About this title: On the cliffs of the East Anglican coast sits the theological college of St. Anselm's. When the body of one of the school's young ordinands is found buried in the sand, the boy's father, an influential businessman, demands that Scotland Yard investigate. Commander Adam Dalgliesh agrees out of a desire to revisit a place where he spent happy ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780812977233ISBN:0812977238
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 435 p. Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Fawcett Books
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780345446664ISBN:0345446666
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Excellent condition. Very light edge and corner wear. No marks. Tight binding. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 448 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Fawcett Books
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780345446664ISBN:0345446666
Description: Very Good. Very good. Near fine! Very slight general wear. Clean, straight, tight, unmarked. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 448 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. Spine is well creased. Covers show wear. Good average reading copy. Used books may have price stickers. Most orders ship on the next business day. read more
Description: Good. Spine is well creased. Covers show wear at the edges and corners. Good Grade C average reading copy. Binding is Mass Market Paperback. Pages tanning. Used books may have price stickers. Most orders ship on the next business day. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Publishing Group, New York, New York, U.S. A
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780345446664ISBN:0345446666
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Fawcett Books
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780345446664ISBN:0345446666
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Spine creasing and cover wear. Still a nice looking copy. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 448 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Fine. 0345446666 This mass market paperback book is in GREAT SHAPE---between LIKE NEW and VERY GOOD SHAPE! ! ! FIRST EDITION! ! ! FULL NUMBER LINE--10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1! ! ! Minimal creasing of the spine and minor signs of wear from reading--nothing major. Crisp, clean pages. SMOKE FREE HOME! Do not settle for worn, torn, throwaways. Pay a few pennies more for a beautiful copy! ! ! read more
Description: Fine. 0345446666 Excellent condition paperback book, clean pages, NO creases to spine, this book is Near NEW! Shop & Save With US. read more
"This is a hard book to review - I think that the story only deserves two stars, but PD James is a gifted writer (not necessarily always an equally gifted story teller). Here, she choose fantastic language, pays incredible attention to detail, and gives a literary reader plenty of reasons to praise her work. Unfortunately, though, the story is really not well pulled together, there are many plot holes and tons of repetition that I found annoying. I happen to hate Kate Miskin, AD's assistant (detective inspector), and normally find Dalgliesh to be quite intriguing, but in this book, I got very few reasons to empathize with or understand Dalgliesh, but more examples of why Miskin is annoying and an idiot. Finally, the story is too predictable, and the conclusion is neatly tied in a bow at the end. I hated that! But, again, the actual words are beautifully chosen and eruditely written."
I'm sure I would have liked this better if I'd known more about Dalgliesh (the detective) before reading it. James doesn't explain too much about him--which I like because although it's #11 in the 'series' I easily picked it up and read it. On the flip side, because I haven't been through ten other books with him and his other detectives, and because I don't get a load of back story, I didn't really care about him too much.
The mystery itself was fine, although not the sort I usually flip over. I adore Christie's big 'reveals' with Poirot where the murderer is shown up and all is explained. James is much more understated about it (more modern, perhaps?), and as a result I felt it was a bit anti-climactic. Dalgliesh suspected who it was, pretty much knew who it was, and then they just had to get evidence and then catch him. So not a lot of mystery.
Beautifully written, though. James's prose is terrific and the narrator was great. I think I just prefer the thriller type books of hers (Children of Men). Although I might read the first AD book to see if it sucks me in."
"First Mystery. Yes, tis my first. Which means I don't have much by which I can discriminate the good mystery from the bad. But as a story itself, I am amazed at how much I enjoyed being wrapped up in the who-done-it... especially since I didn't read it to for that end. Many of her sentences are glorious. The mood and scenery can be enchanting. But too many of her characters wear their dark side on their sleaves. Even the foibles (and down right dark sides) of some of her heros are ugly... and a who-done-it without a hero seems less than rewarding at times."
"I was pretty disappointed by this book. I have heard such good things about P.D. James, and I was really excited to read something by her. And this was recommended by a librarian as one of her best. But I thought her prose was mediocre at best--in in some places just sloppy--and the story wasn't all that interesting.
That said, I can see why people like P.D. James, and I do think I will try something else by her at some point. She combines the classic British-style whodunit with more developed characters and psychology."
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