The Murders at Fleat House: A compelling mystery from the author of the million-copy bestselling The Seven Sisters series

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Best known for her epic The Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley is not an author you associate with crime fiction. However, The Murders at Fleat House represents the author’s first foray in this category of fiction. I was incredibly excited and grateful to publisher to receive this book for review. I’ve loved Lucinda Riley’s work for over ten years now, so the opportunity to read a new book from this treasured author in wake on her loss last year was very much appreciated on my part.

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. Mum was hugely proud of this project. It is the only crime novel she ever wrote, but loyal readers will instantly recognise her unrivalled ability to capture a sense of place. I’m sure it will interest you to know that, at the time of writing, my family lived in the vast, mysterious landscape in which the story is set. What’s more, the Norfolk school featured in the book was heavily inspired by the one which we, her own children, attended. Thankfully, I can confirm that nothing so dramatic actually took place in the corridors of the boarding houses. As Jazz must confront her personal demons, a grim discovery at the school will make this the most challenging murder investigation of her career. Fleat House hides secrets darker than even Jazz could ever have imagined . . . 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 . . .I personaggi sono abbastanza sviluppati e sopratutto mi è piaciuta molto la protagonista,Jaz,una donna forte, intelligente, molto reale anche negli errori che commette e da cui si rialza; tradita dal marito suo collega, ha deciso di mollare il lavoro in polizia, ma il capo decide di smuoverla e farla tornare in azione, essendo una detective talentosa e trovandosi anche nella zona del reato che sembra essere di secondo piano ma che si rivela invece un caso da primo piano MY THOUGHTS: Although this isn't Lucinda Riley's normal genre, I rather enjoyed what was obviously meant to be the first book in a series featuring DI Jazz Hunter. Fleat House – One of the eight boarding houses of St Stephen’s School. Old, dank, dark, eerie, and foreboding, its cellar is rumoured to be haunted by the ghost of a student who died tragically in 1979. 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 . . .

But the local But the local police cannot rule out foul play, and the case prompts the reluctant return of high-flying Detective Inspector Jazmine ‘Jazz’ Hunter to the force. Reunited with her loyal sergeant, she enters the closed world of the school and begins to probe the circumstances surrounding Charlie Cavendish’s tragic death. 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.The writing is sharp and tight. The characters are vulnerable, troubled, and multilayered. And the plot is a suspenseful, twisty tale filled with manipulation, familial drama, deception, lies, neglect, jealousy, secrets, revelations, vengeance, mayhem, and murder. Fue su muerte un acto de venganza? Mientras el personal del colegio cierra filas y la nieve comienza a cubrirlo todo Jazz se da cuenta de que esta podría ser la más complicada investigación de su carrera. Y de que Fleat House esconde secretos más oscuros de lo que nunca podría haber imaginado. It is not long before another death occurs at the school. One of the masters, Hugh Daneman, is found dead in his study. This one is clearly a suicide but it is still unsettling. One of the younger pupils, Rory Millar, is clearly distressed and frightened. His parents have just divorced and Rory is desperate to see his father, David, who has embraced alcohol again. To top it all off, Julian Forbes, a lawyer who has moved in with Rory’s mother is found dead in the cellar at the school, the same cellar where a young boy killed himself 25 years ago. This one is clearly a murder and greatly muddies the waters! 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.

Jazz is a great character, and it saddens me to think she may not have more books. I love the multiple shades in her arc. If you’ve read any of the Seven Sisters historical drama novels, you’ll recognise elements of the plot here - love affairs forbidden by the constraints of the past, secret babies, thwarted relationships & complicated family dynamics. This is an elaborately constructed murder mystery with multiple suspects but mostly hidden motives. I guessed relatively early who the perpetrator would turn out to be, and had worked out many of the twists - some rather painfully obvious to a crime thriller junkie like me - far ahead of our intrepid DI. For this reason, I would recommend this most to fans of Riley’s who don’t usually read much crime. While not what I would call a cosy mystery, it’s got minimal gore or violence, but plenty of intrigue. The romance is similarly low-key, but it’s there, and I liked that most characters got the endings they deserved. Thank you, NetGalley and AuthorBuzz, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. Lucinda Riley, who unfortunately died recently, has written some very popular historical fiction. This book, her only foray into crime mystery, was posthumously published by her son. Novela escrita hace años por la autora y publicada de manera póstuma por su hijo. Para ser la primera y única novela policíaca escrita por ella, no está nada mal.

From the Publisher

EXCERPT: Outside Study Number Seven, the figure paused for a moment, listening. Being a Friday, the eight boys on this floor would have signed out and walked to the pub in the nearby market town of Fotlesham, but it was as well to be sure. Hearing nothing, the figure turned the handle and went in. Tenemos un escenario principal que es el internado inglés St.Stephen, enmarcado en una zona rural de Inglaterra. Una muerte que investigar y una serie de personajes que iremos conociendo a lo largo de los capítulos.