Old wounds are reopened when Lynley investigates the disturbing death of his godson more than a decade after the boy's disappearance. Lynley is drawn into the case, leading him first to Rome and then headlong into the middle of a new murder enquiry in which Lynley himself becomes the prime suspect. Will Havers be able to save his skin?

When former war photographer Peter Rooker is shot, a murder trail from tabloid newspaper mogul Eddie Price and editor Melissa Booth is traced back to a family executed by the Serbian militia in Bosnia. When Lynley asks his wife Helen to assist him with unlocking the psychological history behind the killing, he sets in motion a tragic trail of events.

Lynley and Havers's friendship is pushed to its limits in a high profile and chilling investigation into the disappearance of two teenage girls. Can Lynley save the life of the second victim and pin a murder charge on his suspects?

Lynley and Havers investigate the murder of Professor Dermot Finnegan, an old friend and mentor of Helen's who has been killed by a car bomb. Helen, who is pregnant, is later attacked in her car, and on admission to hospital her baby is found to have died. Havers searches Finnegan's office and finds love letters from several women - including one from Helen. She suggests that Lynley should be taken off the case, but he is determined to go on with it for the sake of Helen. In the end, Lynley has a shocking confrontation with the killer.

A woman is found dead, and it looks as if she committed suicide. But Havers has doubts. The police investigation leads Lynley to a private club, while Havers goes undercover. The true motive for the death affects Lynley deeply.

When aspiring lawyer Emily Proctor is found axed to death in Hyde Park, Lynley and Havers are drawn to the chambers of human rights lawyer Tony Wainwright and his clerk Hester Reed. Wainwright's passionate temper and a concealed affair with the victim seem to place him as the main suspect, but when Emily's double life is exposed, Lynley and Havers enter a world of internet porn and a family haunted by secrets.

A famous violinist appearing at the Wigmore Hall, London, suddenly can't play any more, and away from the city centre a lonely woman is killed in a hit and run accident. Lynley and Havers try to find the connection between the musician and the death. To get at the truth, they need to dig deep into the past and also to put their careers on the line.

In an apparently tranquil Lancashire village, Lynley investigates the mysterious poisoning of vicar Robin Sage.

In the rarefied world of Cambridge, Lynley and Havers investigate the murder of Elena Weaver – a stunning young deaf student, bludgeoned to death on a morning run. When it emerges that she was pregnant, Elena's life seems to have been a mystery to even those closest to her.

Detective Inspector Lynley and Detective Sergeant Havers are drawn into the closed world of prestigious public school Bredgar Hall when a promising young pupil, Matthew Whateley, goes missing.

While investigating the death of star cricketer Kenneth Waring with DS Havers, DI Lynley delves into his complex personal life and is forced to break the rules.

The relationship between Lynley and Havers reaches its all-time low when they investigate a case of kidnapping and murder involving the secret child of a member of parliament and a newspaper editor.

Lynley and Havers travel to the Highlands of Scotland, where an eminent playwright has been murdered. The suspects are glamorous stars of the film and theatre world, who have been rehearsing their new play in impresario Sir Stuart Stinhurst's remote country pile.

Lynley returns to his ancestral home in Cornwall to celebrate his engagement to Helen. His difficult relationship with his dysfunctional family is soon overshadowed by a murder on part of his own estate - and the chief suspect is Peter, Lynley's drug-addict brother.