INSPECTOR LYNLEY MYSTERIES:

PAYMENT IN BLOOD

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 2 out of 5

Because of: sexual implications/dialogue, adultery

Rated:

In a charming old country house, guests are gathered together to prepare for the opening of their first stage production. Involved are two actors, the manager, the producer, the playwright, and several young people eager to kiss in corridors. When changes come to the script, blood is spilled. The career of Joy Sinclair, the author, comes to an abrupt end when her life is terminated by way of a knife plunged through her neck. Horrified, Scotland Yard is notified at once by the anxious house owner and his guests. Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley (Nathaniel Parker) and his partner Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers (Sharon Small) are dispatched at once to gather clues, question suspects, and attempt to discern why the changes in the script (missing changes) would bring an end to a woman's life. There's the flighty blonde actress and her black co-star, who may be involved in adultery behind her husband's back. There's Rhys Davies Jones (Jonathan Firth) as the obvious suspect... a violent-tempered but undeniably charming producer who just happens to be romancing an old friend of Lynley's... Helen Clyde (Lesley Vickerage).

There's also young Gowan Ross (James McAvoy), who is involved with his employer's teenage daughter and is recovering from his mother's recent suicide. Helen once was a close friend and potential lover of Lynley's and the sparks fly as he accuses her boyfriend of murder. The murderer had to come through one of two doors without being scene. One of them is in Joanna and David Sydeham's room, an unhappily married couple who had a row and drank themselves to sleep the night of the crime. The other is in Helen's bedroom, where Rhys Davies spent the night. Traces of Joy's blood have been found in his trouser pocket, and he has a history of violent behavior. But no murder case can be that simple... weave in a few love affairs, scandalous secrets, potential murder rather than suicide, and shameful revelations and you have an intriguing but potentially explosive case of devious intentions and misguided motives. The plot keeps you guessing and isn't cleared up merely by chance as some of the other installments have been, but Lynley very nearly makes a terrible mistake... and another soul winds up dead.

Various elements make this one of the finer episodes, mostly due to the impressive cast list of well-known British thespians, including Jonathan Firth in an abnormally devious role. While ever uncertain of his character, you're always intimidated to him, yet also drawn like a moth to a lamp. You can see why Helen refuses to believe he's capable of murder, yet begin to wonder when he loses his temper and nearly slaps her. There are some decent messages in here about how heartbreaking adultery is, recovering from alcoholism, and controlling yourself. Unfortunately the main hinge of the plot centers around one adulterous relationship, and unmarried "relations" between two people who have "only known one another for three months." Sexual dialogue intervenes on a regular basis, as Lynley demands to know why Rhys Davies was in Helen's room, if he could have killed Joy, and whether or not the relationship was a diversion. Conversations on "lovemaking" are brought up several times. Helen invites her lover to move into a cottage with her; they kiss, caress, and embrace on the stairs before being interrupted by her cell phone. They are seen asleep in bed together; a married woman also slips into bed with her co-star. They leave together for a hotel.

One character believes a relationship to be incestuous (it isn't). Dialogue references former love affairs, a woman with a promiscuous reputation, the consideration of abortion (it wasn't followed through), and adultery. The writer is found gruesomely stabbed through the neck with a knife. Blood is spattered up the wall and onto the ceiling, as well as surrounding the mangled body and bed sheets. Another character's body is found in the cellars, having been murdered with the blunt end of a hammer (blood briefly seen). There's some mild language. It's an engrossing film but also slightly repugnant due to the rampantly immoral themes. The problem is, once you begin the story you feel compelled to stay for the finish, but in the meantime are slapped with amoral attitudes, characters, and dealings. You cannot hope Helen gets together with Lynley for her cavalier attitude about premarital sex. Murder mysteries can be more than about relationships, but all too often fall into the same clichéd path.