Detective Superintendent Thomas Lynley has walked the beaches and cliffs of the Cornwall coast for six weeks with
nothing but the clothes on his back, an ancient sleeping bag and a rucksack containing a bit of food and a bottle of
water. He had to walk, for if he remained at home and slept, he realized he would eventually will himself to never
awaken again. He walked in an effort to avoid thoughts of the future and memories of the past. His memory is
continually haunted by the senseless murder of his pregnant wife, Helen. (With No One As Witness - also
reviewed on Myshelf.com).
On the 43rd day of his walk he stumbles upon the battered body of a young man who had apparently fallen while
cliff climbing, He breaks into the cottage of Daidre Trahair, a veterinarian from the Bristol Zoo, to find a
telephone to report the body.
When the local police chief, Bea Hannaford, arrives at the scene she views Lynley, unwashed, unshaven, with no
identification, as a possible suspect. Daidre, who evades and lies about her actions, is also under suspicion.
Once Lynley's identity is established, Bea, with an understaffed police force, coerces Lynley into assisting her by
investigating the mysterious Daidre. His search for information leads him to New Scotland Yard and DC Barbara Havers.
Havers arrives on the scene, ostensibly to assist Hannaford with her case, and to supply Lynley with the
information she found about Daidre, but also, perhaps, to watch out for Lynley whose resignation has never been
filed. He has been put on indefinite compassionate leave.
Meanwhile Bea and her staff must probe into the lives of all those who have had contact with Santo. His death is
ruled a homicide as his climbing equipment had been sabotaged. Both investigations uncover disturbing complications
in several families, some incidences reaching back decades. They must continue until they uncover the clever and
dangerous murderer.
George has given us not only a mystery to be solved but also the story of several families with problems similar
to Lynley’s, all having to do with grief. She explores in-depth the compulsion some parents have to control the
lives of their children. The characters are brilliantly compelling, believable and well presented. There are a few
light hearted moments to relieve the tensions of the story: Selevan's aborted, frustrated attempt to inform his
granddaughter, Tammie, about the facts of life; Lynley's inept attempt to replace the glass in the window he broke
in Daidre's cottage.
George's writing style is eloquent and elegant. She has well portrayed the struggle of Lynley with his grief,
and has explored the personal problems of Hannaford. Some terms having to do with climbing are explained as is
information about Cornwall and its surfing world. Still not resolved is Lynley's grief. The entry into the
investigation may have led him back to the land of the living, but time has not yet proved a healer.
And then there is Cornwall, Lynley's home country. George has vividly and picturesquely painted its sea, its
rugged cliffs and beaches, its flowers and shrubs so well that you feel that you are part of it. These vivid
descriptions of the sea and the countryside set the background for the story.
Careless in Red was heralded "as her most eagerly anticipated novel yet." I must agree with this. Not
only was it "eagerly anticipated" it was eagerly read and enjoyed. It is an excellent addition to an already
excellent series. Hopefully there will be another soon with a resolution to Lynley's grief.