The Murders at Fleat House by Lucinda Riley @lucindariley @HarryTwittaker @panmacmillan #bookreview #TheMurdersAtFleatHouse

 

The Murders at Fleat House by Lucinda Riley

Published by PanMacmillan

Publication Date: 26th May 2022

Book Description:

The sudden death of a pupil in Fleat House at St Stephen’s – a small private boarding school in deepest Norfolk – is a shocking event that the headmaster is very keen to call a tragic accident.

But the local police cannot rule out foul play and the case prompts the return of high-flying Detective Inspector Jazmine ‘Jazz’ Hunter to the force. Jazz has her own private reasons for stepping away from her police career in London, and reluctantly agrees to front the investigation as a favour to her old boss.

Reunited with her loyal sergeant Alastair Miles, she enters the closed world of the school, and as Jazz begins to probe the circumstances surrounding Charlie Cavendish’s tragic death, events are soon to take another troubling turn.

Charlie is exposed as an arrogant bully, and those around him had both motive and opportunity to switch the drugs he took daily to control his epilepsy.

As staff at the school close ranks, the disappearance of young pupil Rory Millar and the death of an elderly classics master provide Jazz with important leads, but are destined to complicate the investigation further. As snow covers the landscape and another suspect goes missing, Jazz must also confront her personal demons . . .

Then, a particularly grim discovery at the school makes this the most challenging murder investigation of her career. Because Fleat House hides secrets darker than even Jazz could ever have imagined . . .

My Thoughts:

Never having read any of Lucinda's other books I really didn't know what to expect. But I was certainly not disappointed - well, only because I realised that unfortunately this book will not be followed up with any sequels as the world lost an incredible writer when Lucinda sadly lost her battle with cancer in 2021.

The Murders at Fleat House is neatly plotted around the deaths of school bully Charlie Cavendish, who could also charm the birds from the trees where most of the masters were concerned. His demise is shortly followed by the apparent suicide of a teacher at the school. DI Jazz Hunter is brought in to investigate and immediately smells that something is off with the whole school. Staff closing ranks or being evasive, an incompetent head teacher who is more concerned about the public image of the school and how it will reflect on him and then the arrival of Jazz's ex-husband who takes it upon himself to take control of the investigation and almost derails the whole thing.

There is however far more than initially meets the eye in this case. With her eye for detail and a strong gut instinct for the truth Jazz luckily manages to peel away the layers and get to the crux of what has gone on at the school - and there are many layers to probe but without becoming overwhelming. There is also a great red herring which very nearly leads both the reader and the investigation heading up a blind alley but it's best I say no more on that one as I don't want to give any spoilers.

Overall a good storyline, some interesting characters (I have my favourites, but I'll let you decide who they were when you read this for yourself) and a suitably satisfying ending. If only Lucinda had penned us some more instalments...

About the Author:

Lucinda Riley was born in 1965 in Ireland, and after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first book aged twenty-four. Her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and continue to strike an emotional chord with all cultures around the world. The Seven Sisters series specifically has become a global phenomenon, creating its own genre, and there are plans to create a seven-season TV series.

Her books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Italian Bancarella prize, The Lovely Books award in Germany, and the Romantic Novel of the Year award. In 2020 she received the Dutch Platinum award for sales over 300,000 copies for a single novel in one year – an award last won by J K Rowling for Harry Potter.

In collaboration with her son Harry Whittaker, she also devised and wrote a series of books for children called ‘The Guardian Angels’ series.

Though she brought up her four children mostly in Norfolk in England, in 2015 she fulfilled her dream of buying a remote farmhouse in West Cork, Ireland, which she always felt was her spiritual home, and indeed this was where her last five books were written.

Lucinda was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and died on June 11th 2021, surrounded by her family.