Product Description

Virtuoso violinist Gideon Davies has lost his memory of music and his ability to play the instrument he mastered at the age of five. One fateful night at Wigmore Hall, he lifted his violin to play in a Beethoven trio ...and everything in his mind related to music was gone. Gideon suffers from a form of amnesia, the cure for which is an examination of what he can remember. And what he can remember is little enough until his mind is triggered by the weeping of a woman and a single name: Sonia. One rainy evening, a woman called Eugenie travels to London for a mysterious appointment. But before she is able to reach her destination, a car swoops out of nowhere and kills her in the street. In pursuing her killer, Thomas Lynley, Barbara Havers and Winston Nkata come to know a group of people inextricably connected by a long-ago crime and punishment no one has spoken of for twenty years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1415520 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 816 pages

Review
'Absorbing ... the pleasure of the book is the slow, surprising and often shocking unravelling of the various links between the main characters' -- Marcel Berlins, The Times 'A long and absorbing read that will please lovers of the traditional crime novel' -- Scotland on Sunday 'Elizabeth George orchestrates the family-secrets theme like a maestro ... worthy of a standing ovation.' -- Amazon.com 'keeps the reader on the knife's edge of suspense, thanks to George's skill at weaving together intriguing characters, disturbing action, police procedure, psychological insight, and mordant wit. First-rate suspense with a stunner of an ending.' -- Booklist 'A very accomplished crime writer who is able to keep the reader's suspense right up to the last page.' -- Woman's Way, Dublin 'Thoroughly enjoyable.' -- Bookseller 'A Traitor to Memory is more PD James than Ruth Rendell ... very convincing ... the book makes a serious and valid point about what is left of the personality of a musical prodigy if the music is taken away.' -- Classical Music 'Plots of dazzling inventiveness are the hallmark of George's first-rate murder mysteries. A story to keep you engrossed al the way to Inverness and back.' -- Livewire

About the Author
Elizabeth George is the author of highly acclaimed novels of psychological suspense. She won the Anthony and Agatha Best First Novel awards in America and received the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere in France. In 1990 she was awarded the prestigious German prize for international mystery fiction, the MIMI. Her novels have now been adapted for television by the BBC. An Edgar and Macavity Nominee as well as a New York Times and international bestselling author, Elizabeth George divides her time between Washington and Kensington, London.

Customer Reviews

Must read for series continuity but not strong on its own
Elizabeth George is an amazing writer. Her ability to reach beyond the normal formula for creating a new mystery while keeping the progression of the main characters intact and interesting, is fantastic. I have hungrily read all of her novels preceding this title and already procured the next set to ensure I am not left without my next fix. However, I have to say that "A Traitor to Memory" was by far my least favorite in the series. The jumps and turns make for compelling reading, but they are jarring to withstand.

George seems to go to great lengths to ensure that her storylines are authentic. I applaud her for her diligence and hard work for the effort clearly pays off. But this story seems to be too crammed full. It was an exhausting read. I usually am hard pressed to put a George book down but this one I couldn't wait to finish it because it was not as entertaining as I had expected. Would I recommend it? As a mystery to stand on its own, no. But as part of the series I would heartily suggest reading it because as with all George's Det. Lynley series it is critical to the next in line.