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The Best Episodes of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries

Every episode of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries!

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DS Barbara Havers is assigned to work with the upper-crust DI Thomas Lynley to solve murders.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 6 Episode 2 - Know Thine Enemy
    8.0/10(384 votes)

    #1 - Know Thine Enemy

    S6:E2

    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?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Ed Whitmore

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  2. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 5 Episode 3 - Chinese Walls
    7.8/10(362 votes)

    #2 - Chinese Walls

    S5:E3

    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.

    Director:Robert Bierman
    Writer:Ed Whitmore

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  3. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 3 Episode 2 - A Traitor to Memory
    7.7/10(443 votes)

    #3 - A Traitor to Memory

    S3:E2

    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.

    Director:Brian Stirner
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 4 Episode 1 - In Divine Proportion
    7.7/10(491 votes)

    #4 - In Divine Proportion

    S4:E1

    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.

    Director:Brian Stirner
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 5 Episode 1 - Natural Causes
    7.7/10(388 votes)

    #5 - Natural Causes

    S5:E1

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Peter Jukes

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  6. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 5 Episode 4 - In the Blink of an Eye
    7.7/10(347 votes)

    #6 - In the Blink of an Eye

    S5:E4

    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.

    Director:Brian Kelly
    Writer:Ed Whitmore

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries

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  7. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 3 Episode 1 - In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner
    7.6/10(464 votes)

    #7 - In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner

    S3:E1

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 3 Episode 4 - If Wishes Were Horses
    7.6/10(450 votes)

    #8 - If Wishes Were Horses

    S3:E4

    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.

    Director:Alrick Riley
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 5 Episode 2 - One Guilty Deed
    7.6/10(355 votes)

    #9 - One Guilty Deed

    S5:E2

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 1 Episode 1 - Well-Schooled in Murder
    7.5/10(733 votes)

    #10 - Well-Schooled in Murder

    S1:E1

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 1 Episode 4 - Missing Joseph
    7.5/10(498 votes)

    #11 - Missing Joseph

    S1:E4

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 2 Episode 2 - In the Presence of the Enemy
    7.5/10(453 votes)

    #12 - In the Presence of the Enemy

    S2:E2

    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.

    Director:Edward Bennett
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 2 Episode 3 - A Suitable Vengeance
    7.5/10(496 votes)

    #13 - A Suitable Vengeance

    S2:E3

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 2 Episode 4 - Deception on His Mind
    7.5/10(473 votes)

    #14 - Deception on His Mind

    S2:E4

    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.

    Director:Tim Leandro
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 3 Episode 3 - A Cry for Justice
    7.4/10(425 votes)

    #15 - A Cry for Justice

    S3:E3

    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.

    Director:Alrick Riley
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 4 Episode 3 - The Seed of Cunning
    7.4/10(391 votes)

    #16 - The Seed of Cunning

    S4:E3

    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 then she finds she and Lynley are both being followed...

    Director:Jeremy Silberston
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 6 Episode 1 - Limbo
    7.4/10(385 votes)

    #17 - Limbo

    S6:E1

    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?

    Director:Robert Bierman
    Writer:Ed Whitmore

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  18. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 1 Episode 3 - For the Sake of Elena
    7.3/10(552 votes)

    #18 - For the Sake of Elena

    S1:E3

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 2 Episode 1 - Playing for the Ashes
    7.3/10(486 votes)

    #19 - Playing for the Ashes

    S2:E1

    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.

    Director:Richard Spence
    Writer:Kate Wood

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  20. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 4 Episode 2 - In the Guise of Death
    7.3/10(391 votes)

    #20 - In the Guise of Death

    S4:E2

    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?

    Director:Nigel Douglas
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 4 Episode 4 - The Word of God
    7.2/10(385 votes)

    #21 - The Word of God

    S4:E4

    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...

    Director:Julian Simpson
    Writer:Peter Jukes

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  22. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries Season 1 Episode 2 - Payment in Blood
    7.0/10(622 votes)

    #22 - Payment in Blood

    S1:E2

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Know Thine Enemy" is the best rated episode of "The Inspector Lynley Mysteries". It scored 8/10 based on 384 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Ed Whitmore, it aired on 8/16/2007. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "Chinese Walls".