The quiet life of the Yorkshire countryside is shattered by a brutal murder and the shocking revelations unearthed by Scotland Yard investigators Barbara Havers and Thomas Lynley.

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...

Life in the peaceful Yorkshire village of Keldale is turned upside down when the local priest, Father Hart, stumbles upon a gruesome murder. Local farmer, William Tey, has been decapitated in his barn. His obese 16- year-old daughter, Roberta, is found next to her father's body in a severely traumatized state.

Loosely based on the novels from best-selling author Elizabeth George, this series of contemporary murder mysteries features the charismatic Inspector Lynley, whose title as the 8th Earl of Asherton fuels a sparky relationship with his working-class sidekick Barbara Havers. Get unlimited access to all the first-season investigations for seven days with just one borrow. Subsequent seasons available as standard television offerings on hoopla.

Lynley and Havers are called to a tranquil Lancashire village to investigate the poisoning of the vicar, Robin Sage.

An avant-garde play is being read and during the reading, the playwright is murdered. However, the murder is not as easily solved as one might think.

Lynley is honeymooning in Mexico when the body of a young Asian man is found on a secluded promontory, which provokes subsequent heated demonstrations about racist policing.

When radical Labour Minister Eve Bowen's 10-year-old daughter Charlotte is abducted, she's convinced it is a conspiracy to bring her and the government down.

As Lynley looks forward to his impending fatherhood, Helen can't resist helping him with his current case. But has her previous involvement with the victim made her a target?