Mystery's fans get their way

By Jane Dickinson, Special to the Rocky

Sunday, May 11, 2008

© Figge Photography Inc.

Elizabeth George picks up her popular story line in "Careless in Red."

Best-selling mystery author Elizabeth George, an American whose books are set in England, has authored 14 mysteries and several books of short stories, winning the Edgar, Anthony and Agatha awards.

Her lead characters, the aristocratic Thomas Lynley and his unkempt partner, Barbara Havers, along with their friends and colleagues, have developed a devoted following since George's 1988 debut, A Great Deliverance.

But George's last two novels displeased some fans: With No One as Witness because it involved the shocking death of a favorite character; What Came Before He Shot Her because in focusing on the genesis of that shooting, it didn't involve the main series characters at all.

Fans eagerly have anticipated her return to form with her latest novel, Careless in Red, which brings back Lynley and Havers and the story line that was interrupted. George spoke to the Rocky in advance of her Wednesday appearance in Denver.

Careless In Red is a return to form in your hugely popular series. How has the texture of the story changed?

I hadn't really thought of the texture of the story as changing that much. Obviously, one of the five central characters is no longer part of the series, but I sort of view that as an ongoing part of the characters' lives, so as the series goes on, their lives will go on.

That death made many readers unhappy, as did your next book, focusing on the life of a boy involved in the murder. Tell me about your goals in that book, which not only departs from the series but isn't really even a mystery.

I did, indeed, want to take a look at the killing of Helen Lynley from an entirely different point of view. Every time I write one of these novels, I try to approach it slightly differently. So the challenge that I set forth for myself in What Came Before He Shot Her was, first of all, to write in an omniscient point of view, which was something that I had never done before, and it was also to write about the events and the psychological circumstances that led to the crime, instead of the investigation of a crime.

That's always my intention in creating a novel, not only to push the envelope of the series but also to push myself creatively. I think it's a very simple thing for a writer to fall into, to just write what she is fairly confident will sell. But if you do that, you run the risk of creating formula books after awhile. And I have never liked reading formula books, so I know that I would never like writing formula books.

Is your successful run with Lynley and Havers a golden straightjacket? After 20 years, it's been a long time with the same people.

No, and the reason is that I don't approach the novels the same way every time . . . Also, because I created a series with a number of continuing characters, that allows me the freedom to back away from exploring, let's say, Lynley and Havers, in every single novel, and, instead, explore St. James' and Deborah's relationship or Winston Nkata's situation a little bit more fully.

Have your feelings and attitudes about your characters changed over time?

No, not really at all. I'm very, very fond of the characters. I enjoy working with them. And I think that's, first of all, because there is a large cast, and, secondly, because the large cast comprises characters who do not exist in isolation . . . Because all of these characters' lives are fuller than just being police officers operating to solve a crime in a novel, that has kept them really fresh for me and that has kept me quite interested in exploring more and more about them.

I've read that you plan a prequel to bring all the characters, including Helen Lynley, back together. Can you confirm that?

There are certainly stories in my mind that take place when these characters are younger than they are currently, and I would have no problem in writing another prequel in which Helen Lynley, or Helen Clyde as she was before, was alive and kicking.

How did you decide to write crime fiction?

It was the result of teaching a class in the mystery story at El Toro High School in Southern California. After a few years of teaching this class, I thought, "I think I can write one of these myself," so I decided to give it a try and that's how I came about it.

I understand you wrote several books before you were published.

That's right. I wrote two other attempts at British crime novels, and then A Great Deliverance was the one that was accepted for publication . . . I've been writing since I was 7 years old, so I actually wrote my first full book when I was probably 12 and did another one when I was 16, and a third one when I was about 23, 24, something like that.

You have a great drive to write.

Yes, I've always written. When I wasn't writing those novels, I was writing short stories and very, very bad poetry, as well.

You'll be touring extensively to promote Careless in Red. I'm guessing that as a best-selling author you don't really have to tour, so why do you do it?

I really appreciate what the booksellers have done to promote my books over the years, and it's always something that I enjoy - being able to meet the booksellers and people who read the books and want to talk about the books . . . I think it's important to encourage reading and to encourage young people to read, and to do what it takes to get people into bookstores. And I'm real happy to do my part in that.

Elizabeth George

* What and when: Appears at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Tattered Cover in LoDo, 1628 16th St.

* Cost: Free

* Information: 303-436-1070

Jane Dickinson is the Rocky mystery critic. She lives in Littleton.