To this day, the low, thin wail of an infant can be heard in Keldale’s lush green valleys. Three hundred years ago, as legend goes, the frightened Yorkshire villagers smothered a crying babe in Keldale Abbey, where they’d hidden to escape the ravages of Cromwell’s raiders.Now into Keldale’s pastoral web of old houses and older secrets comes Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley, the eighth earl … eighth earl of Asherton. Along with the redoubtable Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, Lynley has been sent to solve a savage murder that has stunned the peaceful countryside. For fat, unlovely Roberta Teys has been found in her best dress, an axe in her lap, seated in the old stone barn beside her father’s headless corpse. Her first and last words were “I did it. And I’m not sorry.”
Yet as Lynley and Havers wind their way through Keldale’s dark labyrinth of secret scandals and appalling crimes, they uncover a shattering series of revelations that will reverberate through this tranquil English valley—and in their own lives as well.
From the Paperback edition.
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I don’t think there has ever been a more unlikely pair of detectives than Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers. Lynley is from the upper part of the upper crust, with a title and all. Havers hails from the lower income part of London, and carries a massive chip on her shoulders about it as well. Neither thinks …
Her books are consistently good
Why haven’t I read Inspector Linley from the start? Only dropped in on him occasionally. I have to read everything from the beginning. Wonderful writing!
Elizabeth George has created unforgettable characters in the elegant , erudite Thomas Lynley, a detective from English nobility, and his partner, the slovenly, lower class Barbara Havers. They work together beautifully dealing with a gruesome mystery and fighting the politics of Scotland Yard. Through her detailed descriptions and we’ll drawn …
Each of her novels is filled with rich, enticing prose that makes it difficult to put it down. If I could read only one author the rest of my days, it would be Elizabeth George. Her characters and their stories pull you into the story and never let you go.
Mystery lovers can never go wrong with Elizabeth George!
Still a favorite author
Best book in an excellent series!
Love the Detective Linley series.
I wasn’t thrilled w this first installment of a long series. The characters seemed flat. But, I will persevere and read more as it is a very popular series
First in The Inspector Lynley/Havers series. Well done. Lots of twists and turns.
Superb
A unique author with original plots, great characters. Really draws you into the story and into the characters’ lives.
Outstanding writing . Plot and character driven and you see characters change as they grow.George is a former teacher and you canxtell she’s American from her writing.
Kept my interest the whole book
The first of the Inspector Lindley books, and one of the best.
For character-driven mystery and well drawn plots Elizabeth George is the best. I am sometimes reminded of Dorothy Sayre’s series as I read them, but i think even she would approve.
I discovered the Lynley mysteries by Elizabeth George while waiting for the next yearly installment of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series. I remembered . Havers and Lynley from the excellent PBS series which was on tv many years ago. As well done as the series was, it does not do justice to the books themselves. Experiencing Elizabeth …
I love a good mystery, and Elizabeth George is my favorite writer of the genre, mainly because her characters (especially her recurring characters from book to book) are so fascinatingly flawed! The crimes can be a little gruesome, but the twists and turns will keep you engaged.
Elizabeth George is a most exceptional writer. The drama of her lead characters is as interesting if not more so than the crimes themselves – and that’s a great thing. Her talents for personal tragedy are unparalleled in the genre. I’m always in awe of her efforts. Well-Schooled in Murder is a particular fav