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A review by obsidian_blue
A Lesson In Dying by Ann Cleeves
4.0
Updated review from February 1, 2025
Trigger warning: Suicide
I received this book from NetGalley, which did not affect my rating or review. Just to make sure people know, I read this back in 2021. I went and re-read a ton of Cleeves back-list. I do feel disappointed I could not continue with her Palmer-Jones series. I really enjoyed it, but most of the books are not available unless they are in paperback somewhere.
The Inspector Ramsay series is in my opinion very good. In this first book in the series, you are not going to start off with a high opinion of him. Probably because most of the book is laying the groundwork for some other characters who appear in the series later on. Also, Cleeves takes a very long time to set the stage and things move very very slowly until you have Ramsay and two other characters, Patty and Jack, who are daughter and father, who get involved in investigating the murder.
The book starts off focusing on a small village in Northumbrian. Cleeves ticks through characters who are dreading getting together for the local PTA conference because the local headmaster, Harold Medburn is mean and seems hell-bent on keeping everything under his control. When the school gets ready for a Halloween party (their first) Harold is found hung. The police immediately suspect that his wife Kitty did it. But the school caretaker, Jack Robson, who still carries a bit of a torch from Kitty from their younger days is determined to prove she's innocent. His daughter, Patty, who seems unclear on what she can do or is good at, finds herself standing by to assist Inspector Ramsay in his investigation.
Most of the book is Patty, Jack, and Ramsay talking to people and doing what they can to prove that Kitty killed or did not kill Medburn. It takes some time for the book to find its footing. And then of course a second murder takes place. Things come together quite well in the end, but there is some lingering guilt from this book that is going to follow Ramsay through the rest of the series.
Cleeves doesn't change anything in this one outside of the new introduction that shows you where her head was at when she wrote this. I did appreciate that. There's also several pages devoted to the second book in the series. I imagine that means they are going to re-release all of them again which will be nice. I ended up buying some of these and having them sent to me from the UK, yes, I was that invested in this series and had to see how it ended.
August 2021 review:
I won't lie, the beginning of this book drags like heck, but by the time you get to the 40 percent mark things start to click together. I really liked the character of Inspector Ramsey and want to read the entire series starring him. This reminded me of a somewhat darker and in some aspects more gory Midsomer Murders.
Trigger warning: Suicide
I received this book from NetGalley, which did not affect my rating or review. Just to make sure people know, I read this back in 2021. I went and re-read a ton of Cleeves back-list. I do feel disappointed I could not continue with her Palmer-Jones series. I really enjoyed it, but most of the books are not available unless they are in paperback somewhere.
The Inspector Ramsay series is in my opinion very good. In this first book in the series, you are not going to start off with a high opinion of him. Probably because most of the book is laying the groundwork for some other characters who appear in the series later on. Also, Cleeves takes a very long time to set the stage and things move very very slowly until you have Ramsay and two other characters, Patty and Jack, who are daughter and father, who get involved in investigating the murder.
The book starts off focusing on a small village in Northumbrian. Cleeves ticks through characters who are dreading getting together for the local PTA conference because the local headmaster, Harold Medburn is mean and seems hell-bent on keeping everything under his control. When the school gets ready for a Halloween party (their first) Harold is found hung. The police immediately suspect that his wife Kitty did it. But the school caretaker, Jack Robson, who still carries a bit of a torch from Kitty from their younger days is determined to prove she's innocent. His daughter, Patty, who seems unclear on what she can do or is good at, finds herself standing by to assist Inspector Ramsay in his investigation.
Most of the book is Patty, Jack, and Ramsay talking to people and doing what they can to prove that Kitty killed or did not kill Medburn. It takes some time for the book to find its footing. And then of course a second murder takes place. Things come together quite well in the end, but there is some lingering guilt from this book that is going to follow Ramsay through the rest of the series.
Cleeves doesn't change anything in this one outside of the new introduction that shows you where her head was at when she wrote this. I did appreciate that. There's also several pages devoted to the second book in the series. I imagine that means they are going to re-release all of them again which will be nice. I ended up buying some of these and having them sent to me from the UK, yes, I was that invested in this series and had to see how it ended.
August 2021 review:
I won't lie, the beginning of this book drags like heck, but by the time you get to the 40 percent mark things start to click together. I really liked the character of Inspector Ramsey and want to read the entire series starring him. This reminded me of a somewhat darker and in some aspects more gory Midsomer Murders.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide