(2001)It takes a long while to read one of her novels, but the journey is everything. There are few writers that can use the language as well. Dalgliesh is asked to investigate an ordinand's death which leads to the murder of an arch deacon in the school. Very good. (PW)Baroness James may have turned 80, but neither she nor her dogged Scotland Yard detective Commander Adam Dalgliesh (last seen in 1997's A Certain Justice) shows any sign of flagging in this superb whodunit, with its extraordinarily complex and nuanced plot and large cast of credible characters. When the body of a young ordinand, Ronald Treeves, turns up buried in a sandy bank on the Suffolk coast near isolated St. Anselm's, a High Anglican theological college, it's unclear whether his death was an accident, suicide or murder. The mystery deepens a few days later when someone suffocates Margaret Munroe, a retired nurse with a bad heart, because she remembers an event 12 years earlier that could have some bearing on whatever's amiss at St. Anselm's. Enter Dalgliesh at the behest of Ronald's father, Sir Alred, who's received an anonymous note suggesting foul play in his son's death. It isn't long before another death occurs, and this time it's clearly murder: late one night in the chapel, somebody bashes in the head of Archdeacon Crampton, a hard-nosed outsider who wanted to close St. Anselm's. Dalgliesh and his investigative team examine the complicated motives of a host of suspects resident at the college, mostly ordinands and priests, slowly unveiling the connections among the various deaths. Illegitimacy, incest, a secret marriage, a missing cloak and a valuable altar triptych are just some of the ingredients in a case as contrived as any Golden Age classic but presented with such masterful ease and conviction that even the most skeptical readers will suspend disbelief.

Anglican church mystery ( )

On the plus side, the story was complex and quite well constructed. I didn't guess who 'dunnit' until it came out about two thirds of the way through that someone had a huge motive for commiting a string of murders, the rest of the book being about how Commander Dalgleish goes about proving it.

However I had two major issues with the book. Firstly there is a indefensible defence of a paedophile whose life has been ruined by the vendetta a certain character had against him, with the intention of getting him convicted - which apparently involved finding dubious characters willing to perjure themselves in court and lie that he had seriously assaulted them. However, the fact that he had in reality "only" fondled choirboys is presented as relatively minor and something that should not have counted against him.

Secondly the entire motive for the murderer doesn't make a grain of sense. This person had no regard for the person he was benefiting by committing the murders as he made perfectly clear on a number of occasions. That being so, why murder anyone?

Other than that, the characters are mostly cardboard cutouts. I liked the old priest, Father Martin, but Dalgleish himself is a nothing really, which is a problem given his importance as the protagonist investigating the crimes. And his team are poorly sketched. So all in all, I can only give this a 2 star rating. ( )

I enjoyed reading it, but I'm not clear/convinced about the motive. The victim may or may not have killed his first wife, hounded a fellow Anglican priest accused of being a pedophile, and righteously wanted to close down what he believes is the elitist theological college where the action takes place---but his beliefs are politically useful for a career in the church. Still his parishioners love him. Another character, approached by someone extremely worried, tells him that he is right to be worried and sends him away. And yet another, who feels she is being helpful and friendly, ruins someone's life and feels no guilt. In other words, the characters are more interesting than the deaths---which may be from natural causes, an accident, suicide, or murder. Also, England is a very small place with so few people that a very small, secluded college has a dinner attended by the victim, the detective who suspected him, the priest he hounded, and another priest whose academic career was hurt by a fellow dinner guest. There is also mention of a document, which may or may not be fake, purported to be signed by Pontius Pilate and whether it should be shared with the world. ( )

Wow, this book was so bizarre! I loved it! P.D. James covers almost every branch of human depravity, but in a very restrained British way. The prose and mystery are wonderful, and I enjoyed the poet-detective. Also really liked the setting of an Anglican theological seminary in a remote seaside location. CW for generally creepy Tory mindset and a pedophile who is universally agreed to have “not really hurt anyone.” This is my first time reading an Inspector Dalgliesh novel and I am looking forward to more. ( )