Murder on an island paradise (The Lighthouse - P.D. James)

Member Name: sunmeilan

Product:	The Lighthouse - P.D. James
Date:	10/12/06 (135 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good plot; compelling reading

Disadvantages: Dagleish is still going strong

I’ve had this book for a year now and for one reason or another, have only just got around to reading it. I do enjoy P D James’ books and have done for years, so that is not really why I left it for so long, it’s just that as the series has gone on, I’ve come to dislike the hero, Commander Dagleish more and more and this tends to colour my opinion of the books. Anyway, finally I read it, and as expected, thoroughly enjoyed it, despite Dagleish’s appearance. P D James has become famous for her traditional ‘closed door’ murders, where the murder takes place in a restricted area to which a certain number of people only have access. This book is no exception and I, for one, am overjoyed.

Combe Island has become a retreat for many of those in the public eye. A well-known writer and his entourage, the head of a laboratory that does tests on animals. and a senior diplomat are three of the main guests on the island at the time. Most of the other people on the island are either administrative people or servants. That is, until the writer is found murdered. A potential visit by a high profile politician rings warning bells in Whitehall; hence Dagleish and his team, Kate Miskin and Benton-Smith, are called in to solve the crime.

On arrival, Dagleish and co are immediately aware of tension on the island. Living in such close proximity has not led to good relations and there is any number of people with a reason to kill the writer, including his own daughter, the laboratory head and a bullied servant. The situation is made more complicated by an outbreak of SARS, which restricts the actions of both the inhabitants and the police. Can Dagleish and his team solve the murder before the killer strikes again?

Although Dagleish's involvement in this crime is explained by a potential visitor, hinted at being the Prime Minister, I still find it hard to accept that a Commander in the Metropolitan Police would be involved in such an investigation. He might be constantly at the end of a phone, but actually there in person? I don't think so. I have never particularly liked Dagleish - he is a very private character with a love of poetry and there is little to get to like - but I really feel we've seen enough of him now. He does have a love interest in Emma, although as far as the novel is concerned, it is a long distance relationship, but even this doesn't liven him up - somehow I see him as almost asexual. Luckily, I think P D James, if she does get to write many more books, is slowly beginning to write Dagleish off - or at least let him sink into the background. Kate Miskin has begun to play a more prominent role in investigations over the last couple of books and although she is quite a prickly character, I do feel myself warming to her. In this book, her relationship with her former partner has developed into something further now that they are no longer working together, which gives her more of a human side. I also like the development of her relationship with Benton-Smith.

Perhaps I am being rather harsh on Dagleish but he just annoys me. On the plus side, I think this proves that P D James can put together a very good story, because my dislike of Dagleish has never discouraged me from reading any of her books and I've read every single last one of them. A couple of books ago, when she wrote Death in Holy Orders, I did wonder if she was losing her touch. The Murder Room was a definite improvement though, and I was delighted to find that she was well on form in this book. I am a great fan of the traditional murder mystery - the 'closed door' mystery and this is a perfect example. In this day and age, it is difficult to envisage many situations whereby the murderer must be one of a small number of people - telecommunications and transport links tend to get in the way of that - but setting it on a secluded island where the inhabitants deliberately avoid modern life is an excellent idea and just about manages to keep within the realms of possibility. P D James has also done a good job of making all the suspects seem like they could possibly have committed murder without making any of them stand out too much.

I like the way that P D James (or should I say Baroness James of Holland Park) writes. She almost turns crime fiction into an art form; many authors of modern crime fiction seem to forget that they can come up with a good plot and write well all at the same time. She does occasionally make her language a bit more complicated than is really necessary; I found myself having to really concentrate sometimes in order to understand what she was saying. That is an infrequent occurence though, so not really a big deal.

I liked The Lighthouse. I think this is P D James' best book for a while and I say this despite Dagleish. I don't know if she will manage many more - she is already well over 80 - but if she doesn't, then this is a good one to finish on. Recommended.

The Lighthouse is available from play.com for £4.99. Published by Penguin Books, it has 480 pages. ISBN: 0141025107

Summary: P D James back on track