The BEST episodes of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries

Every episode of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries!

Inspector Lynley and Sergeant Havers, are Elizabeth George's crime-cracking duo from opposite sides of the track. No detective is better suited to expose the secrets of the upper classes than Lynley, himself the eighth Earl of Asherton. And while Havers may not know her earl from her escargot, she knows how to dig for clues in places a bit too seedy for the well-manicured Lynley.

Last Updated: 2/4/2024Network: BBC OneStatus: Ended
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Limbo
star
9.24
128 votes

#1 - Limbo

Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/9/2007

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?

Directors: Robert Bierman
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In the Blink of an Eye
star
8.90
154 votes

#2 - In the Blink of an Eye

Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/10/2006

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.

Directors: Brian Kelly
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Know Thine Enemy
star
8.74
152 votes

#3 - Know Thine Enemy

Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/16/2007

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?

Directors: Graham Theakston
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Chinese Walls
star
8.70
152 votes

#4 - Chinese Walls

Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 8/3/2006

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.

Directors: Robert Bierman
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Deception on His Mind
star
8.67
140 votes

#5 - Deception on His Mind

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/31/2003

The body of a young Asian man is found on the beach at the seaside town of Balford-le-Nez, leading the police into a web of racial tensions, family loyalties and illicit sexuality in investigating the murder. Havers has time on her hands while Lynley is on honeymoon in Peru, and when she finds the Balford-le-Nez investigation is being run by a friend she joins the hunt.

Directors: Tim Leandro
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The Seed of Cunning
star
8.58
118 votes

#6 - The Seed of Cunning

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/31/2005

Lynley and Havers investigate the killing of a porter at the House of Lords. At first, it looks as if the murder may be connected to the dead man's gambling debts, but then a senior clerk is also murdered, with evidence of a conspiracy involving stolen test reports on a new missile system. Havers traces the missing documents, but she finds that she and Lynley are both being followed.

Writer: Mark Greig
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Missing Joseph
star
8.49
144 votes

#7 - Missing Joseph

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/29/2002

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

Directors: Richard Laxton
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In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner
star
8.42
105 votes

#8 - In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/4/2004

Two dead bodies are found in the middle of a stone circle. One of them was the daughter of a retired police officer who lives in a nearby village, while the other was a local artist. There is at first no clear connection between the two, but Havers finds an important clue which leads Lynley to the killer.

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A Suitable Vengeance
star
8.37
103 votes

#9 - A Suitable Vengeance

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/24/2003

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.

Directors: Edward Bennett
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A Cry for Justice
star
8.17
103 votes

#10 - A Cry for Justice

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/18/2004

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.

Directors: Alrick Riley
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A Traitor to Memory
star
8.15
104 votes

#11 - A Traitor to Memory

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/11/2004

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.

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Natural Causes
star
8.15
150 votes

#12 - Natural Causes

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/20/2006

Since Lynley's arrest and suspension for threatening a suspect, Havers has been without a partner. She begins a new case in Kent alongside the heavily pregnant, no-nonsense Detective Inspector Fiona Knight. Together, they investigate the murder of Edie Covington, whose body has been discovered in a local lake.

Directors: Simon Massey
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One Guilty Deed
star
8.08
179 votes

#13 - One Guilty Deed

Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/27/2006

When a key witness is murdered, Lynley and Havers find their case against violent criminal Michael Shand crumbling around them.

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If Wishes Were Horses
star
7.95
125 votes

#14 - If Wishes Were Horses

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/25/2004

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.

Directors: Alrick Riley
Writer: Simon Booker
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Payment in Blood
star
7.94
195 votes

#15 - Payment in Blood

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/15/2002

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.

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For the Sake of Elena
star
7.94
177 votes

#16 - For the Sake of Elena

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/22/2002

Lynley and Havers investigate when the beautiful and deaf daughter of a Cambridge lecturer is found murdered. A post-mortem reveals that the victim was pregnant, and the police build up a picture of a promiscuous girl with a large number of admirers. It appears that jealousy is likely to be a factor in the case.

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In the Guise of Death
star
7.88
129 votes

#17 - In the Guise of Death

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/24/2005

Havers is on holiday in Cornwall, learning Akido, and Lynley is also in the county to visit his mother, when a local horse trainer is found hanged in a stable on the estate next to Lynley's. The dead man's money troubles suggest suicide, but then Lynley finds he had links with smuggling. Another lead suggests that the killer may be uncomfortably close to home. As the case develops, Lynley has to think out where his future lies - with the police, or managing his own property?

Directors: Nigel Douglas
Writer: Simon Block
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In Divine Proportion
star
7.86
136 votes

#18 - In Divine Proportion

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/17/2005

Havers gets back to work after being shot and is assigned to a case in rural Suffolk, where a young woman has been murdered with a shot gun. Lynley is worried about the effect the case will have on Havers. Then a photograph of the murdered woman arguing with a man is sent to the police, and a mysterious word is painted on the wall of the crime scene - it seems as if someone is trying to give the team some clues. As a result, they uncover a dark secret that villagers have kept quiet for years. In a final confrontation, Havers has to face down her fear of being back in the line of fire.

Directors: Brian Stirner
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Playing for the Ashes
star
7.85
171 votes

#19 - Playing for the Ashes

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/10/2003

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.

Directors: Richard Spence
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Well-Schooled in Murder
star
7.74
181 votes

#20 - Well-Schooled in Murder

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/8/2002

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

Directors: Robert Young
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Word of God
star
7.69
118 votes

#21 - Word of God

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/7/2005

The frozen body of a man is found on a meat truck in London's Smithfield Market, and on the body are a forged British passport and an Arabic manuscript on a page of vellum. The dead man appears to be an illegal immigrant - but was his death accidental? The manuscript turns out to be a page of an ancient Koran, hugely valuable. And Lynley finds himself locking horns with Inspector Brennan, of the Metropolitan Police's immigration department.

Directors: Julian Simpson
Writer: Peter Jukes
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In the Presence of the Enemy
star
7.60
136 votes

#22 - In the Presence of the Enemy

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/17/2003

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.

Directors: Brian Stirner
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