number of levels. First of all, Lynley discovers that a woman he loves is involved, then another murder is committed, and finally a 30-year old political scandal raises its ugly head.
Payment in Blood has a number of the trappings of a classics mystery story - a crime committed by one of a small group of definite suspects, virtually all of whom have a fairly strong motive. However, despite its length, the book never induces the kind of boredom that works of that genre are wont to. This is due partly to the fact that George does a decent job of keeping the reader in suspense, and partly to the fact that there is so much more going on than just the solving of the crime. Lynley's emotional turmoil over the involvement of his lady-friend, which eventually impairs his professional judgement, Haver's basic dislike for aristocrats (which impairs her professional judgement), and the political manoeverings surrounding the case are but a few examples of this additional "action."
Even at over 400 pages, Payment in Blood is not a slow read, although it does take a little bit of time to get really going. The fact that some of the characters are a tad stereotypical should not be taken to mean that they are two-dimensional, or boring. Like many of the books in the series, there is a very dark undercurrent in this one; the sense that terrible discoveries are lurking just around the corner makes Payment in Blood a suspenseful read, and one which does not, in most cases disappoint.
I would recommend Payment in Blood to anyone who enjoys a good British mystery.
Reviewed by Patrick Conway on February 3rd, 1997. Posted in rec.arts.books.reviews on February 8, 1997. Photograph from The Unofficial Elizabeth George Page.
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