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A Lesson in Dying
- Inspector Ramsay, Book 1
- Narrated by: Simon Mattacks
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
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A Lesson in Dying
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Publisher's Summary
Ann Cleeves Classic Crime - engaging mysteries to savour, beloved characters to meet again
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 detective series with Murder in My Backyard.
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What listeners say about A Lesson in Dying
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Franki
- 05-08-22
Ann Cleeves LoversBeware
Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite writers and I was so happy to see her old books come up on Audible. Big mistake! This book is so far below the quality of her more recent works that it’s hard to believe she wrote it.
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15 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Standing Stones
- 08-04-23
Don’t want to be mean, but…
…this was one of the worst audible books I’ve ever listened to. I don’t think I’ve ever gone to the trouble to post a negative review prior to this. I am a huge fan of Vera and Shetland, but I can not even believe this was written by the same author.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Pam W
- 16-10-22
An earlier work
Just ok, Cleeves certainly gets better. A short listen and don’t expect to grow any attachments to these characters, seems to be a straightforward narrative, with dull personas.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 08-04-23
Her writing certainly got better since this book.
It’s hard to believe that this book was written by Ann Cleeves. If you’ve read all of the Shetland, Vera and other great books that she wrote and decide to try some of her earlier works, don’t. Characters are either completely underdeveloped or run the gamut of all the usual stereotypes.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Cackie
- 04-04-23
Disappointed read
I was happy to hear that this was one of Ann Cleaves’ first books…she definitely got better as I love her books and just assumed I would love this as well… but not so much.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 28-02-23
Disappointed
The plot was convoluted and badly planned. There are no credible detective procedures. Suspects, initially closed and aggressive, then sprout out private details to complete strangers.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Rebecca S Hoffmann
- 10-02-23
Underwhelmed
Not as good as I’d hoped. I’m a fan of Ann Cleeves, but not this time.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Glenda
- 15-01-23
Fantastic read
It has been awhile since I have read an Ann Cleeves, one of the best crime novelists of our time.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Nancy
- 20-09-23
Disappointed !
Does not even resemble Ann Cleeves writing skills. The plot dragged on with unnecessary details. The characters were not likable. The narrator gave a choppy reading which necessitated changing the narration speed throughout the entire book. I kept reading to the end because I kept thinking that “ this is an Ann Cleeves book, something has to improve.” But, it did not ! ☹️
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- gingerlady87
- 15-06-23
Not up to Ann Cleves’s usual standard
Perhaps the fumbling detective is the disappointment. I found none of the characters appealing. Still, worth an afternoon’s reading.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Marianne Leach
- 21-02-23
Disappointed
Not the level of writing seen in the Vera or shetlands stories . Story not convincing
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David
- 30-12-22
Not Vera or Perez but…
…a pretty good, well constructed and interesting story nonetheless. And beautifully performed by the excellent Simon Mattacks. Recommended.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mrs A Brown
- 20-02-23
Not one of her best
A little disappointing. Simon Mattacks reading was very good but not enough to pad out what was a rather thin story. I have always enjoyed Anne Cleeves books but this one left me feeling a little flat.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- michka
- 30-05-23
Disappointing
Having read many books by the same author and enjoyed them this story lacked pace and interest. Closer to certain awful M C Beaton books!
Unbelievable characters and plots all mashed up.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jane Stothert
- 30-05-23
Very good plot
Couldn’t stop listening to it. Very good plot. Excellent voices from the reader. Very believable.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Mrs J D Barnett
- 06-11-23
Disappointing
Like most people I found this disappointing having read Ann Cleeves later novels and loved them - the narration was also very monotone
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- slbd
- 22-10-23
Dated,implausible, lacklustre story.
Gosh what a turkey!
Quality of narration really good especially given the poor quality of the writing.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- E Dawson
- 05-10-23
Not great
Screaming every time the narrator mispronounced Heminevrin.
Very poor compared to other books by Ann Cleeves
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Mimimum
- 23-08-23
Disappointing
Surprised this was written by Ann Cleeves - the plot was thin, characters in realistic - I won’t read others in this series
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Christina
- 19-08-23
Lacks the depth of her later work.
I was a little disappointed with the book having read her Vera and Shetland series. However this is one of her earlier works, published in 1990, so perhaps I shouldn’t compare. It was comparable with other crime novels of that era, which naturally lacked the modern forensic detail and use of technology found in more recent works, so that is possibly why I didn’t feel quite so positive about it.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Stephanie G
- 25-10-22
Unbelievably poor story, so childlike
The story was very very simple and the police were seen to be fools and incompetent. I can't believe it was written by Ann Cleeves. I expect this must be her very early work as the characters had a 1960's feel and mobiles or computers were not invented. It was so boring I couldn't wait until it ended.
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1 person found this helpful