What Came Before He Shot Her--SPOILERS

19 years ago

"What Came Before He Shot Her" is Elizabeth George's new book in the Inspector Lynley series. If you plan on reading it, don't read any more as this post contains SPOILERS, information that reveals things that happen in the book. Fair warning.

This book just came out last week and thru several coincidences, I was able to get it from the library and read it on a trip. I am eager to hear what others think of it as people get the chance to read it.

I found it very disturbing. If I had been home, with other things to read, I am not sure I would have finished it. It portrays the worst of human behavior and unrelenting tragedy for a number of innocent people. Every time something positive happens, things get even worse. And it is all so believable, with similar things happening to real people right now, which makes the reading experience even worse.

My own opinion is that Elizabeth George has long wanted to be a novelist, a literary figure, rather than a mystery writer. Her books have increasingly moved from the mystery genre to serious literary effort. Others will have to judge if she has succeeded. This book has almost no mystery and does not feature any of her usual characters, except for a brief moment.

And I firmly believe that the book is a direct response to the strong shock and criticism Elizabeth George received from many of her readers when she "killed off" a major recurring character in the last book. "What Came Before He Shot Her" is an apologia, an explanation for that event. I'd be surprised if the author would have written this book without the tremendous hostility she felt from so many of her fans. Even on her own website!

I think we are intended to feel such compassion for Joel, the young boy we believe to be the killer, that we forgive him--and Elizabeth George--for the murder of Helen Lynley. My heart certainly broke for that child but I do think he--and other characters in the book--made a number of sudden behavioral changes that were too sudden and not quite believable.

I've only seen one or two reviews so far and I have heard comparisons with Charles Dickens in that the book portrays the dark side of London life. But Dickens was an impossible optimist; this is the exact opposite. It might be subtitled: "The [British] Empire Strikes Back".

I guess it's a sign that the author succeeded if this book is still haunting me so strongly but I'm still not sure I'm glad I read it.

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Comments (6)

sherwood38
19 years ago
Ginny - I just got notice that I can pick up the book from the library, I was suprised that my turn came so quickly, but I will be back after I read it-probably over the weekend.

Pat
ginny12
Original Author
19 years ago
I saw this morning that this is on the NYT bestseller list. If you have read it, what do you think?
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Kath
19 years ago
My thought throughout my time reading this book was: 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'. So many people in this book were doing the best they could, but things still went from bad to worse.
I have read (somewhere but I don't recall where) that George originally wanted to put this side of the story in the previous book, but it would have been too long.
I am glad I read it, because it did put Helen's death into some kind of weird perspective.
ginny12
Original Author
19 years ago
Didn't you find it depressing tho? A number of people reached out to help that family...but it just didn't work. I wonder why not. I admired Kendra so much for taking the kids in after Grandma abandoned them so cruelly, and for having her own dreams and pursuing them, but then she jumped into bed with the first guy who beckoned.

And, interestingly, we still don't know why Helen was targeted. More questions than answers for me.
sherwood38
19 years ago
I finally finished it-taking longer than I thought due to having a houseguest.

It really was depressing and disturbing, but how can we here possibly relate to the lives of such people-and kids and how they deal with events that overwhelm them.

Of course to me I find it hard to acept that Joel couldn't tell someone-anyone what was going on, that he couldn't feel he could trust anyone, but being so young how could he possibly understand how he was being used by the Blade.
He did seem to have some recognition at the end of the 'why' which I think was all related to Vanessa and the original choice that she made which unfortunately had a backlash effect on the entire family.

As for why Helen was killed, the seems to me to be obvious-because Lynley was investigating the murders of the boys-and since there was a strange relationship between Ivan & the Blade I think that maybe Ivan was the murderer and he has some sort of deal with Blade.

Cal did make several attemps to warn Joel about Ivan and about Blade, but Joel was too young to understand what was going on and that he was being set up. I think Cal did the shooting because he knew Joel would not be able to and that Helen's murder was to distract everyone from investigating the serial killings....

Overall a sad hopeless story about a family that never seemed to stand a chance!

Pat
carolyn_ky
19 years ago
I had avoided this thread until I read the book, which I finished at 11:30 last night and could hardly get to sleep for thinking about it. What a dark book, and the worst thing is to think that there are areas in big cities that are probably like that.

I didn't think Kendra acted out of character at all; she liked men but didn't want commitment after her last marriage. I agree that Joel was too young to see what was really happening and thought Nessa was too damaged by her early trauma to make it through a second one.

I found the book utterly engrossing but was filled with dread from the beginning. Ms. George just gives a glimmer of hope for Nessa and Joel and then pulls the rug out from under them--and us.

I'll be anxious to see where she goes from here.

What Came Before He Shot Her--SPOILERS

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What Came Before He Shot Her--SPOILERS

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