Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • A Lesson in Dying

  • Inspector Ramsay, Book 1
  • By: Ann Cleeves
  • Narrated by: Simon Mattacks
  • Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (155 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

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.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

A Lesson in Dying

By: Ann Cleeves
Narrated by: Simon Mattacks
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

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
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Three for a Girl cover art
Angels Fall cover art
Dead Man’s Grave cover art
Murder in Tuscany cover art
A Quiet Life in the Country cover art
Broadland cover art
Beneath the Abbey Wall cover art
Silvermeadow cover art
The Agora Letters: 19th Century Historical Murder Mysteries cover art
The Chester Creek Murders cover art
The Bonnie Dead cover art
The Girl in the Ice cover art
Paradise Postponed cover art
An Occupied Grave cover art

What listeners say about A Lesson in Dying

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    56
  • 4 Stars
    34
  • 3 Stars
    42
  • 2 Stars
    19
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    73
  • 4 Stars
    33
  • 3 Stars
    25
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    50
  • 4 Stars
    28
  • 3 Stars
    35
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    10

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

As someone else mentioned- not her best

I love Ann Cleeves, but I think some blame lies with the narration, all a little boring

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good performance

Not as good a Vera or Shetland, but easy listening. I actually guessed the murderer halfway through

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not up to Cleeves normal standard

Boring story, flat characters, Don't waste your money, not to Ann Cleeves normal standards and really a waste of time

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very good plot

Couldn’t stop listening to it. Very good plot. Excellent voices from the reader. Very believable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great listen, off to download another!

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Slow going

I found the Durham accent slightly irritating after a while. There wasn't a lot of substance to the story and some things highly implausible. Overall not a good read and I found myself easily distracted

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not her best work

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A short book

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Start of series

As usual with Ann Cleeves - highly atmospheric and with the main character appearing only marginally in this first of series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not the best from Anne Cleeves

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!