A Lesson in Dying cover art

A Lesson in Dying

Inspector Ramsay, Book 1

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

A Lesson in Dying is the first mystery novel in the Inspector Ramsay series by Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope crime series.

Who hung the headmaster in the playground on the night of the school Halloween Party?

Almost everyone in Heppleburn either hated or feared the viper-tongued Harold Medburn. Inspector Ramsay is convinced it was the headmaster’s enigmatic wife but Jack Robson, school governor and caretaker, is determined to prove her innocence.

With the help of his restless daughter Patty, Jack digs into the secrets of Heppleburn, and uncovers a cesspit of lies, adultery, blackmail and madness . . .

Continue the classic whodunit series with Murder in My Backyard.

©1990 Ann Cleeves (P)2017 Isis Publishing Ltd Crime Crime Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Small Town & Rural Suspense

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Three for a Girl cover art
Most relevant
Couldn’t stop listening to it. Very good plot. Excellent voices from the reader. Very believable.

Very good plot

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I do enjoy Anne’s books but this was a
Little disappointing. Not as complex a story as others I’ve read. Still as enjoyable though.

A short book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is the first novel I’ve read/listened to by Ann Cleeves. My father was a big fan. Enjoyed the book and the narration. Listen to it in under 3 days, which I think says alot! If say it’s a great paced book, which leaves the reader/listened trying to guess. Lovely descriptions used. Really enjoyed.

Great listen, off to download another!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I normally love Ann Cleeves’ books but the plot here was pretty dismal. She always writes great characters.

Not up to the author’s normal standard

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
…a pretty good, well constructed and interesting story nonetheless. And beautifully performed by the excellent Simon Mattacks. Recommended.

Not Vera or Perez but…

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Characters lacked depth and made it hard to identify with them. Story itself was ok

A very sparse story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great to find new Anne Sleeves books, and another detective, although I must say I prefer the others.

Great

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
An Agatha Christie-ish thriller based in a small English town where at first no one and then everyone is a suspect. The story moves along from suspect to suspect rather laboriously, I thought, and found myself hoping it would end soon rather than that feeling of gloom that you get when you get near the end of a very good book, wishing there was more.

Not the best from Anne Cleeves

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Ann Cleeves is always a safe pair of hands, a fairly short one but good characters but I’m saving my 5 out of 5 for books I truly love.

Note to self

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found this disappointing. None of the characters was very likeable and they all felt two-dimensional. The writing was a bit flat, and the plot confused. The narrator was good, although the editing sometimes jumped too fast from one tone to another.
Don’t buy this if you are expecting the quality of Vera or Perez.

Not her best work

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews