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Innocent Blood
Adopted as a child into a privileged family, Philippa Palfrey fantasizes that she is the daughter of an aristocrat and a parlor maid. The terrifying truth about her parents and a long-ago murder is only the first in a series of shocking betrayals. Philippa quickly learns that those who delve into the secrets of the past must be on guard when long-buried horrors begin to stir.
"As a crime novel," wrote the London Times, Innocent Blood is "the peak of the art." "Flawlessly crafted...profoundly, masterfully moving," Cosmopolitan concurred.
435 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1980
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About the author
P.D. James
319 books3,241 followersP. D. James, byname of Phyllis Dorothy James White, Baroness James of Holland Park, (born August 3, 1920, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England—died November 27, 2014, Oxford), British mystery novelist best known for her fictional detective Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard.
The daughter of a middle-grade civil servant, James grew up in the university town of Cambridge. Her formal education, however, ended at age 16 because of lack of funds, and she was thereafter self-educated. In 1941 she married Ernest C.B. White, a medical student and future physician, who returned home from wartime service mentally deranged and spent much of the rest of his life in psychiatric hospitals. To support her family (which included two children), she took work in hospital administration and, after her husband’s death in 1964, became a civil servant in the criminal section of the Department of Home Affairs. Her first mystery novel, Cover Her Face (1962), introduced Dalgliesh and was followed by six more mysteries before she retired from government service in 1979 to devote full time to writing.
Dalgliesh, James’s master detective who rises from chief inspector in the first novel to chief superintendent and then to commander, is a serious, introspective person, moralistic yet realistic. The novels in which he appears are peopled by fully rounded characters, who are civilized, genteel, and motivated. The public resonance created by James’s singular characterization and deployment of classic mystery devices led to most of the novels featuring Dalgliesh being filmed for television. James, who earned the sobriquet “Queen of Crime,” penned 14 Dalgliesh novels, with the last, The Private Patient, appearing in 2008.
James also wrote An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972) and The Skull Beneath the Skin (1982), which centre on Cordelia Gray, a young private detective. The first of these novels was the basis for both a television movie and a short-lived series. James expanded beyond the mystery genre in The Children of Men (1992; film 2006), which explores a dystopian world in which the human race has become infertile. Her final work, Death Comes to Pemberley (2011)—a sequel to Pride and Prejudice (1813)—amplifies the class and relationship tensions between Jane Austen’s characters by situating them in the midst of a murder investigation. James’s nonfiction works include The Maul and the Pear Tree (1971), a telling of the Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811 written with historian T.A. Critchley, and the insightful Talking About Detective Fiction (2009). Her memoir, Time to Be in Earnest, was published in 2000. She was made OBE in 1983 and was named a life peer in 1991.
The daughter of a middle-grade civil servant, James grew up in the university town of Cambridge. Her formal education, however, ended at age 16 because of lack of funds, and she was thereafter self-educated. In 1941 she married Ernest C.B. White, a medical student and future physician, who returned home from wartime service mentally deranged and spent much of the rest of his life in psychiatric hospitals. To support her family (which included two children), she took work in hospital administration and, after her husband’s death in 1964, became a civil servant in the criminal section of the Department of Home Affairs. Her first mystery novel, Cover Her Face (1962), introduced Dalgliesh and was followed by six more mysteries before she retired from government service in 1979 to devote full time to writing.
Dalgliesh, James’s master detective who rises from chief inspector in the first novel to chief superintendent and then to commander, is a serious, introspective person, moralistic yet realistic. The novels in which he appears are peopled by fully rounded characters, who are civilized, genteel, and motivated. The public resonance created by James’s singular characterization and deployment of classic mystery devices led to most of the novels featuring Dalgliesh being filmed for television. James, who earned the sobriquet “Queen of Crime,” penned 14 Dalgliesh novels, with the last, The Private Patient, appearing in 2008.
James also wrote An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972) and The Skull Beneath the Skin (1982), which centre on Cordelia Gray, a young private detective. The first of these novels was the basis for both a television movie and a short-lived series. James expanded beyond the mystery genre in The Children of Men (1992; film 2006), which explores a dystopian world in which the human race has become infertile. Her final work, Death Comes to Pemberley (2011)—a sequel to Pride and Prejudice (1813)—amplifies the class and relationship tensions between Jane Austen’s characters by situating them in the midst of a murder investigation. James’s nonfiction works include The Maul and the Pear Tree (1971), a telling of the Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811 written with historian T.A. Critchley, and the insightful Talking About Detective Fiction (2009). Her memoir, Time to Be in Earnest, was published in 2000. She was made OBE in 1983 and was named a life peer in 1991.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 536 reviews
October 4, 2020
Things I learned from this book:
1) It is always the fault of the child for getting raped - for being stupid, you know. Or for taking the wrong route.
2) You are supposed to like, empathise with and feel sorry for child murderers.
3) If your husband rapes a little girl, your immediate response should be to give him brandy, murder the girl, and try to protect your husband. Because strength.
4) The poor, poor men rape because they are looking for love and gentleness.
5) Child rape is really okay. It was all nice and gentle anyway!
6) A woman who likes casual sex will also enjoy rape. Then, it would be the poor man who has to get rid of her by giving her presents.
7) If you are adopted, it is merely because your adoptive father wants to have sex with you. Ten years down the line. It's all planned, I tell you!
8) Everyone is unpleasant and disgusting.
9) No one loves anyone else. Except child murderers. They are worthy of love and respect.
10) People don't need to feel passion, anger, despair to take revenge on someone. It's all just a duty. Emotions don't come into it.
11) Emotions are redundant anyway.
12) There is no need for dialogue. People all talk too much anyway.
13) Lengthy descriptions of nothing in particular will make up for a lack of plot and characterisation. NOT.
The book starts off with an adopted woman who is seeking to find her roots. She finds out that her father is a rapist and her mother is a murderer and decides she is stupid enough to communicate her mother and arrange to live together. At the same time, the father of the murdered girl is seeking to exact revenge of a personal nature on the murderess. The premise is interesting enough, but the execution is a very different matter. Only three things happen in this book.
1) Philippa and her mother endlessly doing mundane things and going about their business. No one cares.
2) Scase following them about all over the place, endlessly planning a murder of two most unpleasant people. No one cares.
3) A few of the other characters showing up once in a while and behaving in an artificial manner. No one cares.
I have read psychological thrillers on this theme before, and I had been thrilled. In this book, I could not care about anything, and couldn't care less whether Scase gets to murder them or not. The protagonist is a spoilt brat, not to mention, extremely stupid, but the others are almost as bad. I could also have done without an unnecessary sex scene between adoptive father and adopted daughter right at the end. It just pulled down the already disgusting book down another notch. The end is lame. The story had enormous potential, but execution was pretty bad.
PD James passed away last month, and I chose this book when I read the news and remembered I had a couple of her books lying around. Big mistake. I feel really mean writing this review ... but it's too late now.
1) It is always the fault of the child for getting raped - for being stupid, you know. Or for taking the wrong route.
2) You are supposed to like, empathise with and feel sorry for child murderers.
3) If your husband rapes a little girl, your immediate response should be to give him brandy, murder the girl, and try to protect your husband. Because strength.
4) The poor, poor men rape because they are looking for love and gentleness.
5) Child rape is really okay. It was all nice and gentle anyway!
6) A woman who likes casual sex will also enjoy rape. Then, it would be the poor man who has to get rid of her by giving her presents.
7) If you are adopted, it is merely because your adoptive father wants to have sex with you. Ten years down the line. It's all planned, I tell you!
8) Everyone is unpleasant and disgusting.
9) No one loves anyone else. Except child murderers. They are worthy of love and respect.
10) People don't need to feel passion, anger, despair to take revenge on someone. It's all just a duty. Emotions don't come into it.
11) Emotions are redundant anyway.
12) There is no need for dialogue. People all talk too much anyway.
13) Lengthy descriptions of nothing in particular will make up for a lack of plot and characterisation. NOT.
The book starts off with an adopted woman who is seeking to find her roots. She finds out that her father is a rapist and her mother is a murderer and decides she is stupid enough to communicate her mother and arrange to live together. At the same time, the father of the murdered girl is seeking to exact revenge of a personal nature on the murderess. The premise is interesting enough, but the execution is a very different matter. Only three things happen in this book.
1) Philippa and her mother endlessly doing mundane things and going about their business. No one cares.
2) Scase following them about all over the place, endlessly planning a murder of two most unpleasant people. No one cares.
3) A few of the other characters showing up once in a while and behaving in an artificial manner. No one cares.
I have read psychological thrillers on this theme before, and I had been thrilled. In this book, I could not care about anything, and couldn't care less whether Scase gets to murder them or not. The protagonist is a spoilt brat, not to mention, extremely stupid, but the others are almost as bad. I could also have done without an unnecessary sex scene between adoptive father and adopted daughter right at the end. It just pulled down the already disgusting book down another notch. The end is lame. The story had enormous potential, but execution was pretty bad.
PD James passed away last month, and I chose this book when I read the news and remembered I had a couple of her books lying around. Big mistake. I feel really mean writing this review ... but it's too late now.
May 20, 2018
Well-written and engaging, Innocent Blood is one of those books in which you can't like any of the main characters, the word, reptilian, comes to mind to describe Phillipa and Maurice (adopted daughter and father). The innocent of the title is a raped and murdered 12 year old girl, Julie. The murder took place a decade ago and the book deals with the lies and distortions that come with this heinous act.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2022
This book has an interesting premise. The main character, adopted and raised by a well-to-do family, discovers that her origins are not as she has fantasised, but much, much bleaker.
This is a page-turner. One of P.D. James' earlier novels from 1978, it is not so much in the mystery genre, more a psychological drama. And as such it is not as violent and explicit as some of her later works. The setting is mostly urban, the characters nicely depicted and contrasted, and the story unfolds in a satisfying way. A few hallmark James twists ensure that the reader will not guess the ending.
This is a page-turner. One of P.D. James' earlier novels from 1978, it is not so much in the mystery genre, more a psychological drama. And as such it is not as violent and explicit as some of her later works. The setting is mostly urban, the characters nicely depicted and contrasted, and the story unfolds in a satisfying way. A few hallmark James twists ensure that the reader will not guess the ending.
October 27, 2018
This is totally not what I’ve expected. And unfortunately, mostly in a bad way.
I expected a thriller, a crime story. Maybe some investigation. And this is at best a psychological thriller. With a emphasize on psychological. It’s not what I was looking for. And these kind of books are rather on the edge of my comfort zone, and not in a good way. I rarely feel a pleasure of reading with them.
Let’s start with something good. The writing is excellent, I can’t deny it. The characters are unique and complicated. The whole idea is fascinating and distinctive. I definitely enjoyed the opportunity this kind of plot gives. There are some parts of the book that I really liked.
But then, there are all those pages I find completely boring. The descriptions are so detailed that skipping is nearly a must. And there is no really good reason for that, I could live without the detailed report on every building, every street and every meaningless action of the character. The books drags through pages. First half is quite boring.
I needed this book for a very specific challenge, the author is generally familiar to me, I have read one of her books years ago, but I’m a bit disappointed with the experience. This is just not my thing. However, I can totally imagine other readers truly enjoying this complicated psychologically story.
I expected a thriller, a crime story. Maybe some investigation. And this is at best a psychological thriller. With a emphasize on psychological. It’s not what I was looking for. And these kind of books are rather on the edge of my comfort zone, and not in a good way. I rarely feel a pleasure of reading with them.
Let’s start with something good. The writing is excellent, I can’t deny it. The characters are unique and complicated. The whole idea is fascinating and distinctive. I definitely enjoyed the opportunity this kind of plot gives. There are some parts of the book that I really liked.
But then, there are all those pages I find completely boring. The descriptions are so detailed that skipping is nearly a must. And there is no really good reason for that, I could live without the detailed report on every building, every street and every meaningless action of the character. The books drags through pages. First half is quite boring.
I needed this book for a very specific challenge, the author is generally familiar to me, I have read one of her books years ago, but I’m a bit disappointed with the experience. This is just not my thing. However, I can totally imagine other readers truly enjoying this complicated psychologically story.
August 27, 2012
James is a good writer - she must be considered at the top of the heap of the world's mystery writers. Most others don't come close. But her worldview is so misanthropic, most of her characters so hateful, pathetic, or disgusting (the lovely Dalgliesh is an exception, and it's why you breathe a sigh of relief whenever he appears) that all her novels are tinged and blighted by it. Soaked in it. This is a psychological thriller, not a police procedural; Dalgliesh is not a character. In this book the only humans you can stand are a blind hotel clerk, Violet, and a 12-year old rape and murder victim, Julie. Everyone else is absolutely awful.
Also, nothing in the characters' motivations is believable. The protagonist, Philippa, an 18-year-old aspiring writer who will be heading off to Cambridge in a few months, was adopted at age 8 by a well-to-do couple, a haughty college professor and his quavering, self-loathing wife. Philippa has never bonded with her adoptive parents, so when she reaches the age of majority, she decides she must know who her real parents were. This is revealed early in the book so I won't be completely spoiling it: her father was a pedophile rapist who died in prison, her mother the murderess of the last girl her father raped, Julie. Her mother is due to be released from prison shortly, and Philippa - like any other normal daughter - decides she must take a flat with her murderess mother and live with her until it's time to go to university. Daughter and murderess enjoy each other's company and live happily, working grungy jobs at a fish 'n chips fast food restaurant to support themselves, until plot twists happen. At the same time, Julie's father Norman, .
You will not understand why Philippa's mother murdered a 12-year-old girl. You will not be able to align the murdering mother with the later view we get of her, shopping happily for vegetables. James is utterly unconvincing on this.
Oh, and at the end of the book, we find out that Philippa's adoptive father, Maurice, (big spoiler here, you probably shouldn't click) .
James is very skilled in her descriptive passages; she can detail a shabby room like no one else. Every time she writes about shabbiness, which she does a lot, it is horrifying. I actually almost needed to throw up after some of her shabby descriptions here. She also loves - LOVES - the word fawn. You should play a drinking game and have a shot every time she uses the word fawn. The color, not the baby deer.
Also, nothing in the characters' motivations is believable. The protagonist, Philippa, an 18-year-old aspiring writer who will be heading off to Cambridge in a few months, was adopted at age 8 by a well-to-do couple, a haughty college professor and his quavering, self-loathing wife. Philippa has never bonded with her adoptive parents, so when she reaches the age of majority, she decides she must know who her real parents were. This is revealed early in the book so I won't be completely spoiling it: her father was a pedophile rapist who died in prison, her mother the murderess of the last girl her father raped, Julie. Her mother is due to be released from prison shortly, and Philippa - like any other normal daughter - decides she must take a flat with her murderess mother and live with her until it's time to go to university. Daughter and murderess enjoy each other's company and live happily, working grungy jobs at a fish 'n chips fast food restaurant to support themselves, until plot twists happen. At the same time, Julie's father Norman, .
You will not understand why Philippa's mother murdered a 12-year-old girl. You will not be able to align the murdering mother with the later view we get of her, shopping happily for vegetables. James is utterly unconvincing on this.
Oh, and at the end of the book, we find out that Philippa's adoptive father, Maurice, (big spoiler here, you probably shouldn't click) .
James is very skilled in her descriptive passages; she can detail a shabby room like no one else. Every time she writes about shabbiness, which she does a lot, it is horrifying. I actually almost needed to throw up after some of her shabby descriptions here. She also loves - LOVES - the word fawn. You should play a drinking game and have a shot every time she uses the word fawn. The color, not the baby deer.
April 5, 2023
who hasn't imagined that they were actually a child of mysterious fortune, an heir, a living legacy of romantic adventure? does anyone imagine the opposite - the legacy instead one of squalid violence and tawdry misadventure, straight from tabloid headlines?
this early revelation is only the first of many disconnects between fantasy and reality that the oddly good-humored protagonist suffers. essentially a slow-burning psychological mystery depicting the uncomfortable dance between a murderess, her daughter, and a victim's vengeful father; not a whodunit, but rather a what-will-happen-next. the murderess is a fascinatingly blank character, pathetic and threatening and mysterious, both predator and prey. the mystery is all in the motivation and never in the atmosphere - the latter of which is firmly grounded in prosaic, kitchen sink reality, per usual for James.
this early revelation is only the first of many disconnects between fantasy and reality that the oddly good-humored protagonist suffers. essentially a slow-burning psychological mystery depicting the uncomfortable dance between a murderess, her daughter, and a victim's vengeful father; not a whodunit, but rather a what-will-happen-next. the murderess is a fascinatingly blank character, pathetic and threatening and mysterious, both predator and prey. the mystery is all in the motivation and never in the atmosphere - the latter of which is firmly grounded in prosaic, kitchen sink reality, per usual for James.
March 21, 2012
Over the last year or so, I have met a wide variety of people who like knitting - not least the ferocious and redoubtable knitters of CERN, one of whom was even featured on a recent Swiss TV program. So, although I do not knit myself, I have come to develop some appreciation of the joy and heartbreak it can bring people.
This book is one that I would advise knitters to approach with great caution. Suppose there were a person you had thought about every day for many years, and longed desperately to meet. Suppose, by some extraordinary chance, that you were suddenly granted an opportunity to meet that person. Suppose, as a token of your love and gratitude, that you knitted them a miraculously wonderful sweater, a piece of knitting into which you had poured your very soul.
And then ...
This book is one that I would advise knitters to approach with great caution. Suppose there were a person you had thought about every day for many years, and longed desperately to meet. Suppose, by some extraordinary chance, that you were suddenly granted an opportunity to meet that person. Suppose, as a token of your love and gratitude, that you knitted them a miraculously wonderful sweater, a piece of knitting into which you had poured your very soul.
And then ...
April 12, 2015
Well Crafted, But I Did NOT Enjoy it
I almost gave this a 3, since clearly the story is well crafted and James knows her way around crime fiction.
But---I didn't enjoy reading this; in fact I couldn't WAIT for it to end.
She has a very cynical worldview. All of the major characters are despicable.
It didn't help that Penelope Dellaporta read the audio in a sing-song voice like a bored, upper class, English school girl.
Philippa Palfrey, the adopted daughter of Maurice and Hilda Palfrey, uses the Children Act, a British law (and the name of an Ian McEwan novel) to find her birth mother. Philippa is intelligent, scheming, unfeeling, and mean. But she's very pretty and part of a well known upper crust family (by adoption), so people seem to overlook her unpleasant personality.
Her birth parents, it turns out, had a history.
Philippa, who doesn't care for her adoptive parents, even though they spoiled her rotten, is ecstatic to find her real mother. She rents a flat for the both of them for a few months during the summer before she is to matriculate at Cambridge.
More plot twists ensue.
Maurice is a leftist sociology professor and a frequent guest on TV talk shows.
Hilda is a weak, self-doubting woman who cares for nothing but cooking. It's not clear whether she even cooks well. Towards the end of the book, she finally gets a dog. Hurray! At last a living creature loves Hilda!
Philippa's sometime boyfriend, Gabriel, is a snooty, self-serving aristo
And to top it all off, there's Norman Scase, the dead girl's father, a creepy, weasly, retired bureaucrat
Everyone lies to everyone about everything (or at the very least, omits critical information). Everyone (except for Hilda, who is naive, dumb, and needy) is scheming and self-serving.
I'm glad this one's over...
I almost gave this a 3, since clearly the story is well crafted and James knows her way around crime fiction.
But---I didn't enjoy reading this; in fact I couldn't WAIT for it to end.
She has a very cynical worldview. All of the major characters are despicable.
It didn't help that Penelope Dellaporta read the audio in a sing-song voice like a bored, upper class, English school girl.
Philippa Palfrey, the adopted daughter of Maurice and Hilda Palfrey, uses the Children Act, a British law (and the name of an Ian McEwan novel) to find her birth mother. Philippa is intelligent, scheming, unfeeling, and mean. But she's very pretty and part of a well known upper crust family (by adoption), so people seem to overlook her unpleasant personality.
Her birth parents, it turns out, had a history.
Philippa, who doesn't care for her adoptive parents, even though they spoiled her rotten, is ecstatic to find her real mother. She rents a flat for the both of them for a few months during the summer before she is to matriculate at Cambridge.
More plot twists ensue.
Maurice is a leftist sociology professor and a frequent guest on TV talk shows.
Hilda is a weak, self-doubting woman who cares for nothing but cooking. It's not clear whether she even cooks well. Towards the end of the book, she finally gets a dog. Hurray! At last a living creature loves Hilda!
Philippa's sometime boyfriend, Gabriel, is a snooty, self-serving aristo
And to top it all off, there's Norman Scase, the dead girl's father, a creepy, weasly, retired bureaucrat
Everyone lies to everyone about everything (or at the very least, omits critical information). Everyone (except for Hilda, who is naive, dumb, and needy) is scheming and self-serving.
I'm glad this one's over...
November 15, 2009
This was my first P.D. James and I'll definitely be reading more.
Innocent Blood tells the story of Philippa Palfrey, an 18 year old who was adopted at age 8. She has decided to exercise her right to find out who her birth parents were in an attempt to discover who she really is. It doesn't all go to plan though, when she finds out the truth about her real parents - and it's not the same as the romantic fantasies she's made up in her head.
I loved this book from start to finish. It kept me engrossed throughout and I really didn't want to put it down. This isn't your typical crime/thriller novel, it goes much deeper than that. It's a psychological story of human nature, revenge and relationships. The characters are well built, although not entirely likeable, and the plot is slow-moving, but in a good way. The plot develops well and builds stedily to the climax, which was a great twist. I found the pace moved along nicely and although it was slow, it didn't feel boring at any time. The writing is also brilliant, James is clearly more literary than other authors in this genre. Her command of the English language is excellent and she uses it to perfection in this book.
This is one I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes a good plot and engaging characters.
Innocent Blood tells the story of Philippa Palfrey, an 18 year old who was adopted at age 8. She has decided to exercise her right to find out who her birth parents were in an attempt to discover who she really is. It doesn't all go to plan though, when she finds out the truth about her real parents - and it's not the same as the romantic fantasies she's made up in her head.
I loved this book from start to finish. It kept me engrossed throughout and I really didn't want to put it down. This isn't your typical crime/thriller novel, it goes much deeper than that. It's a psychological story of human nature, revenge and relationships. The characters are well built, although not entirely likeable, and the plot is slow-moving, but in a good way. The plot develops well and builds stedily to the climax, which was a great twist. I found the pace moved along nicely and although it was slow, it didn't feel boring at any time. The writing is also brilliant, James is clearly more literary than other authors in this genre. Her command of the English language is excellent and she uses it to perfection in this book.
This is one I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes a good plot and engaging characters.
April 28, 2012
This book left a bad taste in my mouth...I really like James' work and her descriptive skills are almost without peer. But, the story line here is distasteful and certain aspects of the denouement seemed to be tacked on as an after-thought. Certainly not one of my favorite book by one of my favorite British authors.
May 22, 2022
Excellent psychological novel. Philippa is the adopted daughter of Maurice and Hilda. When she turns 18 discovers who her mother was a murderess of a young girl and is about to come out of prison. Philippa decides to help her mother for a few months after her release. She hires a flat above a fruit stop in London. In the background Scase the father of the dead girl plans his revenge and murder.
What I liked about the story was the slow build up and the tension of Scase planning the murder. There was also Philippa’s attempt to connect with her mother which was happening. Then in a great twist she discovers the truth about her mother and why she was adopted.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Philippa discovers her mother had physically abused her and she was adopted before the murder. She argues with her mother and then goes out angry in to a wet rainy London night. After she calms down and returns she finds in the flat Scase with her dead mother. However, while Scase has stabbed he did not kill her as she had taken an overdose to commit suicide. Excellent twist.
What I liked about the story was the slow build up and the tension of Scase planning the murder. There was also Philippa’s attempt to connect with her mother which was happening. Then in a great twist she discovers the truth about her mother and why she was adopted.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Philippa discovers her mother had physically abused her and she was adopted before the murder. She argues with her mother and then goes out angry in to a wet rainy London night. After she calms down and returns she finds in the flat Scase with her dead mother. However, while Scase has stabbed he did not kill her as she had taken an overdose to commit suicide. Excellent twist.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2019
I'm uncertain why I kept reading this book. P.D. James is a wonderful writer, usually. There was a bit in the middle where I thought things were improving. I was wrong.
Phillipa is not likeable; neither are her parents nor her adoptive parents. The parents of the murdered child aren't exactly likeable either. I'm struggling to find any character enjoyable - possibly the grocer?
The descriptive portions of the story were too much. Not the murder particularly, but flower arrangements, odors, trains, buses, rooms... Usually, I like talented writer's descriptions and I like James' works, so I expected to enjoy that. No, I can't come up with any reason I kept on reading. Sheer madness.
Perhaps I read this book to warn others not to?
Phillipa is not likeable; neither are her parents nor her adoptive parents. The parents of the murdered child aren't exactly likeable either. I'm struggling to find any character enjoyable - possibly the grocer?
The descriptive portions of the story were too much. Not the murder particularly, but flower arrangements, odors, trains, buses, rooms... Usually, I like talented writer's descriptions and I like James' works, so I expected to enjoy that. No, I can't come up with any reason I kept on reading. Sheer madness.
Perhaps I read this book to warn others not to?
August 24, 2017
So we come to Innocent Blood - the second book I purchased from Sophie Hannah's "Twist List" - with this one the unexpected part told me why it was on that list and was very clever but the rest of the book left me rather uncomfortable. Good plotting and P D James classic writing that was not the problem.
The characters were all pretty awful. To be honest. Phillipa Palfrey who discovers her mother is a child murderer never really bothers to find out the realities of that just dives into a relationship with her in some vain attempt to I don't know, find herself? Annoy her adopted father? Stick two fingers up to her adopted mother (who was so insipid I'd happily have stabbed her to death using only the thorns on the damned roses) ? Whatever. Phillipa was annoyingly whiny having ultimately had such a privileged upbringing and her adopted father was an asshole of the highest order.
Her mother, the child murderer, is portrayed sympathetically. Lots of references are made to how the child wouldn't have been raped by Phillipa's father and subsequently murdered by Phillipa's mother if the child had gone a different way home or hadn't made such a fuss about being sexually assaulted or hadn't been so naive. That is never really addressed to ensure clarity of purpose. When we hear about this poor child either from the murderess or from Phillipa she is almost an after thought, in which she is seen as an unfortunate coincidence. Only her father still grieves but even that is secondary to revenge.
Whilst the slight game changers that occur that make both the reader and the characters reassess situations are very beautifully placed and fulfilled the "literary twist" theme I've been exploring, they served in a way to make things even more distasteful. Don't even get me STARTED on what happens in Italy. No need for it. None at ALL it added exactly zero to the plot.
Its not a problem when I don't like characters in fact often my best reads come from pure unadulterated hatred - the problem with this lot was they had no redeeming features of an evil nature or otherwise. To be honest I would have been much happier if P D James had suddenly jumped the shark and had a meteor crash to earth at the end of the novel wiping them all out and preventing them from procreating further.
1* to acknowledge the writing skill - we all know PD James is brilliant and another * for the one scene between Phillipa and her adopted Father where he pulls the rug out from under her and us and in THIS scene the characters came to vivid emotional life. Then they went back to being annoyingly entitled again. No really a volcano would have done - it happened in that Tommy Lee Jones movie why not in the middle of London?
I kind of want to recommend it anyway. It is one of this classic crime writer's favourites among her readers, in a way I can see why. But it wasn't my favourite of hers in any way.
The characters were all pretty awful. To be honest. Phillipa Palfrey who discovers her mother is a child murderer never really bothers to find out the realities of that just dives into a relationship with her in some vain attempt to I don't know, find herself? Annoy her adopted father? Stick two fingers up to her adopted mother (who was so insipid I'd happily have stabbed her to death using only the thorns on the damned roses) ? Whatever. Phillipa was annoyingly whiny having ultimately had such a privileged upbringing and her adopted father was an asshole of the highest order.
Her mother, the child murderer, is portrayed sympathetically. Lots of references are made to how the child wouldn't have been raped by Phillipa's father and subsequently murdered by Phillipa's mother if the child had gone a different way home or hadn't made such a fuss about being sexually assaulted or hadn't been so naive. That is never really addressed to ensure clarity of purpose. When we hear about this poor child either from the murderess or from Phillipa she is almost an after thought, in which she is seen as an unfortunate coincidence. Only her father still grieves but even that is secondary to revenge.
Whilst the slight game changers that occur that make both the reader and the characters reassess situations are very beautifully placed and fulfilled the "literary twist" theme I've been exploring, they served in a way to make things even more distasteful. Don't even get me STARTED on what happens in Italy. No need for it. None at ALL it added exactly zero to the plot.
Its not a problem when I don't like characters in fact often my best reads come from pure unadulterated hatred - the problem with this lot was they had no redeeming features of an evil nature or otherwise. To be honest I would have been much happier if P D James had suddenly jumped the shark and had a meteor crash to earth at the end of the novel wiping them all out and preventing them from procreating further.
1* to acknowledge the writing skill - we all know PD James is brilliant and another * for the one scene between Phillipa and her adopted Father where he pulls the rug out from under her and us and in THIS scene the characters came to vivid emotional life. Then they went back to being annoyingly entitled again. No really a volcano would have done - it happened in that Tommy Lee Jones movie why not in the middle of London?
I kind of want to recommend it anyway. It is one of this classic crime writer's favourites among her readers, in a way I can see why. But it wasn't my favourite of hers in any way.
January 16, 2015
This book is super crazy. In fact I think that P D James must have gone crazy when writing this book.
Reasons why this book is horrible:
1. Having a main character who is probably a sociopath may be a problem. She absolutely has no feelings except for her self.
2. Having the killer be the most sympathetic character is also strange. And he really shouldn't be sympathetic but he is better than everyone else.
3. Overuse of the word Fawn. As in the color. I swear James must have used it at least five times a chapter.
4. Excusing child molesters is totally ok. Cause it was probably caused by not being man enough to handle a woman.
5. Having an affair with your adopted father is also cool since you aren't actually related and it's totally normal.
6. Number 5 was thrown in at the end of the book with no warning. Yuck! All the people in this book are perverts.
7. Have your teenage main character talk like John Green's characters.
James is a really good writer but this book is crazy.
Reasons why this book is horrible:
1. Having a main character who is probably a sociopath may be a problem. She absolutely has no feelings except for her self.
2. Having the killer be the most sympathetic character is also strange. And he really shouldn't be sympathetic but he is better than everyone else.
3. Overuse of the word Fawn. As in the color. I swear James must have used it at least five times a chapter.
4. Excusing child molesters is totally ok. Cause it was probably caused by not being man enough to handle a woman.
5. Having an affair with your adopted father is also cool since you aren't actually related and it's totally normal.
6. Number 5 was thrown in at the end of the book with no warning. Yuck! All the people in this book are perverts.
7. Have your teenage main character talk like John Green's characters.
James is a really good writer but this book is crazy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2013
This thriller reveals P D James to (possibly) have some particularly unpleasant victim blaming beliefs - it appearing to be the fault of victims and their parents when rape and murder is committed. At first I thought this was just the view of the particularly unpleasant fictional narrator but by the end, when these views went unchallenged, realised they were very likely the author's opinions too. I wish I had not read this book. I've always had problems with her right wing (Conservative) politics and contempt for working class people but have tolerated this for the sake of her excellent plotting, but this novel (together with the transparent plot of The Lighthouse and the truly awful Death at Pemberley) has 'killed' PD James for me.
January 9, 2013
I had a very hard time putting this story down. I would race home after work so that could cram in more reading time. This is one of P. D. James's non Dalgliesh books.
If you found out a secret about your family would you still be able to forgive? Once the truth is out things start to happen.
If you found out a secret about your family would you still be able to forgive? Once the truth is out things start to happen.
January 25, 2022
A wonderful book, more a study of human mind than a crime novel. I was engrossed in the happenings , and the wonderful description of nature as well as characters . A very unusual story .
June 19, 2016
Extraordinary book. It's why I wish everyone wouldn't give every book they read 5 stars, because then there's no room for the truly excellent 5-star books. I found this book in a little Free Library, which adds to the fun of finding it.
P.D. James writes mysteries with a wonderful detective called Adam Dalgleish. But Innocent Blood isn't a typical mystery; it's more of a suspense thriller and a psychological study of several people whose lives intersect in Philippa Palfrey.
Philippa has been adopted by Maurice and Hilda Palfrey, but she wants to find out who her real parents are, so she applies to find out after her 18th birthday. Turns out her parents aren't at all who she imagined them to be. And neither are her adoptive parents.
James writes with understated prose, leaking out the secrets one at a time over the course of the book, until the climax. The denouement, when it came, was a shocker, but like in all great novels, it was perfectly in keeping with what is known of the characters.
James also does a wonderful job of describing places, especially London. I felt as if I were back in the late 1970s with Philippa as she wandered around the city. The sights, sounds, smells of a great city are part of the charm of this novel.
I have read all of P.D.James, so I must have read Innocent Blood at one time, but I'm glad I was able to read it again. I would encourage you to read P.D. James, particularly Children of Men, another non-mystery but another 5 star book.
P.D. James writes mysteries with a wonderful detective called Adam Dalgleish. But Innocent Blood isn't a typical mystery; it's more of a suspense thriller and a psychological study of several people whose lives intersect in Philippa Palfrey.
Philippa has been adopted by Maurice and Hilda Palfrey, but she wants to find out who her real parents are, so she applies to find out after her 18th birthday. Turns out her parents aren't at all who she imagined them to be. And neither are her adoptive parents.
James writes with understated prose, leaking out the secrets one at a time over the course of the book, until the climax. The denouement, when it came, was a shocker, but like in all great novels, it was perfectly in keeping with what is known of the characters.
James also does a wonderful job of describing places, especially London. I felt as if I were back in the late 1970s with Philippa as she wandered around the city. The sights, sounds, smells of a great city are part of the charm of this novel.
I have read all of P.D.James, so I must have read Innocent Blood at one time, but I'm glad I was able to read it again. I would encourage you to read P.D. James, particularly Children of Men, another non-mystery but another 5 star book.
September 17, 2011
This is an odd and disturbing book. It's been some years since I read PD James. I was impressed all over again by her skill as a writer and her ability to deal with psychological issues. But I was also reminded how bleak her world view is. Of ccourse the story is not exactly a light one, but I found the lengthy descriptive passages a bit heavy handed, as if she were writing a guidebook to the streets of London for depressives. Even in the passages where she relects joy in her characters she makes it clear that it is a rare moment, not expected to be repeated. There were points in the book where I skipped whole paragraphs of description, because I felt they were interfering with the plot. But then, in the last few chapters, I didn't want to miss a word.
One thing she does very well is to introduce the sexual element in unexpected and disturbing ways. Her characters are finely drawn, and their struggles with life well rendered. I ended up thinking that, although the novel was a fine exploration of identity and the need to understand it, these were not identities that I would care to explore very much further.
One thing she does very well is to introduce the sexual element in unexpected and disturbing ways. Her characters are finely drawn, and their struggles with life well rendered. I ended up thinking that, although the novel was a fine exploration of identity and the need to understand it, these were not identities that I would care to explore very much further.
October 27, 2014
Reread. Psychological mystery about a young woman, adopted, who traces her parents and finds that they murdered a child. Her mother is about to released from prison and she suggests they rent an apartment together for the months before she goes to Cambridge. There is more going on that she doesn’t know.
This is a great, suspenseful thriller but I have to say that the emotions of many of the characters are really weird and don't make a lot of sense. The ending, emotion-wise, was a mess that strained credulity, and I'm not talking about the sex. I didn't notice this the first time I read it. Because of this I gave it 3 stars, down from 5 midway through.
Oh yeah there is a carefully knitted, meaningfully given sweater that is destroyed in a fit of anger which bothered me more than the child murder.
This is a great, suspenseful thriller but I have to say that the emotions of many of the characters are really weird and don't make a lot of sense. The ending, emotion-wise, was a mess that strained credulity, and I'm not talking about the sex. I didn't notice this the first time I read it. Because of this I gave it 3 stars, down from 5 midway through.
Oh yeah there is a carefully knitted, meaningfully given sweater that is destroyed in a fit of anger which bothered me more than the child murder.
January 13, 2018
A young adopted woman applies to find out who her parents were, and gets more than she bargained for.
The ending paid off, but it was a bit of a slog to get there. There are a lot of layers to the truth, is the main story here. The cynicism and political two by fours are tiresome, and in the end it's a polemical book. And yet that ending...
The ending paid off, but it was a bit of a slog to get there. There are a lot of layers to the truth, is the main story here. The cynicism and political two by fours are tiresome, and in the end it's a polemical book. And yet that ending...
June 18, 2023
P.D James - a name that you can’t avoid knowing something about, but since I am not a habitual consumer of mystery and detective novels, I never thought she will be an author for me.
And yet somewhere in the remote darkness of my book-bying past, this book found it’s way into my possession. And serendipitously enough within a collection of interviews with an eclectic group of authors to which I recently listened, P.D James was one of those who attracted most of my attention.
So, to begin with, the title - O ye, devious powers of marketing, that prompt authors (or editors?) to add (unnecessary?) drama to the title to attract a wide range of readers! Those who fall for it, and pick up this book expecting gruesome (or any) bloody scenes would be, I am sorry to say, sorely disappointed.
On the other hand, aside from the drama, the title is not completely wrong. There has been a crime, and the victim has certainly been innocent, but apart from being the story’s raison d’être, it is only a part of the narrative landscape which is not so much about the crime, but about it’s psychological consequences, which makes it all the more interesting.
I don’t know if this book is in any way representative of P.D James writing. Perhaps it is not, maybe it’s just a temporary diversion from the usual style, an experiment on the author’s part, just as “The Children of Men” was, which I was surprised to find also was authored by P.D James. Or maybe it is what all her writing is like, and it is only for the marketing reasons that it is usually clothed in a slightly misleading package of crime.
An unexpectedly good book anyway and I am slightly tempted to go on and discover more.
And yet somewhere in the remote darkness of my book-bying past, this book found it’s way into my possession. And serendipitously enough within a collection of interviews with an eclectic group of authors to which I recently listened, P.D James was one of those who attracted most of my attention.
So, to begin with, the title - O ye, devious powers of marketing, that prompt authors (or editors?) to add (unnecessary?) drama to the title to attract a wide range of readers! Those who fall for it, and pick up this book expecting gruesome (or any) bloody scenes would be, I am sorry to say, sorely disappointed.
On the other hand, aside from the drama, the title is not completely wrong. There has been a crime, and the victim has certainly been innocent, but apart from being the story’s raison d’être, it is only a part of the narrative landscape which is not so much about the crime, but about it’s psychological consequences, which makes it all the more interesting.
I don’t know if this book is in any way representative of P.D James writing. Perhaps it is not, maybe it’s just a temporary diversion from the usual style, an experiment on the author’s part, just as “The Children of Men” was, which I was surprised to find also was authored by P.D James. Or maybe it is what all her writing is like, and it is only for the marketing reasons that it is usually clothed in a slightly misleading package of crime.
An unexpectedly good book anyway and I am slightly tempted to go on and discover more.
February 25, 2020
Philippa Palfrey, the brilliant, Cambridge-bound adopted daughter of a cool, intellectual sociologist and his second wife, determines to discover, now that she is 18, her real father and mother. In the first two hair-rising chapters, she learns that they were respectively a child rapist and a murderer. The rapist father has died in prison, but the murderess mother is about to be released on parole.
Even though her adoptive parents raise objections to her seeking out the past ("None of us can bear too much reality," quotes Maurice, the sage sociologist), Philippa goes her own way, as befits a determined prodigy, and sets up housekeeping with mum. Into the picture creeps another character -- by far the most exciting -- Norman Scase. He is the obsessed father of the murdered child. As he stalks his child's killer, now living with the innocent Philippa, we encounter the best of Mrs. James's writing. Norman is a retired civil servant, a little chap, about whom Mrs. James writes sympathetically and persuasively, no doubt because of her own long professional association with the white-collar workers of the British bureaucracy.
Even though her adoptive parents raise objections to her seeking out the past ("None of us can bear too much reality," quotes Maurice, the sage sociologist), Philippa goes her own way, as befits a determined prodigy, and sets up housekeeping with mum. Into the picture creeps another character -- by far the most exciting -- Norman Scase. He is the obsessed father of the murdered child. As he stalks his child's killer, now living with the innocent Philippa, we encounter the best of Mrs. James's writing. Norman is a retired civil servant, a little chap, about whom Mrs. James writes sympathetically and persuasively, no doubt because of her own long professional association with the white-collar workers of the British bureaucracy.
September 1, 2017
This is a story about a girl adopted into the higher echelons of the upper middle class who, nevertheless, dreams of being a true aristocrat; because entitlement is her entire way of life. Once the opposite is proven, she embarks on a few months of poverty tourism, makes fun of everyone who tries to be kind to her, and bangs a Tory. This is somehow the most boring thriller I've read in my life, like an alternative, much crappier version of a "Common People" book adaptation.
No character here is likeable. This is normally not a requirement for me, but these characters seem to be going out of their way to be truly annoying, every single one nose in the air. If pressed, I'd say I like the government worker that asks for tea and the social worker that gets some parsley. The adoptive mom is bland but hey, at least she adopts a dog from a rescue home.
Finally, if you care about morals in any sort of way, this novel becomes just awful when we are told, repeatedly and by different characters, that child rape victims are a) stupid for trusting their rapist, b) stupid for not shutting up, c) unimportant, really, in the grander scheme of the characters' lives.
To cap it off, the epilogue offers a truly creepy, absolutely unneeded "twist" that is in such bad taste that in just 10 words convinced me to never read P.D. James ever again.
No character here is likeable. This is normally not a requirement for me, but these characters seem to be going out of their way to be truly annoying, every single one nose in the air. If pressed, I'd say I like the government worker that asks for tea and the social worker that gets some parsley. The adoptive mom is bland but hey, at least she adopts a dog from a rescue home.
Finally, if you care about morals in any sort of way, this novel becomes just awful when we are told, repeatedly and by different characters, that child rape victims are a) stupid for trusting their rapist, b) stupid for not shutting up, c) unimportant, really, in the grander scheme of the characters' lives.
To cap it off, the epilogue offers a truly creepy, absolutely unneeded "twist" that is in such bad taste that in just 10 words convinced me to never read P.D. James ever again.
December 11, 2019
“And now for something different “ from Lady Phyllis...no famous detective, just dreary people going about their dreary lives with an occasional murder, stalking and betrayal.
December 24, 2017
Philippa Palfry comes of age and seeks to find her biological mother having been adopted. Having lead a privileged lifestyle she is going up to Cambridge and wants to be a writer. The trail leads her to murder and mystery where she finds that her may not be all the she hopes. Overlapping this is Norman Scase who is on the trail of revenge. Lots of emotion and soul searching and the twists expected of a P.D.James novel Perhaps just a little predictable and therefore a 3 and not 4 stars.
July 22, 2020
Incredibly slow and boring. The most difficult book to finish in that I couldn’t connect with any of the characters and the plot was just too easy and yet a slog to get through. I generally enjoy P.D. James but I recommend giving this one a complete pass
May 13, 2021
Innocent Blood is a story of identity and obsession. Phillipa Palfrey was adopted by a well-to-do family when she was eight years old. She is an intelligent young woman, bound for Cambridge. She has always had everything she could want and everything she needs--except a sense of who she really is. She has no real memories of her life before becoming a Palfrey, but as soon as the Children Act of 1975 made it possible for adopted children to find out who their birth parents were (or at the very least, their birth mother), she knew she would want to find out. And as soon as she turned eighteen, she put in her application to do so.
She has grown up with a fantasy straight out of the 1800s--that her mother was a poor servant and her father was a wealthy man who couldn't acknowledge her. But what she finds out after she gets her birth certificate and goes back to the house where her parents lived is nothing like fantasy...it's more of a nightmare. It's no spoiler to tell you that Phillipa was born Rose Ducton--the daughter of a man and woman who were tried for the rape and murder of a twelve year old girl. Her father died in prison, but her mother is still alive and due to be released on parole. Phillipa decides to spend the summer before taking up her place at Cambridge with her mother--finding out who she really is. When contacted, her mother is agreeable to the arrangement and Phillipa takes a flat for three months that they can share while they get to know one another.
Meanwhile, there is someone else waiting for Mary Ducton's release. Someone who has waited nine years. Norman Scase is the father of Julia Scase, the girl the Ductons killed. He and his wife had kept track of their daughter's killers and had promised themselves that they would kill them when they got out--just as they had killed their girl. Martin Ducton, not being able to take life in prison, had robbed them of their revenge, but Mary would not escape. Mavis Scase, Julia's mother, has also died in the interim and Norman vowed that he would complete their plan himself.
The bulk of the story follows Phillipa as she learns that there are several layers of truth to her identity and her mother's version of the events which led to her prison sentence. And she learns that there are reasons why she remembers very little of her life before adoption. In a parallel story we learn the depth of Norman's obsession as he tracks down the women and lays his final plans to kill Mary. This is not a strict whodunnit--it is more of a will-he-do-it? It is most definitely an examination of the motivations behind every action whether it be murder, manslaughter, revenge, or a search for truth. This is not a pleasant or happy book--though the ending does offer some hope. But it is a good character study and a reminder to be careful what you wish for...you just might get it. ★★★ and 1/2.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
She has grown up with a fantasy straight out of the 1800s--that her mother was a poor servant and her father was a wealthy man who couldn't acknowledge her. But what she finds out after she gets her birth certificate and goes back to the house where her parents lived is nothing like fantasy...it's more of a nightmare. It's no spoiler to tell you that Phillipa was born Rose Ducton--the daughter of a man and woman who were tried for the rape and murder of a twelve year old girl. Her father died in prison, but her mother is still alive and due to be released on parole. Phillipa decides to spend the summer before taking up her place at Cambridge with her mother--finding out who she really is. When contacted, her mother is agreeable to the arrangement and Phillipa takes a flat for three months that they can share while they get to know one another.
Meanwhile, there is someone else waiting for Mary Ducton's release. Someone who has waited nine years. Norman Scase is the father of Julia Scase, the girl the Ductons killed. He and his wife had kept track of their daughter's killers and had promised themselves that they would kill them when they got out--just as they had killed their girl. Martin Ducton, not being able to take life in prison, had robbed them of their revenge, but Mary would not escape. Mavis Scase, Julia's mother, has also died in the interim and Norman vowed that he would complete their plan himself.
The bulk of the story follows Phillipa as she learns that there are several layers of truth to her identity and her mother's version of the events which led to her prison sentence. And she learns that there are reasons why she remembers very little of her life before adoption. In a parallel story we learn the depth of Norman's obsession as he tracks down the women and lays his final plans to kill Mary. This is not a strict whodunnit--it is more of a will-he-do-it? It is most definitely an examination of the motivations behind every action whether it be murder, manslaughter, revenge, or a search for truth. This is not a pleasant or happy book--though the ending does offer some hope. But it is a good character study and a reminder to be careful what you wish for...you just might get it. ★★★ and 1/2.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
March 7, 2016
I am not kidding on the spoiler thing -- I give away the end of the book.
This was not a mystery -- the mystery described on the cover is resolved within a couple of chapters -- in terms of genre, it's a mix between a suspense novel and following someone who is working to commit a crime.
I probably would have given the book three stars despite these complaints, since the writing is good and it certainly held my interest, except I found most of the characters either selfish and overly intellectual to the point of mechanical; pathetic in the "loser" sense of the word; or impossibly perfect and entirely impenetrable. If I never warm up to any of the characters, few books will get past "okay" with me, and this one had no flashes of brilliance elsewhere to balance out that lack.
This was not a mystery -- the mystery described on the cover is resolved within a couple of chapters -- in terms of genre, it's a mix between a suspense novel and following someone who is working to commit a crime.
I probably would have given the book three stars despite these complaints, since the writing is good and it certainly held my interest, except I found most of the characters either selfish and overly intellectual to the point of mechanical; pathetic in the "loser" sense of the word; or impossibly perfect and entirely impenetrable. If I never warm up to any of the characters, few books will get past "okay" with me, and this one had no flashes of brilliance elsewhere to balance out that lack.
May 8, 2013
P.D. James is known for deeply-explored motivations and deft characterization. This gives her mystery novels a special plus. Still, I'm not a great fan. The endings are supposed to be thrilling, but are more often mindless, such as: otherwise intelligent girl having heard noises must go down unarmed into dark cellar and be rescued from ultimate horror by savvy police detective. Said detective is usually this poet-cop, Dalgleish, whose angsty ruminations and above-it-all manner I find intrusive and irritating.
But Innocent Blood is not like that. First of all, no Dalgleish--yea! The heroine, Philippa Palfrey, an adoptee who is searching for her real parents, is young and rather savvy, despite a sheltered upbringing. Yes, she's also a bit naive: as the goodreads synopsis tells us, she imagines she owes her existence to a romance between a peer and a parlor maid, but she grows out of this fantasy--very quickly, I can tell you--and moves forward to make citrus martinis out of the lemons she finds in her adoption file.
The best part is that there are two fascinating stories here: hers and that of a man who years before lost his only daughter to rape and murder and is driven by a promise to his dying wife to exact revenge. His and Philippa's lives are inextricably entwined, and we follow them, step by harrowing step, to the ultimate confrontation.
The ending was not at all what I expected, a real Agatha-Christie-type twist,satisfying and believable.
But Innocent Blood is not like that. First of all, no Dalgleish--yea! The heroine, Philippa Palfrey, an adoptee who is searching for her real parents, is young and rather savvy, despite a sheltered upbringing. Yes, she's also a bit naive: as the goodreads synopsis tells us, she imagines she owes her existence to a romance between a peer and a parlor maid, but she grows out of this fantasy--very quickly, I can tell you--and moves forward to make citrus martinis out of the lemons she finds in her adoption file.
The best part is that there are two fascinating stories here: hers and that of a man who years before lost his only daughter to rape and murder and is driven by a promise to his dying wife to exact revenge. His and Philippa's lives are inextricably entwined, and we follow them, step by harrowing step, to the ultimate confrontation.
The ending was not at all what I expected, a real Agatha-Christie-type twist,satisfying and believable.
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