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James does her usual technique of getting to know the characters before her master detective arrives, and this time reveals a bit more of Dalgliesh's past revealing a bit more of a human side to a detective who at times, can be a bit of a pill. More engaging than some of the previous Dalgliesh books, Adam is called in to investigate the murder of a forensic scientist who has his fair share of enemies who would love to be rid of him.
Her descriptions make for very good story telling which keeps the reader turning pages without boring them.I was quite surprised by the ending. It's good old fashioned police work that takes the reader through the mystery.Ms. James writes in a classic British style which is very refreshing. One of P.D. She leads up to & carries that off very well She loves to mold & describe them as much as create excellent suspense mysteries. James heralds is her character development. She has the ability to do it wellOriginally written in the late 70's this has none of the fancy DNA & CSI technicalities.
I would have liked a bit more with Dalgliesh, but then, I usually do. I liked this one a lot - still went back and forth between points of view, but the story was really good and I enjoyed reading each characters' perspective. The ending surprised me, which I always like, and Dalgliesh was perfect.
The novel contains many possible suspects because many disliked the victim. As the reader, we gain deep insight into all characters involved and along with Commander Dalgliesh are kept guessing until the end who the murderer is. Very satisfying. This book is a true page turner. Lovers of English mystery novels will not be able to put the book down.
The story is set in a forensic lab in a traditional English village, but they don't even have computers, much less access to the DNA tests that would have solved the mystery within a couple pages of the murder. This one may not hold up as well as some of her other books due to advances in forensic science and widespread information about them from television shows like CSI. But then, where would the fun have been. As in all of P.D. James' books, the characters are at least as important as the mystery.
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