Death in Holy Orders - P.D. James

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, as Aretha would sing. Respect for the doyenne of mystery writers, who has in 2001 published her latest tome, DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS. I am, of course, speaking of P.D. James - the English writer who is to mystery writing what the Queen Mother is to British nobility. She has spawned innumerable literary siblings, as well as hordes of would-be imitators, and not least has provided the inspiration for one of television's longest-lasting series, Murder She Wrote (starring Angela Lansbury). P.D. James is rightly recognised as the heir to the throne of Agatha Christie. For both women write (wrote, in the latter case) murder mysteries in the classic ...  Read the complete review

Another outing for Commander Adam Dalgleish in another typical P.D. James setting: St. Anselm's theological college - an isolated, cliff-side institution on the East Anglian coast. St. Anselm's is destined for closure - the only question is whether the church will shut it down before the encroaching sea does. But the wording of the will of its founder, and a valuable painting bequeathed by her as an altar piece for the college church, could make someone very rich. The question is, who? A student is found dead, buried under a sand fall; his father - a wealthy businessman with connections, receives an anonymous note implying that it ...  Read the complete review

Go on, be honest, weren't you beginning to think that Adam Dalgliesh was getting to be a bit to other-worldly, a bit too good? Ever since I found out that Roy Marsden, who plays AD on the box, didn't like doing sex scenes because his wig fell off, I've been waiting for Dalgliesh to lose his wig, if you see what I mean. Didn't you think that the books were getting a little bit heavy? I don't mean that "Devices and Desires" was a bit big to slip in your pocket and read on the train, or that you had to watch your luggage allowance if you took "A Taste for Death" on holiday. No, what I mean is that you felt a bit virtuous ...  Read the complete review