Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George

          Inspector Lynley #17

          This is the first book in this series I have read. It was a pretty good story, but seemed too long by about a third. However, since it is well into a series, I understand the need to visit and update the back stories of all the recurring characters for those readers who have been a part of the plot since the beginning.

          A drowning occurs in Cumbria in England. The police and coroner determine it to have been an accident. But the victim is the nephew of an influential man.  The uncle uses that influence to have Detective Inspector Lynley dispatched, incognito, to Cumbria to perform his own investigation into the incident.

          Since his superiors have ordered him to keep a low profile, asks a couple of friends to come out to Cumbria to assist him. While there, the threesome start to discover the assorted oddities of the dead man’s family. Each member had at least one reason to be glad of the poor man’s death. But no forensic evidence can be found to dispute the finding of accidental death.

          But the investigation turns up large amounts of dirt on each of the family members. Some become angry, some become repentant and one completely panics. It is that panic, over a misunderstanding of the investigation, which causes the ultimate tragedy.

          Aside from being overly long, this is a pretty good book.