Inspector Lynley and Helen appear in only one story, “Exposure,” and George tells us that she reworked this story from an earlier effort. I think she needs to work a little more. The story concerns an American tour group studying English interior design. The highlight of the tour is a country house owned by Lynley’s aunt, which is a showcase of decorative arts. The aristocratic inspector just happens to be visiting when one of the American drops dead and you know what happens next. Actually you really don’t know. The ending is rather ambiguous and the characters are clichés.

The next three stories can be summarized quickly. “The Surprise of His Life” is a retread of recent popular news items and urban legends, leaving me sighing, “ So what.” “Good Fences Aren’t Always Enough” purports to be based on a true story, if so it is definitely ghoulish perhaps more suited to Tales from the Crypt than Twilight Zone. “Remember I’ll Always Love You” is much more effective when read without benefit of George’s explanatory text. Maybe Forrest Whittaker might consider it for the new “TZ.”

Only “I, Richard” is up to the author’s standard and even then the ending is reminiscent of O. Henry. The central element of the tale is well thought out and does make one reconsider the Battle of Bosworth Field.

I enjoy Elizabeth George’s novels which normally are seven to eight hundred pages giving much time for intricate character and plot development. The short story is not the genre for George.

--Jane Davis