About this title: When successful criminal attorney Venetia Aldrige defends Gary Ashe against charges that he murdered his aunt, she has no idea that her actions will be the harbinger of her own death. Commander Adam Dalgliesh heads up the investigation into Aldrige's murder, and as more bodies pile up, he's forced to look deep into the darkness of the human soul ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780345430571ISBN:0345430573
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Cover has light wear, spine is creased, pages are unmarked. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 448 p. Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1998-10-31
ISBN-13:9780345430571ISBN:0345430573
Description: Good. Paperbacks are previously owned. They are all in readable condition. They may have previous owners stamps, labels or names written or on them. The covers and spine may have creasing from previously being read. The corners may be bumped and there may be a small number of bent pages. Older books may have fading/discoloration due to light exposure. * read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780345430571ISBN:0345430573
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 448 p. Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. 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
Description: Good. Spine is smooth. Covers show some wear at the edges and corners. Good 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
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
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
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
By Faith,
Winchester and Limassol, 05, The United Kingdom
"I've long been a fan of PD James and especially Adam Dalgliesh and his assistants (Kate and Piers)and oh what joy to read another! These murder mysteries are quintessentially 'very English'. PD James' descriptive passages are wonderful. I found myself savouring her words, and dwelling long on the intricacies of the plot(s). The novel opens with a somewhat chilling start whereby a distinguished barrister (Venetia Aldridge) QC gets her client off a particularly horrendous murder charge. The unusual thing is the reader knows within the first paragragh that she will herself be murdered within four weeks. There follows a veritable list of characters who may have a motive for the pending demise of this Queen's Councillor. Again PD James has an uncanny perception for characterisation, and I often found myself lost in the depth of the cast that she fills the first 100 or so pages with.
What I like about this author and what puts her on a different plane from say the likes of Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs is; her books are good old fashioned police detective works. Yes, there is some mention of 'forensics and the like', but, instead of - 'murder is committed, clues and samples taken at site of death back to path lab and hey presto! case solved without the detectives doing any detection work.' For me, these tales are far too formulaic - a bit like CSI where the plastic cast have no character whatsoever and you can guess before the words are out of their mouth just what is going to come next. I love the older style of murder mysteries and in PD James' hands they are an art form in themselves. As for her prose- well it is so often quite beautiful that you have to reread it over again and again. A great book and I look forward to reading more of her work."
"again, formulaic with enough character and details to make them lovely murder mystery readings just before bedtime:) also to balance my academic studying of the rest of the day!"
"As befits a lady of letters, PD James presents another unblemished story to readers worldwide who hunger for her uncanny perceptions and dense wisdom. Bravo. Rarely am I embedded so deeply in the lives of imagined characters.
I must quote her: "He could have been a good teacher, given the chance, but the small barbarians could smell out a natual victim in their juvenile jungle, and the Frog's life was a patiently borne hell of noisy insurrection and calculated cruelty."
And not hers, unidentified, but worth a note: "What matters it what went before or after? Now with myself I will begin and end."
So many times in this reading did I savor the words, linger over the plot complications, wonder at the thinking of the figures. The murder mystery is an art form in the exceptional hands of PD James."
"My grandson, Graham, likes PD James so when I saw this hardcover book for only 25 cents, I purchased it. Last night I was reading from 3 - 4 in the morning. I was reading the novel as I went to sleep and woke later thinking of it, so read till I was done. I will happpily read more of her mysteries, partly because of the intrique, partly because of the English setting, and mostly because of the good story line. The language is formal, almost stilted at times, and that too becomes a plus as it makes the English "feel" even more pronounced.
The author does a wonderful job in the book's beginning of giving reasons many of the characters have for the murder of Venetia Aldridge, and it is fun to follow the detectives as they vacillate from one possible suspect to another. The Garry Ashe character is a demon, a horror, and leaves the reader fearful whenever he is in charge.
Several interesting questions are raised: Why do attorneys take pride in defending a suspect, when knowing that he is guilty? How far should the clergy's rights go in keeping vital information to themselves? How responsible is one's childhood experience in making him tha adult he becomes? Why do some prosper even though they have miserable childhoods and tohers do not?
So many of the characters seem to have more weak points thab positive ones.
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