Well-Schooled in Murder

By: Elizabeth George

Narrated by: Donada Peters

The investigation of a young schoolboy’s murder leads Inspector Thomas Lynley into the sinister underbelly of an elite public school—a “spectacular” (Los Angeles Times) installment of the #1 New York Times bestselling Inspector Lynley series

Don’t miss the upcoming BritBox streaming series Lynley!

“Powerful . . . sure to delight readers in the mood for a thought-provoking, hard-hitting mystery.”—Baltimore Sun

When thirteen-year-old Matthew Whately goes missing from Bredgar Chambers, a prestigious public school in the heart of West Sussex, aristocratic Inspector Thomas Lynley receives a call for help from the lad’s housemaster, who also happens to be an old school chum. Thus, the inspector, his partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, and forensic scientist Simon Allcourt-St. James find themselves once again outside their jurisdiction and deeply involved in the search for a child—and then, tragically, for a child killer.

Questioning prefects, teachers, and pupils closest to the dead boy, Lynley and Havers sense that something extraordinarily evil is going on behind Bredgar Chambers’s cloistered walls. But as they begin to unlock the secrets of this closed society, the investigation into Matthew’s death leads them perilously close to their own emotional wounds—and blinds them to the signs of another murder in the making. . . .

Critic reviews

"George is a master...an outstanding practitioner of the modern English mystery."—Chicago Tribune"A spectacular new voice in mystery writing."—Los Angeles Times "A compelling whodunit...a reader's delight."—Daily News, New York"Like P.D. James, George knows the import of the smallest human gesture; Well-Schooled in Murder puts the younger author clearly in the running with the genre master."—People"Ms. George may wind up creating one of the most popular and entertaining series in mystery fiction today."—The Sun, Baltimore

Even Better

I read this books when it was published. It’s a great book! I have trouble with any sort of foreign accent because, with age, I’ve lost some hearing. But this reader adds to the story and her accent is perfect for all the characters!

Outstanding performance.

They don’t get any better than Ms Peters. Accents, character voices, interpretation, all of it. Her American accent (different book) is less than perfect, but I would hate to hear me trying to do British!

Another superb mystery by Elizabeth George

This is the 3rd installment of the Inspector Lynley-Sergeant Havers series. There are enough twists and turns in this one to make your head spin! Every time I thought I had it figured out a new wrinkle came up. The author also adds a human touch describing how the murder affects so many people in different ways. We also learn about the emotional turmoil in the personal lives of Lynley, Havers, and Sir James and his wife Deborah. Very-well done!

Good book, but yikes

If you're at all squeamish or aren't ready to hear repeated descriptions of the torture of a child, this is not the book for you. I'm pretty sturdy with those kinds of things, but this was still a tough listen.

Also, there's a lot of weird reflection on having had an abortion - huge amounts of shame and self-blaming that I also found hard to listen to (not to mention the repeated and not-at-all-accurate implication that an abortion can cause a subsequent inability to bring a pregnancy to term).

Disturbing

Be warned, this novel is graphically disturbingly detailed in its description of mutilation of a child. Do not try reading before sleep. Good story, great description & exploration of UK's public school system.