A Schooling in Murder: The gripping new WWII historical mystery from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Ashes of London

by Andrew Taylor

384 pages, Paperback

Published May 26, 2026

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[Trevor Vick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very different from the earlier Tudor novels. This one was set in the immediate post-war years, in a low-achieving private girls school located in the suburbs of the Forest of Dean. Its grounds had not been fully risk-assessed as people kept launching from the vertiginous river cliffs into the Wye below. It was, sort of, Richard Osman does St Trinians’ with seemingly bumbling harmless characters having very dark sides to them amidst the jolly hockey-sticks. Oh! And it was revealed very early-on that the narrator was a ghost who fell victim to those dreaded cliffs in mysterious circumstances. If your bag is realism and historical accuracy, then this ain’t for you. But I was definitely entertained.

[Colin Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Andrew Taylor's The Ashes of London was very enjoyable, and that made me pick up this new book at the Library. The plot centres around an old mansion converted to a fourth rate girls' boarding school in the south west of England during 1945. Alec Shaw arrives as a temporary tutor, replacing Annabel Warnock, who has disappeared, seemingly causing little concern among the staff or the local police! We then fast forward to mysterious messages from the ghost who is the book's narrator.

A good concept that, for me, failed to deliver. The plot soon became see through when I had picked the villain in the first third of the book. The whole became quite tedious with a lot of repetitive dialogue. This one was simply not for me, although I did persevere to the end. 2 stars, just.

[Louise Fincham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding novel from an accomplished novelist. The story has an unusual setting, clever plot and heartbreaking ending. Highly recommended.

[Beata · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very slow. Disappointing.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought the book in Waterstones.Such a good story. Written from the murder victim's perspective and has a couple of great twists that you don't see coming.

[Elizabeth Hore · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor story, poor editing, poor characters. Not for me.

[Em · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have really struggled with this book. It’s about a girls boarding school in the Second World War and a series of events that happened there. The teller is a ghost which just irked me.