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michelleful's review against another edition
4.0
I mostly enjoyed this absorbing tale of solid police work in the atmospheric setting of a seminary set on a crumbling English coast. James writes terrifically well, with a great deal of psychological insight. The plot was tight and the characters skilfully drawn. My only issues were with
Spoiler
(1) the treatment of the paedophile character; at first I thought that the view excusing him was a minority one, but there was never any solid pushback against the idea; in fact the only person who clearly took a negative view was murdered! A similar thing happens with a white character's angry resistance to a report that says the British police operate with racial prejudice. No actual pushback. (2) In the end there isn't much intuition used to solve the mystery, so it feels a bit plodding. I was hoping for a bit more of a twist!smedette's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’m a bit embarrassed to admit I only recently learned of PD James because her Adam Dalgliesh series has been adapted for television.
This mystery is full of atmosphere (tiny theological college near a desolate stretch of coastline) and plenty of suspicious characters (priests, students, property caretakers, and other laypeople). It kept me guessing until the end.
While Adam is investigating a suspected suicide of a student, more deaths occur on campus. They seem natural or accidental, but one wonders.
This is the 11th Dalgliesh book, but I didn’t feel lost about the character. A previous case was mentioned very briefly, however, it gave nothing away and was used to establish an existing relationship with colleagues.
If you enjoy slow-burning murder mysteries, I recommend giving this series a try.
One VERY IMPORTANT complaint: there is a priest who has been convicted of sexual abuse and is portrayed in sympathetic light which did not sit well with me.
zpanday's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
2.0
Unacceptable treatment of child abuse and pedophelia
strawberrymivvy's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The first Adam Dalgliesh I've actually read, though I've always enjoyed the TV adaptations.
Didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would, the dialogue feels clunky and old-fashioned, and the description, whilst rich and evocative, used so many unnecessarily intellectual words - as a well-educated reader it's rare that I have to look up meanings as much as I did here, and that detracted from the enjoyment for sure.
I'd probably try another one in the series, as this being set in a religious college likely didn't help, but not an outright winner for me
Didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would, the dialogue feels clunky and old-fashioned, and the description, whilst rich and evocative, used so many unnecessarily intellectual words - as a well-educated reader it's rare that I have to look up meanings as much as I did here, and that detracted from the enjoyment for sure.
I'd probably try another one in the series, as this being set in a religious college likely didn't help, but not an outright winner for me
nwhyte's review against another edition
http://nhw.livejournal.com/1042549.html[return][return]This is the first Dalgliesh novel I've read - I have a feeling I did once get through An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, so not quite my first P.D. James. (Interestingly, the two books share the theme of the detective being called in to investigate the opossible suicide of a young man by his distant, rich, estranged father.) I very much enjoyed it, especially in contrast to Little, Big which I was slogging through at the same time. Of course, the whole thing depends rather a lot on hidden coincidences and secrets (the bit about the consecrated wafer seemed particularly unlikely to me), but it is entertaining and I found the resolution at least psychologically consistent with what we knew of the characters.[return][return]The book is set in an obscure High Church Anglican seminary, and there is a certain amount of reflection on the current state of the Church of England - though perhaps it's more that she is doing a conscious (and at one point complete overt) riff on Trollope.
zebglendower's review against another edition
4.0
My first P.D. James, but certainly not my last. Thoroughly enjoyable mystery, and good fiction. Reading it at a monastery also added something to the atmosphere.
angrygreycatreads's review against another edition
4.0
In this mystery, Dalgliesh is called to reopen a case that concerns a small religious college that is known to him from his youth. He is surprised to find the warden of the school still on the premises and he even gets his old room back for the duration of his stay. The case involves the death of a student that originally had been thought to have been an accident, but was it suicide or murder? and why? Someone thinks so. Enough so they sent a letter to the young man’s family telling them to investigate. The college is in danger of being closed and the death being investigated may be connected or not.
The story unravels at a steady pace. Dalgliesh investigates thoroughly uncovering clues and inconsistencies as he goes. There are interwoven plotlines about expensive art, unknown family connections, religious artifacts, guests and staff with their own secrets and agendas, and power struggles within the church hierarchy. These all come together to make for a compelling mystery read. Another great book in this series!
The story unravels at a steady pace. Dalgliesh investigates thoroughly uncovering clues and inconsistencies as he goes. There are interwoven plotlines about expensive art, unknown family connections, religious artifacts, guests and staff with their own secrets and agendas, and power struggles within the church hierarchy. These all come together to make for a compelling mystery read. Another great book in this series!
shubhra19's review against another edition
1.0
OMG. This book is exteeeeeemely long. Like it doesn't want to finish at all. How much can a reader endure? 20 days for a book of 429 pages? I was frustrated with myself more for keeping on reading this book.
At some theology college, a student is murdered, and then an old woman dies, followed by the death of Archdeacon, and then, one more death? What is the author trying to do? People are simply dying and Adam is able to do nothing. He keeps talking to priests who are good for nothing oldies. This is an unnecessarily twisted drama. The author is very fond of people dying, and lengthy descriptions it seems because all he does is describes people, places, things, situations, lights, fans, doors, pencil, rubber, and what not. OMG this was one very frustrating book. The only ray of hope was visible after the Archdeacon died, but that too didn't work for long.
Adam seems to be a very slow detective. I had to take this decision to end the book just before a few chapters were left in ending. I was brave enough to finish 3/4th of the book but not anymore.
It had so much scope of being a good mystery but it fell flat.
At some theology college, a student is murdered, and then an old woman dies, followed by the death of Archdeacon, and then, one more death? What is the author trying to do? People are simply dying and Adam is able to do nothing. He keeps talking to priests who are good for nothing oldies. This is an unnecessarily twisted drama. The author is very fond of people dying, and lengthy descriptions it seems because all he does is describes people, places, things, situations, lights, fans, doors, pencil, rubber, and what not. OMG this was one very frustrating book. The only ray of hope was visible after the Archdeacon died, but that too didn't work for long.
Adam seems to be a very slow detective. I had to take this decision to end the book just before a few chapters were left in ending. I was brave enough to finish 3/4th of the book but not anymore.
It had so much scope of being a good mystery but it fell flat.
psalmcat's review
5.0
Set in a theological college near the coast, this begins with the apparent suicide of one of the students and is soon followed by more and more deaths. Dalgliesh is asked to investigate pseudo-privately and of course turns up with the murderer's identity, but he can't stop the changes of the world & how they affect this peaceful place. Very good--and perhaps he's going to have a romance in his next book!