This is book number 14 in the A Lynley Novel series.
Following the shocking conclusion of her previous Lynley novel, "With No One as Witness," Elizabeth George backtracks to show how a child with a great promise can become completely lost and how there can be more than one victim of such a crime. Reading this was like watching a train wreck happen, I knew what was coming, but couldn't turn away.
— From Deborah#1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George delivers an explosive, "absolutely riveting" novel (Entertainment Weekly) that delves into the events leading up to the shocking murder of Inspector Lynley’s wife.
The brutal, inexplicable death of Inspector Thomas Lynley’s wife, Helen, has left Scotland Yard shocked and searching for answers. Even more horrifying is that the trigger was apparently pulled by a twelve-year-old boy.
That story begins on the other side of London in rough North Kensington, where the three, mixed-race, virtually orphaned Campbell children are bounced first from their grandmother to their aunt. The oldest, fifteen-year-old Ness, is headed for trouble as fast as her high-heeled boots will take her. That leaves the middle child, Joel, to care for the youngest, Toby. No one wants to put it into words, but something clearly isn’t right with Toby.
Before long, there are signs that Joel himself has problems. A local gang starts harassing him and threatening his brother. To protect his family, Joel ends up making a pact with the devil—a move that leads straight to the front doorstep of Thomas Lynley.
The anatomy of a murder, the story of a family in crisis, What Came Before He Shot Her is a powerful and emotional novel, full of deep psychological insights, that only the incomparable Elizabeth George could write.
Elizabeth George is the New York Times bestselling author of sixteen novels of psychological suspense, one book of nonfiction, and two short story collections. Her work has been honored with the Anthony and Agatha awards, the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, and the MIMI, Germany's prestigious prize for suspense fiction. She lives in Washington State.
