What Came Before He Shot Her

The portrait of Lady Helen's "killer" is the most imaginative work of fiction that George has ever done. It completely transcends genre fiction.

This work is brilliant, and a real departure from the world of Tommy Lynley. It makes the death of Lady Helen, though not bearable, at least understandable. These new characters are finely wrought and surprisingly powerful.

Of course, the title should be enough of a clue for the reader, but I was expecting some backstory appended onto a traditional Lynley/Havers mystery. By the time I sailed through the first hundred pages I knew I was in store for something very different. George has written an extremely compelling novel about a range of fascinating characters -- some valiant, some inspiring, some evil, and most bewildered -- coping with the polyglot racial mix of working-class London, boiling within the poisonous stew of the British class system. Her talent for characters and dialogue has never been better; I felt the reality of these people and their lives, particularly children placed in situations no child should ever experience, and then making (naturally) disastrous choices in response. Of course, halfway through I saw where the book was going in terms of the title, but by then I was wholly swept up in another story entirely. This is a heart-wrenching, totally involving masterpiece.

This is an "anatomy of a murder," and not an insight into the aftermath of a crime. In What Came Before He Shot Her, George tells a tale of a family of children, left on a single aunt's doorstep. Their mother is institutionalized. Their father is dead. Their characters, morals, outlooks are shaped by many influences, both good and bad. The youngest is mentally disabled. The oldest is out of control The middle child is trying to hold everything together. Their aunt has good intentions toward them but never asked for this burden and her follow through in caring for her niece and nephews is mixed at best. While this book represents a significant departure from George's other novels and certainly the series I so enjoy, it is a moving, frustrating, insightful look into how children in our society may be influenced to do something evil and incomprehensible. Even though I love mysteries and this is not so much a mystery as a look at a tough neighborhood, kids in trouble, our society, the impact of what we do to help kids who are drifting, etc., I LOVE good writing. The character development in the book is wonderful. I think people have panned this for two reasons: It is just about the most painful book I've ever read. A lot of people want to escape through reading and this hurts a lot. Second, it's a departure for George and people always try to hold their writers to the same old same old. Shame on them for missing the power of this book when griping about her "failure" to continue the series right away.