The vicious murder of a young socialite leads Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley into a web of false identities, hidden motives, and buried secrets that some might kill to protect—a thrilling novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Inspector Lynley series.

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“Powerful and deeply affecting, For the Sake of Elena is another satisfying addition to this superb series.”—The Baltimore Sun

In her clingy dresses and dangling earrings, Elena Weaver exuded a sexuality at odds with the innocence projected by the unicorn posters on her walls. While her embittered mother fretted about her welfare, in Cambridge—where Elena was a student at St. Stephen’s College—her father and his second wife each had their own very different image of the girl. As for Elena, she lived a life of casual and intense relationships, with scores to settle and goals to achieve—until someone bludgeoned her to death.

Unwilling to involve the local police, the university calls in New Scotland Yard. Thus, Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers enter a rarefied world where academic gowns often hide murderous intentions. For the officers, the true identity of Elena proves elusive, as each relationship she left behind casts a new light both on herself and on those who appeared to know her best. What’s more, Elena’s father has his own dark secrets. While his past sins make him neurotically dedicated to Elena and blind to her blacker side, present demons drive him toward betrayal. . . .