Cover Image: The Murders at Fleat House

The Murders at Fleat House

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Member Reviews

This is the first book that I have read by Lucinda Riley, and I can't wait to read more!

There has been a murder at the Fleat House that everyone is saying is a Tragic Case. Detective "Jazz" Hunter is put on the case even though she just left her job in London. As she continues to dig deeper, she finds things that things are unraveling. She finds out the the Fleat House is holding secrets she could never imagine.

Character development was amazing. I love how everyone was mixed together. The writing style flowed wonderful. The suspense of the book kept me turning the pages. Finished the book in record time and not a lot of books have me doing that these days. Can't wait to read more books of hers. Will recommended this book to anyone that loves mysteries and suspense.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

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Obsessed with anything from lucinda riley so I was pumped to get approved for an ARC copy on NetGalley. Jumped in blind and OMG so freaking good. Don't even want to give details. Such a deep twisted story. Loved it. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

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Love all this authors previous work so was excited to get my mitts on this one! Her great stand-alone novels as well as her Seven Sisters series are fabulous…..
I can't recommend this book enough!!!! Packed with tension and suspense… Had me sat on the edge of my seat. Outstanding… Blew my mind!... Simply brilliant….. Terrific!… one heck of a rollercoaster ride… Five stars from me!

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Wonderful murder mystery. Beautifully constructed by Lucinda. I was so sad to hear the author passing. I’m getting her other books because I enjoyed her writing style.

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Thanks to Harry Whitaker and NetGalley for allowing me to read Lucinda Riley’s book, The Murders at Fleat House before the publication date.

DI Jazz Hunter walked away from the Met when she discovered that everyone knew her husband, DI Patrick Coughlin was having an affair with a colleague. She had endured many slights from Patrick as he saw Jazz as a threat to his career, but this was the last straw.

Now Assistant Commissioner Norton has turned up at her new home and asked her to lead an investigation into the death of 18 year old Charlie Cavendish at his Norfolk boarding school.
The cause of death appears to be a seizure until the post mortem reveals that Charlie had taken aspirin, a medication which everyone knew he was allergic to.
Before Jazz can interview him, Charlie’s house tutor is found to have committed suicide, raising suspicions that the 2 deaths are connected.

The investigation is further complicated by the disappearance of 12 year old Rory Millar.

The head master is keen to protect the reputation of the school and his job.
Jazz finds herself running multiple investigation threads.

There are many twists, turns and red herrings before secrets, many of them hidden for decades, are revealed.

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Are you a fan of Lucinda Riley? Her great stand-alone novels as well as her Seven Sisters series? Are you impatiently waiting the last book in the series, Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt, which won’t be out till May 2023? Then read on..

When an author writes outside of the genre they are best known for, I am sometimes a bit circumspect as to how successful they will be. I am very happy to say her fans will not be at all disappointed in this book. If you are a crime reader and haven’t read her historical series, then you are in for a treat as well. I am very sad that she is no longer with us to have been able to continue writing as this would have made an excellent ongoing series to rival Ann Cleeves' Vera and Shetland.

Lucinda’s talent at building characters around an absorbing story are on full display in this clever, twisty tale of jealousies, family secrets and revenge set in a private boy’s school in Norfolk England. Full of Agatha Christie style red herrings, it will have you quickly turning the pages to find out more.

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Englisches Buch, deutsche Rezension: ich hoffe, immer, somit auch deutsche Leser für die englische Version zu begeistern!
Die Bestsellerautorin Lucinda Riley ist letztes Jahr nach schwerer Krankheit verstorben, und dies ist eines ihrer noch nicht veröffentlichten Manuskripte. Ich habe Ms Riley für mich vor einiger Zeit für mich entdeckt, und liebe ihre dramatischen, emotionalen und spannenden Geschichten, und ihre packende Art und Weise, diese zu erzählen. Dieses Buch nun, ihr einziger Krimi, ist bereits 2006 verfasst worden, und sollte wohl nach dem Abschluss ihrer „7-Schwestern“-Reihe herauskommen – allein, sie ist zu früh gestorben, und im Vorwort zu diesem Roman schreibt ihr Sohn Harry Whittaker, dass dieser Roman eine Art unkorrigierte Version darstellt. Und ich schicke voraus, ich habe jetzt null Qualitätsverlust erkennen können, für mich war das ein weiterer toller Schmöker einer Ausnahmeautorin.
So, worum geht’s? Wir sind in Norfolk, etwa 2006 (sic!), und im Internat St Stephens wird ein Schüler tot aufgefunden. Charlie Cavendish, das Opfer, litt an Epilepsie, und augenscheinlich hat er seine Medikamente mit Aspirin verwechselt, gegen das er allergisch war. Aber war es tatsächlich eine Verwechselung, ein tragisches Unglück, oder steckt mehr dahinter? Um dies herauszufinden, wird DI Jazmine Hunter, frisch aus einem Sabbatical kommend und eigentlich eher gewillt, komplett den Polizeidienst zu quittieren, mit einem Team zur Schule geschickt. Schon bald zeigt sich, dass Charlie kein sehr angenehmer Zeitgenosse war und gerne die jüngeren Schüler gemobbed und gequält hat – und es gibt schon sehr bald gleich mehrere Leute, die ohne Charlie besser dran sind. Kurz darauf stirbt ein Mitglied des Lehrerkollegiums: definitiv Selbstmord, ziemlich wahrscheinlich aber auch im Zusammenhang mit dem Tod Charlies stehend. Für Jazmine und ihr Team steht fest: hier steckt mehr dahinter, und die Ermittlungen sollen bis weit in die Vergangenheit führen…..
Und wie der Klappentext auch schon verrät, es geht hier nicht nur um den spannenden Fall rund um Charlies mysteriösen Todesfall, sondern auch um Jazz‘ eigene Vergangenheit und um ihre eigenen Geheimnisse. Wie bei allen Romanen von Ms Riley tauchen wir auch hier tief in die persönlichen Geschichten der Protagonisten ein, und das macht dieses Buch zu viel mehr als nur einem normalen Krimi. Bei Riley ist man immer ganz nah dran an den Personen, und es wird immer ausgelotet, wieso und warum die Charaktere so und nicht anders handeln – das macht es für mich spannend und interessant. Psychologisch immer dicht.
Nun, auch Jazmine in ihrer Rolle als Polizistin gibt nicht eher Ruhe, bis sie in letzter Tiefe ergründet hat, was passiert ist, und wieso. Die Suche nach den Motiven lässt ihr keine Ruhe und das bedeutet auch für uns Leser, dass wir am Ende eine richtig gute und allumfassende Aufklärung bekommen, samt Epilog und Infos zu (fast) allen Protagonisten. Das war richtig nach meinem Geschmack; ich will sowas wissen 😉!
Knapp 400 ebook-Seiten, voller Spannung, Action Emotionen. Richtig guter Krimi, sah anfangs nach einer einfachen Lösung aus, entwickelte sich aber schon bald zu einem ziemlich umfangreichem verwobenem Fall, und das Ende habe ich so nicht kommen sehen.
Atmosphärisch dicht, flüssig zu lesen, auch für nicht-englische-Muttersprachler – für mich hat hier alles gestimmt!
Schade, dass es hierzu keine Fortsetzung geben wird; mir ist Jazz ans Herz gewachsen, und dieser intelligenten und eigenwilligen Ermittlerin würde ich auch weiterhin gerne folgen.
Vielen Dank an dieser Stelle an netgalley für die Möglichkeit, dieses Buch vorab lesen zu dürfen!

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#netgalley #authorbuzz Publication date 26 May 2022

A mystery of deaths at a boarding school, I enjoyed this book but found it dragged on a bit, the beginning of the story I was really engaged but by the end I was getting bored. It would have been great if this was a series but unfortunately that won't happen. I'd recommend this book to someone looking for a long mystery style book.

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I am a big fan of the author's historical Seven Sisters and was very curious to read Lucinda Riley's foray into detective fiction, so I was thrilled to receive and ARC through NetGalley. This is a great mystery, full of believable characters and red herrings. A bully in a private boarding school dies and Detective Inspector Jazz Hunter arrives to investigate. Soon, bodies are falling and Jazz must reach into the past to figure out what is going on. I am so sad the author has passed away because I would have loved to have this be a new detective series.

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Thank you NetGalley and Author Buzz for the eARC.
What a great read: the mystery, character development and writing were superb and I loved every page of it. And it was with sadness I read the author's son's dedications telling readers that Lucinda Riley had passed away. Which of course also means there will be no following books with DI Jazz Hunter, which would have made a great series.
A boy is killed at a boarding school, a boy who was a real bully who made the smaller boys' lives hell.
Then a teacher commits suicide and a lawyer is found dead in the cellar of the school. It's a twisted tale that began many years ago and it takes quite a while before Jazz figures it out. I loved the strands that led to the past, it made the story very interesting...as I said, it would have been great to have more following books featuring Jazz and future cases.
Highly recommended!

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Death Of A Boarder…
A death of a boarder at Fleat House sparks a catalogue of events in this tremendously suspenseful read. That death, it turns out, is to be one of several - as events conspire to confuse and dismay not only those in the immediate vicinity but also D.I. Jazz Hunter and team. With numerous threads and links to the past dark secrets will surely emerge. Beautifully constructed, with a credible cast and a perfect sense of time and place, this is a hugely satisfying murder mystery which was devoured in one delicious sitting.

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Wonderful murder mystery set in a British boarding school by the late author Lucinda Riley. An older book being released by the author's son, this is such a great read. A British detective relocates to a small town to recuperate from a series of life setbacks. Once there she becomes involved in murders/suicide that, with her police back ground, she is able to solve. I wish that there were more of this character and this series.

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Bravo! Great book! This book had such an interesting storyline! It had suspense, intrigue, action, bullying, and great police work! I was glued to my kindle the whole book! I highly recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

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