Masterpiece Mystery! Inspector Lynley, Series VII

Sundays, August 10 and 17 at 9 p.m.

A good man may be hard to find, but it’s just as hard to let a good man go. This season, Masterpiece Mystery! says goodbye to esteemed British crime fighter and Man of Mystery!, aristocratic Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, when it retires The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. The two-part Masterpiece Mystery! Inspector Lynley, Series VII, airs Sundays, August 10 and 17 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV 21 (cable 11) and WXXI-HD (cable 1011 and DT 21.1).

The series debuted on PBS in 2002, now six years later it’s time to say goodbye to novelist Elizabeth George’s seemingly mismatched partners—the dashing blueblood Thomas Lynley, eighth Earl of Asherton (Nathaniel Parker), and his working-class sidekick, Barbara Havers (Sharon Small). Known as much for fighting crime as for locking horns with one another, the celebrated New Scotland Yard duo collaborate on two final cases in The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Series VII.

Limbo airs Sunday, August 10 at 9 p.m.
Six months have passed since the shocking death of Lynley’s wife, Helen, and Havers is concerned that her partner is drowning (and drowning in) his sorrows. As Lynley struggles to come to terms with his grief, he’s unexpectedly drawn back in to the 15-year-old unsolved abduction of his godson. A reconnaissance trip to Rome on behalf of the family ends in a second tragedy—with Lynley at its center. When Lynley is arrested for murder, he and Havers battle against time, the apparent facts of the case and an ambitious professional rival to clear his name and find the real perpetrator.

Know Thine Enemy airs Sunday, August 17 at 9 p.m.
His reputation restored, Lynley is back in action as he and Havers try to solve the murder of one schoolgirl and the disappearance of another. Is a serial killer on the loose in suburban London? What is the mother of one of the girls hiding? And who is the mysterious redhead seen with both girls before they disappeared? Honeysuckle Weeks (Foyle’s War) and James D’Arcy (Mansfield Park) co-star in this psychological chiller, which pushes the detectives’ friendship to the brink and leaves one of them questioning a critical judgment call.

For more information, visit www.pbs.org/masterpiece.

Pictured: Sharon Small (left) as Sargeant Barbara Havers and Nathaniel Parker (right) as Inspector Thomas Lynley.
Photo Credit: Joss Barratt/BBC 2007 for Masterpiece