**#1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George delivers an
explosive, "absolutely riveting" novel (Entertainment Weekly) that
delves into the events leading up to the shocking murder of Inspector
Lynley's wife.
**
The brutal, inexplicable death of Inspector Thomas Lynley's wife, Helen,
has left Scotland Yard shocked and searching for answers. Even more
horrifying is that the trigger was apparently pulled by a
twelve-year-old boy.
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 to their aunt. The oldest,
fifteen-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 ends up making a pact with the devil--a move that leads
straight to the front doorstep of Thomas Lynley.
The anatomy of a murder, the story of a family in crisis, What Came
Before He Shot Her is a powerful and emotional novel, full of deep
psychological insights, that only the incomparable Elizabeth George
could write.
