A Suitable Vengeance (24 Mar. 2003)

Tommy and Helen go to his family estate for their engagement party, but long-hidden family secrets and a murder in the extended family disrupt the celebration.

Director:

Edward Bennett

Writers:

Elizabeth George (novel), Valerie Windsor (screenplay)

Stars:

Peter Egan, Karl Picton, Gail Kemp

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Egan	...	Dr. Trenarrow
Karl Picton	...	Dying Patient
Gail Kemp	...	Nurse
Nathaniel Parker	...	Thomas Lynley
Lesley Vickerage	...	Helen Clyde
Gabrielle Drake	...	Lady Asherton
John Duttine	...	John Penellin
Mali Harries	...	Nancy
Sharon Small	...	Barbara Havers
Dominic Mafham	...	Justin Brooke
Claire Cox	...	Sidney
Oliver Dimsdale	...	Mark Penellin
Olivia Poulet	...	Sasha
Matthew Goode	...	Peter Lynley
Luke Healy	...	Jack

Storyline

It's a tension filled weekend for Tommy Lynley when he and Helen go the family estate to hold their engagement party. Tommy is estranged from his mother owing to the time he found her in bed with their family physician, Dr. Trenarrow, while his father was dying of cancer in the next room. He's on less than good terms as well with his brother Peter who feels that Tommy abandoned him when their father died. When Mick Cambrey is found dead in his shop in the village, the police arrest his father-in-law John Penellin, the Lynleys long-time estate manager. Lynley and Haver soon determine that the death is related to drug smuggling. When one of the weekend guests, Justin Brooke, is found dead on the estate, they realize something other than heroin was being smuggled.

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Plot Keywords:

engagement party | engagement | cancer | heroin | family secret | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [uk]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 March 2003 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Headland Hotel, Newquay, Cornwall, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), WGBH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: Payment in Blood (2002)

User Reviews

Minor spoilers - Which Lynley characters are NOT in the movie.

A good movie but somewhat of a disappointment for fans of the book. I understand a screenwriter has to make major changes in order to fit a full-length novel into a 90-minute TV show – but I was still think that deleting major characters makes it a different story. No Simon St. James, no Deborah, no Cotter – so we had to have Lynley engaged to Helen instead and made Sidney Lynley's COUSIN? I guess a lot of the changes were due to changing the chronology of Lynley's stories. This was the fourth book published, but the whole book was a flashback to before Lynley even worked with Havers. Now the TV episode was the ninth installment and set right in line with others.

Enough whining. The movie was very good, well acted, the plot points all tied together well. Sharon Small was excellent as a guest at the Lynley mansion completely out of her element. I would have really loved it if I hadn't read the book.