A Traitor to Memory (11 Mar. 2004)

Lynley and Havers (who plans to resign from the force in a month) are assigned to the hit and run (and hit and run again) of a woman.

Director:

Brian Stirner

Writers:

Kevin Clarke (screenplay), Elizabeth George (novel)

Stars:

Patrick Kennedy, David Calder, Rosalind Jones

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Patrick Kennedy	...	Gideon Martin
David Calder	...	Richard Martin
Rosalind Jones	...	Accompanist
Mandy More	...	Eugenie Martin
Kananu Kirimi	...	WPC Mason
John McGlynn	...	DS David Leach
Sharon Small	...	Detective Constable Barbara Havers
David Burke	...	DSI Webberley
Diana Hoddinott	...	Mrs. Webberley
Nathaniel Parker	...	Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley
Richard McCabe	...	Theatre Manager
Michael Culkin	...	Raphael
Jason Baughan	...	SOCO Officer
Anthony Higgins	...	James Pitchley
Lesley Vickerage	...	Helen Lynley

Storyline

While attending an anniversary party at his superior officer's house, Lynley is given the task of investigating the death by car of a woman. He and Havers think it odd that he is given the case, but doggedly pursue the truth. The woman was the mother of a gifted violinist who mysteriously abandoned his concert just at the time his mother was run down. As the plot deepens, connections to a crime 20 years earlier appear and tensions between Lynley and a fellow policeman boil over.

---

Plot Keywords:

violinist | hit and run | concert | resignation | detective constable | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [United Kingdom] PBS [United States]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 March 2004 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), WGHB

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley: [To Havers] Have you gone complete and utterly mad? You're behaving like a spoiled teenager!

---

Soundtracks

"Songs My Mother Taught Me"
(uncredited)
Music composed by Antonin Dvorak (1880)
Set to poetry of Adolf Heyduk
Performed by piano at opening concert and later heard on a recording

User Reviews

I guess everyone hated this series, or at least this episode

I am a fan of the Inspector Lynley Mysteries because I love Nathaniel Parker. As with any series of this kind, some episodes are better than others. I understand perfectly that if you a fan of the books, you are probably not going to like this series.

Since I haven't read the books, I have to take the stories and the characters as they are on the screen.

In "A Traitor to Memory," from the third season, Lynley and Havers are called upon to investigate a hit and run - in fact, Lynley is pulled out of his superior officer's anniversary party. The case soon leads the detectives to a crime that occurred twenty years earlier, a gifted violinist, his father, and his teacher-manager.

Havers, meanwhile, has decided to resign in a month and is angry with Lynley because she believes he didn't fight for her, and that's why she was demoted. On the home front, Lynley gets some surprising news.

In reading some of the comments, whether or not I've read the books, I have to agree with one thing. Lesley Vickerage is not right for the role of Helen, and I wasn't surprised to read that her description doesn't match what's in the books. Here's this gorgeous, hunky guy, an aristocrat, and Helen is totally wrong for him. Not to mention, I can't believe they got married! They were always fighting and separating. I haven't liked her from the first time I saw her.

Anyway, now that that rant is over, I enjoyed this episode. It was a very intricate mystery, and while I agree the scene with Helen becoming angry with Lynley was stupid, I think it fit the TV Helen - it's just the type of thing she would do.

Without giving the story away, I had one problem with the actual story. The violinist's reaction to the piece he had to play at the concert - if you're a musician preparing for a concert, you rehearse each piece hundreds of times. I find it odd that throughout the rehearsal process, absolutely nothing clicked in this guy until he got on stage. Don't buy it.

Otherwise, I enjoyed this.