Review: MURDER IN SCHOOL, Bruce Beckham

• 
  This edition from Amazon on Kindle
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00IBIG32C
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lucius; 1st edition (February 7, 2014)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 271 pages
• #2 of 20 in the Detective Inspector Skelgill Investigates series 

Synopsis (Amazon) 

WHEN A LONG-SERVING MASTER at one of England’s most prestigious public schools drowns in Bassenthwaite Lake, Detective Inspector Skelgill is summoned to investigate his apparent suicide.

It soon becomes clear that senior members of staff are not all that they seem. As the school closes ranks, Skelgill realises he is pitted against a sinister power struggle for control of its highly lucrative operation.

A second violent death threatens to throw the police off the scent, and the sudden mysterious disappearance of a VIP pupil sows panic in their ranks. In a race against time Skelgill is faced by the unthinkable consequences of a third tragedy on his watch. 

My Take

While the Editor's Note clearly states that this novel (and all others in the series) is a "stand-alone whodunit", I take issue with that descriptor. The novels are part of a series, and each novel builds on the reader's knowledge of the characters and the environment in which they work. The building background helps the reader predict how Skelgill and his colleagues will react to new challenges.

I'm not sure about the credibility of the plot of this one but I enjoyed it none-the-less. Much less of the conversation was in local dialect, which was a bit of a relief, but possibly that was because Skelgill interacted with fewer locals. Skelgill himself comes across as a multi-skilled (physically) rough diamond, tough, but likeable. 

I can feel myself becoming addicted...

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

4.4, MURDER IN ADLAND- Skelgill #1