Elizabeth George quickly became my favorite mystery writer after I starter reading her series with the good Inspector and Lord Thomas Lynley and his sidekick Barbara Havers. I first got into the series after seeing some episodes of Mystery! on PBS that were based on the earlier books. The books were even better.

This 16th volume in the series has Lynley finally back in London after his walkabout along the Cornish coastline. He is still recovering from his wife's death, but he is also ready to return to the familiar environs. Little does he know it, but he is also going to be pulled back into the part of his life that dealt with his career with the Met.

It all starts when the body of young woman named Jemima Hastings turns up in one of the cemeteries in London. While that is not really all that unlikely, except that she has been found with her throat slashed violently. The Met quickly gets on the case and assigns in to Lynley's former team. The group is temporarily headed by acting Superintendent Isabelle Ardery. Ardery, who had a cameo experience in an earlier novel in the series, has moved to London after the breakup of her marriage and is really seeking to make great strides in her career. Unfortunately, she has a bit of a drinking problem, which might get in the way.

After struggling initially with the team, Ardery visits Lyndley and talks him into coming back to help with the transition. Little does she know it, but the higher ups also approach him about evaluating her to see if she would be a good selection to shift from acting to permanent Superintendent.

The case proves to be a tricky one as their are suspects to be sussed out both in London and in Jemima's home village of Hampshire. As usual, all of the suspects are quirky and unique, and George does her most to fully develop them into full characters with strong backstories. She does this while not only not revealing the real murderer, but also uses these backstories to develop a number of red herrings to throw the reader off course.

Barbara Havers is also having a tough time as the case develops. Ardery is on her case about shifting from read sneakers and sweatpants to proper ladies' attire. Thankfully, she is able to turn to her young neighbor Hadiyah to help with select potential pieces. There is also more of the awkward moments that might indicate a budding romance between Barb and Hadiyah's father.

Woven throughout the various subplots is a series of snippets from a chapter of a book about the murder of young boy by three other boys. It was a horrific crime that had taken place years earlier. For most of the novel, it seems quite a bit out of place until it proves to become a crucial part of the events taking place in the now.

This is definitely a nice addition to the series, though the start could have been tightened up a bit. It always takes a bit of time to get introduced to the new characters as they are developed. once that is done, the story is always off and running, which is also true of this volume. I already can't wait to see what happens in the next book!