A Taste for Death (1986)

Competently written murder mystery with PD James' popular detectives Adam Dalgliesh and Kate Miskin. Easy to read and moderately 'not put downable'.
My copy was sourced from the Gold Coast Libraries Disposal shop - 'Fill a bag for $10'.
Read between Feb 10 and 14 (Flinders Island trip), 2013. ( )

BBC Radio 4 full cast dramatisation of the novel, presented on 2 CDs. Two men are discovered with their throats cut in the vestry of St Matthews Church. One is a local tramp, the other a former government minister. The political implications make the murder investigation a job for Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his team.

It's a good adaptation played by an excellent cast, and I enjoyed listening to it. But squeezing a long book down into 2 hours 20 minutes means that a lot of material has had to be cut, and I think the adaptation does suffer for it. It's still very enjoyable, but I think might feel a bit thin to someone who wasn't already familiar with the book. ( )

London in 1986: The largely-irrelevant Anglican church has been corrupted by social do-gooding on one side and a Romish infatuation with miracles on the other; the left behave like 1950s Stalinists in a John Le Carré novel; the decadent upper classes are motivated only by self-interest, whilst the Conservative Party stands alone as a bastion of honour and common-sense. If it were anyone other than P.D. James, you would take it for an elaborate satire, but I have a horrible feeling that she actually sees the world like this.

An impressive detective story, but deeply unattractive in its politics. ( )

I decided to read all of the Adam Daigliesh mysteries in one fell swoop and am glad I did. First, they are classic British mysteries all well-deserving of the respect P.D. James has earned for them and all are a good read. However, what is interesting is to watch the author develop her style from the early ones to the later ones. And, in fact, A Shroud for a Nightingale and The Black Tower (the fourth and fifth in the series) is where she crosses the divide. The later books have much more character development -- both for the players and the detectives -- make Dalgleish more rounded and are generally much more than a good mystery yarn -- they're fine novels that happen to be mysteries. The first three books (Cover Her Face, A Mind to Murder, Unnatural Causes) are just that much more simplistic. But read any or all -- she's a great writer and they are definitely worth the time. ( )

P. D. James has never written a bad book, but I think this is one of her best. ( )