Lynley was barely in this novel and Havers wasn’t in it at all. an American friend of Deborah’s is thrown in jail on the Channel Island of Guernsey. China River is suspected of murdering entrepreneur Guy Brouard. her brother, Cherokee, shows up on Simon and Deborah’s doorstep asking for their help.

the entire novel takes place on Guernsey; Simon and Deborah return to the island with Cherokee to attempt to uncover the truth. as with most of the Lynley mysteries, this one leads readers down wild goose chases before the real killer is finally discovered.

obviously, i’m not a huge fan of Simon and Deborah, which is the main reason i didn’t like this book. i had difficulty following the storyline, but that could be because of the memory problems i’ve had recently. in any case, not being able to remember what i read the previous hour certainly didn’t help.

Very good, and I’m glad to get more background and characterization from Simon and Deborah. It seemed like the “development” was mostly re-treads of things we’ve already learned from other books.

Compelling characters and storylines propel this mystery, the latest in George’s Lynley series. This book focuses on St. James and his wife, two characters that George needed to flesh out. She didn’t wholly succeed, but a great read nonetheless.