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What Came Before He Shot Her  By  cover art

What Came Before He Shot Her

By: Elizabeth George
Narrated by: Charles Keating
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Publisher's summary

The brutal, inexplicable death of Inspector Thomas Lynley's wife has left Scotland Yard shocked and searching for answers. Even more horrifying is that the trigger was apparently pulled by a 12-year-old boy. Who is he? Where did he come from? And what were the circumstances that led to his final act of desperation?

That story begins on the other side of London, in rough North Kensington, where the three mixed-race, virtually orphaned Campbell children are bounced first from their grandmother then to their aunt. The oldest, 15-year-old Ness, is headed for trouble as fast as her high-heeled boots will take her. That leaves the middle child, Joel, to care for the youngest, Toby. No one wants to put it into words, but something clearly isn't right with Toby.

Before long, there are signs that Joel himself has problems. A local gang starts harassing him and threatening his brother. To protect his family, Joel makes a pact with the devil - a move that leads straight to the front doorstep of Thomas Lynley.

An anatomy of a murder, the story of a family in crisis, What Came Before He Shot Her is a powerful, emotional novel full of deep psychological insights, a novel that only the incomparable Elizabeth George could write.

©2006 Elizabeth George (P)2005 HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

Critic reviews

"George deftly depicts the palaver and predicaments of middle-[class] and working-class Brits in this dark, chilling tale of desperation and revenge." (Booklist)
"Another winner from the current master of the classic English mystery." (Atlantic Monthly)

What listeners say about What Came Before He Shot Her

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Skip this one

Whole book is depressing. I will be deleting it. Yuck Yuck
Yuck Yuck horrible and no uplift

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

This is an abridged addition

This abridged edition of Elizabeth, George’s book is extremely poorly done. The previous narrator was much better. It is very frustrating that we are unable to get the unabridged version of this book and her next one.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointing & Depressing

I was very disappointed in this book. I thought that it would be a Lynley/Havers mystery, not an extremely depressing story about the life of three unfortunate children. This is not the kind of story that I expected or wanted to listen to. I listen to audio-books when I drive so that I don't have to listen to the depressing news. Compared to this book, I would have preferred the depressing news. It will be a very long time (if ever again) that I listen to or even read another Elizabeth George book.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

If you like stories about gangs and bullies.. this is for you. I don't and it isn't. UGH!

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5 people found this helpful