[2] Skippy Dies follows the lives of a group of students and faculty members at the fictional Seabrook College, a Catholic boarding school in Dublin.

The title character, Daniel "Skippy" Juster, dies during a donut-eating contest in the novel's opening scene.

The novel began as a short story, concerning a pupil and a teacher, but it quickly outgrew this as Murray created further characters.

[6] In November/December 2010 issue of Bookmarks, the book received 3.5 out of 5 stars, with the critical summary saying, "Still, Skippy Dies is an intelligent, well-written look at teenage angst, one of the more original to date".

British Prime Minister David Cameron was reported to be reading the book during his 2011 summer holidays in Spain.