What Came Before He Shot Her, by Elizabeth George

I expected Elizabeth George novels to all be mysteries; after all, isn’t she famous for being a mystery writer? And, indeed, this one, too, is classified as a mystery, yet there was no puzzle at all to be solved: instead, the plot was the slow, inexorable march towards the murder occuring in the final pages of the novel, and there was never any doubt at all as to the perpetrator, only to his motives and how he was, apparently, compelled to committ the act. (Oh, and also because the most suspicious character, in terms of the crime, was not actually the murderer. Not that I’m giving away important plot points or anything.)

All this means that I enjoyed the book far more than I thought I would. Ever since indulging in a glut of Agatha Christie novels in elementary school, I’ve been indifferent to mysteries; often it seems the author is skimping on prose style and character development to beef up the puzzle, and while I enjoy a good twist ending as much as the next girl, I want the 300 pages leading up to that twist to be satisfying and well-written. In any case, Elizabeth George did satisfy me, with this novel, and fulfill all my needs for good prose (which it’s not artistic by any means, there’s nothing about her prose that distracts from her characters or plot) and interesting characters (I sympathized with them, I agonized with them: that’s the mark of a good writer) and a compelling plot (like the most capable of writers, she made it seem like what happened is what had to happen, and that all the consequences and decisions and actions logically followed and flowed). Oh, and, perhaps most impressive of all, she managed to write dialogue in a dialect, the English of the uneducated London poor, without said dialect being difficult and distracting. That’s quite an accomplishment.

I have no substantial criticisms to offer here, strangely enough. While this book won’t ascend to the echelons of my favorite novels—it’s not nearly artistic enough for that—it was an enjoyable read, a well-done work by a clearly competent author. Brava, Ms. George, brava.