Ann Cleeves: A Lesson in Dying
Inspector Ramsay #1
This welcome re-release of the first book in Ann Cleeves’ Inspector Ramsay series, originally published in 1990, is a pure delight. Our bookstore (open 1992-2018) was lucky enough to have many of these now collectible volumes on our shelves. Before breaking out with her Vera books in 1999, the hardworking writer produced two now completed series, one centering on birdwatching, and this debut in the Ramsay series, a real, golden age gem.
Of course, the golden age of mystery ended many decades before this series began, but Cleeves follows many of the plotting and set up tropes familiar to any fan of the classics. Set in a small village, the book begins when the much hated school headmaster of the insular community is done away with at a combination Halloween/Guy Fawkes party for the school kids. To the natives, all of whom are more than familiar with each other, Inspector Ramsey seems like a exotic creature who appears from above to swoop in to solve the crime.