For two decades Elizabeth George has been a fixture on national and international bestseller lists. Her newest Lynley novel, Believing the Lie may be George's first book with Dutton, but it is part of an incredible list of sixteen emotionally sweeping, character-driven crime novels, all of which garnered critical acclaim.
In Believing the Lie, Inspector Lynley is called away from London to the small county of Cumbria. At the request of the wealthy and influential Bernard Fairclough, Lynley goes undercover to investigate the drowning of Fairclough's nephew, Ian Cresswell. Although the death has been ruled an accident, it is clear that Bernard’s family is awash in secrets, so Lynley decides to dive in and enlists the help of friends Simon and Deborah St. James.
Deborah’s investigation of the prime suspect, Bernard's prodigal son Nicholas, a recovering drug addict, leads her to Nicholas's wife, a woman as fiercely protective as she is beautiful. Lynley and Simon delve for information from the rest of the family, including the victim’s bitter ex-wife and the man he left her for, as well as Bernard himself. As the case escalates, everyone from Barnard’s distant wife and angry daughter, to the deeply troubled child Cresswell left behind are cracking under the weight of their own lies and secrets.
With a spiteful and protective family, and a haunting setting in the landscape of the Lake District, Believing the Lie is the embodiment of an English psychological drama. As emotional as it is suspenseful, George once again shows all why she is considered the master of suspense.
Elizabeth George is the New York Times bestselling author of sixteen suspense novels, one book of nonfiction, and two short-story collections. Her work has been honored with the Anthony Award, the Agatha Award, and France’s Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière. She lives in Washington State.
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