Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George

"Ms. George may wind up creating one of the most popular and entertaining series in mystery... read more

Book Description
When thirteen-year-old Matthew Whately goes missing from Bredgar Chambers, a prestigious public school in the heart of West Sussex, aristocratic Inspector Thomas Lynley receives a call for help from the lad's housemaster, who also happens to be an old school chum. Thus, the inspector, his partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, and forensic scientist Simon Allcourt-St. James find themselves once again outside their jurisdiction and deeply involved in the search for a child--and then, tragically, for a child killer. Questioning prefects, teachers, and pupils closest to the dead boy, Lynley and Havers sense that something extraordinarily evil is going on behind Bredgar Chambers's cloistered walls. But as they begin to unlock the secrets of this closed society, the investigation into Matthew's death leads them perilously close to their own emotional wounds--and blinds them to the signs of another murder in the making....

Reader Reviews
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful: Well-written, but it bothered me, June 3, 2002 Reviewer: Martha E. Nelson from Watertown, Wisconsin I had an odd reaction to this book. I am not usually horrified by reading novels about violent events, and there are other books that I have read and reviewed and have not been adversely affected by when other people have had concerns--Martha Grimes' The Lamorna Wink comes to mind. Interestingly enough, Well Schooled In Murder upset me very much. I am not sure what the main issue is for me here, but the murder of the child Matthew, and the graphic depiction of his parents, first happy and full of joy in their world, and then plunged into horrifying grief, really bothered me. I almost stopped reading several times, and then decided that I neede to persevere. I'm glad I did, I guess, and I will certainly continue with Elizabeth George's series, which I have really loved so far, but this was hard for me. I also found the estrangement of Deborah and Simon Alcourt St. James difficult and painful. As I think about it now, Simon's comment to Deborah's question of "how do we get back?" is important. He says "we go on," and maybe that is the answer to most of the pain in this book.