The Punishment She Deserves cover art

The Punishment She Deserves

An Inspector Lynley Novel, Book 20

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The Punishment She Deserves

By: Elizabeth George
Narrated by: Julia Barrie
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About this listen

Award-winning author Elizabeth George delivers another masterpiece of suspense in her Inspector Lynley series.

When a Member of Parliament shows up at New Scotland Yard requesting an investigation into the suicide of the son of one of his constituents in the beautiful town of Ludlow, the Assistant Commissioner sees two opportunities in this request: the first is to have an MP owing him a favour, and the second is to get rid of Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, whose career at the Met has been hanging by a thread for quite some time. So he assigns Havers to the case and for good measure partners her with the one person who shares his wish to see the back of her: Detective Chief Superintendent Isabelle Ardery.

But Ardery has her own difficulties. She is not happy to be sent away from London and as a result is in a rush to return. This causes her to overlook certain uncomfortable facts. Soon the case is opened again, and this time it is Lynley who must accompany Havers to Ludlow, with little more than a week to save the Met's reputation and Barbara's job. And the more they investigate, the more it looks as if the suicide was part of a much more sinister pattern of events.

©2018 Susan Elizabeth George (P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton Limited Mystery Fiction Suspense Detective
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These Inspector Lynley books are best read in order. This is number 17 in the series and Elizabeth George has developed the characters so well that they seem like old friends. This is a ripping yarn that will keep you guessing until the end. Well written and beautifully narrated by Julie Barrie who does very convincing dialogue and is a joy to listen to.

Another Inspector Lynley masterpiece

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Another great book from Elizabeth George. Her classic style with lots of characters all becoming intertwined with each other. Highly recommend!

5 stars

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very cleverly written, witty, with a really gripping story line, good ending and well read.

brilliant

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I found this book one of the most enjoyable and satisfying in the series. Well worth listening to.

enjoyable and satisfying

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Great story and the characters are really nicely developed. I would have given it five stars but I just wasn't really into all the sexy bits, they're not too bad but it just gets a bit much after a while.

Really enjoyable.

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Story was to long, had lots of twists and turns had to listen till end.
Narrators were great

Lots of twists and turns. Story to longlisten to.

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Started slowly with stories that seem far removed from the main plot. Pay attention to these early threads as George cleverly weaves everything back together creating just the right amount of suspense.
As always, the characters come alive with humour, complex emotional and social issues while maintaining a fast and furious pace of detecting.
The narrator is brilliant, keeping the many characters running in what is sometimes a mind bending pace.
Loved it👍

A plot entwined by multiple threads

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An intense and multi layered story that makes the reader care about the people involved and the situations they find themselves in. Outstanding narration that brings the characters to life. Old favourites continue to move through their lives - there may even be hope for Barbara to find personal happiness in future books.
An excellent addition to the series, which has never gone stale.

A genuine page turner

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holding breath until next book arrives... what will Barbara get up to in next chapter.

just as pleasing as every book in series

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I've always been very taken with Lindley and Havers. The juxtaposition of these two characters could easily feel contrived, but George has made it work, and continues to do so in this, her latest offering. She seems to manage the mix of the development of the lives of ongoing characters with an intriguing plot quite effortlessly. The book is very long, but not overly so; there was never a sense of superfluousness.

The narration is very professional and well produced.. phone calls sounded like phone calls for example. The only issue I had was that a couple of the female characters had overly high-pitched voices that I found difficult to listen to.

All in all, an enjoyable, well-written book that draws you in right from the beginning.

Immersing

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