This Body of Death by Elizabeth George

I've read all of Elizabeth George's novels and have mostly enjoyed them. The last couple she has been focusing on child abuse which is an area that I do not enjoy reading about. I'd forgotten that this book was about that before I started to read it. What I like about her books is that the characters are continued and they have mostly shown growth and depth as the books have progressed.

I had trouble with this one from the start mostly because of the style. She uses the flashback method to tell one of the story lines. But where the method was intriguing and engaging in Louise Penny's book,Bury your Dead, in this book it was intrusive and annoying, at least at first. This is because the flashbook story is being told in the form of a report. I suspect it's partly to lessen the horror of the story. And the story is horrific even told in the bland, reporting way of a psychologist's report.

The other story line is good. I'm not sure I like where she's going with a couple of the main characters. it will be interesting to see how they develop in later books.

If you are a staunch Elizabeth George fan then you will want to read this book if only to keep up with Detective Lynley and Barbara Havers. Otherwise I would recommend reading her earlier books as there is more story telling and less background stuff to wade through.