A Lesson in Dying is the first book in the Inspector Ramsay series by Ann Cleeves.   Thus series is less well known, as compared to the Shetland or the Vera series.    Ramsay is not as engaging a protagonist, but the story is still a good one – a cozy murder mystery in a small town in northern England.    It is a police procedural, but there are several rural characters who support the investigation.     The secrets of various characters in the town are slowly revealed, not really in a methodical way, but in follow-up interactions, small slip-ups, and oblique references.

Ann Cleeves stories are written in the Agatha-Christie-mystery-style, but with northern settings.    Dialogues are salted with regional language and the details of the rural lives of characters are well-drawn.    In this story the murder of the school’s headmaster has many possible suspects since he was unliked by all.     The author winds the story to a satisfying solution.

A mild recommendation – 4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0