Murder most ghostly. I loved the Ashes of London series. This story is set in and around a second-rate boarding school not long after the Second World War. The narrator is the ghost of a murdered teacher who discovers she can communicate with her replacement, Alec Shaw. An interesting premise with lots of suspects and a great ending that tied everything up.

I’m a big fan of The Ashes of London series and was very keen to read this. it did not disappoint!

This had absolutely everything I love; beautifully concise writing, a whodunnit (very much in the vein of Agatha Christie) and a really unique plot device in that the main protagonist - Bel - is a ghost.

The story starts shortly after Bel’s murder. she finds herself a ghost and a prisoner of the down at heel boarding school where she was a teacher, able to go only to places she had visited in real life. I love how the life after death theme was explored - all of Bel’s actions are so carefully considered and her lend themselves to moments of real humour (as well as sadness).

I did suspect the murderer but couldn’t put my finger on the motive. The twist, when it comes, is delicious; a motive Christie would have been proud of.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for my review copy

For many years I have been a great fan of Andrew Taylor's historical novels set in the seventeenth century, but I also admire his mysteries set in the twentieth century - and this is one of his best.
With an ever increasing abundance of new crime novels coming out it must be almost impossible for writers to come up with anything truly original or innovative - but this is sure proof that it can still be done, and in this case, done extremely well.
Monkshill, a girls boarding school, is a rather dark version of St Trinian's, with some rather unpleasant teachers and many dysfunctional kids. The author captures the austerity of Britain in the final months of WW2 with his trademark aplomb.
The unusual status of the narrator is a particularly clever literary device.

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK for an ARC of this book.

I requested this book as I so enjoyed the author's 'Lydmouth' series, and this book has a similar feel to it.

I loved the beautiful evoked setting, and the central conceit is really well executed. It could have been a silly idea in less skilled hands.

One of those books which I enjoyed reading because of the characters, as well as the plot. There's plenty of story, but it's the really well defined 'people' that kept me hooked.

Easy 5 stars from me.

This is an interesting departure from the Ashes if London series and is a standalone murder mystery with a hint of gothic. I rather liked the premise; a ghost trying to solve her own death and I found it original and almost literally haunting in parts. There’s a claustrophobic feel to the isolated setting of the school and the arrival of a new teacher sparks off numerous interactions. It’s clear in construction and I found it well paced; it’s slow, but I felt that suited the nature of the plot as bits of the past are revealed, along with secrets in the present. It’s moody and mysterious with a strong sense of setting in a mild gothic horror way, There’s tension and twists and I thought it worked very well as an escapist fiction. Enjoyed it and my thanks to the publisher and Netgalley fir an early review copy.

Set in a girl's boarding school after the war, a restless ghost is trying to find out who murdered her. It's funny in parts, almost St Trinians-like- and disturbing in others. All is not what it seems under the veneer of respectability. Unusual and very enjoyable.

I’m a huge fan of everything Andrew Taylor has written however was a bit concerned about the change in direction in this book. I needn’t have been at all, it’s a fantastic read. There is light humour all the way through, lots of different characters doing lots of dastardly deeds, some horrible children as well too to add to the mix Our ghostly heroine tracks down her killer eventually (I thought she was a bit slow to cotton on!)

Altogether a great read and a happy 5* recommendation

Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

A really engaging 'whodunnit' where the narrator is the ghost of the victim seeking to discover who killed her. In the enclosed world of a girls' boarding school at the end of the Second World War, it is humorous and has lots of references to Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers. The red herrings come thick and fast and it had me guessing right to the end. I think this is a great gift for Christmas for everyone, if you are stuck for a gift for the person who has everything, buy them this, they will not be disappointed. I loved it.

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Tate.

This was such an unusual book. It opened like any murder mystery but I was soon engaged by the atypical viewpoint. Annabel has been murdered and it is her ghost who is telling the story. We become involved with the tensions and relationships in a school for girls, many of whom seem lost and lonely. It is no different for the staff - especially the new teacher who is, of all things, a man, catapulted into the boiling pot of characters. I enjoyed the unfurling of the school girls as we found out more about them. The central mystery is enjoyably twisty and the setting, at the end of WW2, made an interesting backdrop. I highly recommend this book for lovers of detective fiction and school stories. Thanks to Harper Collins and to NetGalley for a copy in return for an honest review.

I was uncertain when I started reading this book, thinking I’d made a mistake as the main character was a ghost. However, a few pages in and I was hooked. The ghost idea is such a novelty and worked really well. I loved the 1940’s setting, with excellent details of awful food and social constraints. I definitely recommend this book.

Wow! This is one amazing read, so thoughtfully and cleverly plotted. It's 1945 and the author has perfectly captured the era with historic detail. There is humour and dark, outrageous moments reflecting the views and attitudes of the time. I found it intriguing, interesting and suspenseful with a cliffhangar, jawdropping conclusion which came as a complete surprise.
Absolutely brilliant and highly recommended.

Set in an isolated school in 1945, this is a beautifully written story with a rich sense of period. The school is populated by a cast of interesting characters, including the ghost of a former teacher. The tensions and prejudicies of the period are enhanced in this closed setting, making this a haunting and riveting read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

An utter joy to be back with Andrew Taylor's writing and I love that he's done something new - his own twist on Golden age crime. Hugely enjoyable. More, please.

Certainly different - and enjoyable!

Annabel Warnock, our protagonist, was a teacher at an all girl's boarding school post-WWII - until someone murdered her. It happened with a push from behind and she would dearly love to find out who it was. Now that she's dead, she can be privvy to so many conversations, but is limited in where she can go. How will she find out who her murderer is?

I have to confess this is an entirely new author to me, but he's now firmly on my radar. This is such a terrific read! I loved all the goings-on at the school - parents and students - and was completely in the dark as to who the murderer was - until it was revealed. A perfect ending! Beautifully crafted and true to the period it is set in. A cracking good read and one I'm very happy to recommend. 5*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley.

A Schooling in Murder is a murder mystery with a twist. The story centres around Annabel Warnock, the ghost of a recently murdered teacher at a girl’s boarding school in World War II England. Annabel can’t remember who killed her and is stuck in limbo at the school, desperate to find out, while nobody else there is even aware of her death. Now she is able to spy on the pupils, teachers and staff, she discovers a world of secrets and suspects. But who was behind her death?

It's a clever premise and a brilliantly told story. Andrew Taylor is so good at creating a sense of time and place in his historical fiction and proves to be just as adept in this relatively modern setting. By using the boarding school as a setting, he essentially creates the kind of country house murder mystery popular at the time and there’s a real sense of claustrophobia about it. No character, including Annabel, is purely good or bad, everyone has their secrets and faults, and it’s genuinely hard to know who was responsible or why. I was completely caught up in both the story and the setting and couldn’t put it down. And as for the ending….

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

A departure from Medieval times for Andrew Taylor here with a book set during the Second World War. The setting is a girls’ boarding school where a teacher has vanished without trace, and a young male teacher has come to take over her classes. The murder mystery in the book is narrated by the victim herself, as a ghostly presence only able to communicate with the new male teacher. The story is full of beautifully drawn characters, not all of whom are likeable, and the more the reader discovers about each of the characters the more tangled the story becomes - in the best possible way! The school and its surrounding woods become a character in themselves, cleverly woven into the story to help make a very satisfying whole. The book is beautifully paced, with an unexpected ending - surely this will be one of the books of the year!