What do you think?
Rate this book
Adam Dalgliesh #4
Shroud for a Nightingale
P.D. James is the greatest living mystery writer. "People
"The young women of Nightingale House are there to learn to nurse and comfort the suffering. But when one of the students plays patient in a demonstration of nursing skills, she is horribly, brutally killed. Another student dies equally mysteriously, and it is up to Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard to unmask a killer who has decided to prescribe murder as the cure for all ills.
The "New York Times" called Shroud for a Nightingale mystery at its best. "
"The young women of Nightingale House are there to learn to nurse and comfort the suffering. But when one of the students plays patient in a demonstration of nursing skills, she is horribly, brutally killed. Another student dies equally mysteriously, and it is up to Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard to unmask a killer who has decided to prescribe murder as the cure for all ills.
The "New York Times" called Shroud for a Nightingale mystery at its best. "
315 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
769 people are currently reading
7587 people want to read
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 845 reviews
March 16, 2020
This is the fourth book in the Adam Dalgliesh series. I have recently been re-reading these novels and, although I have enjoyed the previous books, this certainly represents a seeming increase in ability and confidence in the writing and storyline. “Shroud for a Nightingale,” is set in a nurse training school and P D James worked for the NHS for many years, so it is an environment she would have been extremely familiar with.
The story begins with Miss Muriel Beale, an Inspector who is setting out for the day of the John Carpendar Hospital inspection. Her first impression, on arriving at the impressive Nightingale House, is that it is highly unsuitable for a nurse training school. However, the inspection begins with a demonstration by the student nurses and, during this, there is a death. When another student nurse is killed, Adam Dalgliesh is called in to solve the crimes.
This is an assured mystery, with a closed community and a great cast of characters; from the arrogant surgeon, Mr Stephen Courtney Briggs to super efficient matron, Mary Taylor and the Sisters and Nurses who live and work in Nightingale House. There is little privacy in Nightingale House and Dalgliesh soon gets to hear of the affairs, petty squabbles and secrets that abound in the hospital. As he delves into the past of the inhabitants of Nightingale House, he uncovers the truth, and James gives us an assured, intelligent mystery with a great range of suspects and motives.
The story begins with Miss Muriel Beale, an Inspector who is setting out for the day of the John Carpendar Hospital inspection. Her first impression, on arriving at the impressive Nightingale House, is that it is highly unsuitable for a nurse training school. However, the inspection begins with a demonstration by the student nurses and, during this, there is a death. When another student nurse is killed, Adam Dalgliesh is called in to solve the crimes.
This is an assured mystery, with a closed community and a great cast of characters; from the arrogant surgeon, Mr Stephen Courtney Briggs to super efficient matron, Mary Taylor and the Sisters and Nurses who live and work in Nightingale House. There is little privacy in Nightingale House and Dalgliesh soon gets to hear of the affairs, petty squabbles and secrets that abound in the hospital. As he delves into the past of the inhabitants of Nightingale House, he uncovers the truth, and James gives us an assured, intelligent mystery with a great range of suspects and motives.
February 2, 2022
The novel "Shroud for a Nightingale" has nothing to do with "The Lady with the Lamp" or the Nightingale from the women's intelligence network, sung by Kristina Hanna. Although the echoes of the events of the Second World War will play a significant role here, and the place of action will be a nursing school.
Phyllis Dorothy James, known as Baroness James of Holland Park, is not accidentally called the modern Agatha Christie. The total circulation of her books is more than sixty million copies, and their end-to-end character, detective-poet Adam Dalgliesh, is rightfully among the most beloved book detectives. I'm meeting him for the first time and I admit I'm fascinated.
What is the book about? Strange and scary things happen at the nursing school. Right at the practical lesson, a student dies. Do you know the procedure of anal feeding when a patient cannot eat for some reason? Her skill, like any other, should be worked out by future sisters, and fellow students serve as a model for procedures in turn. The one to whom this has fallen today is injected with another substance instead of warm milk. And a day later - another death.
Найтингейл. Не Флоренс
Я не думаю, что можно быть сыщиком и всегда оставаться добрым. Но если вы только заметили, что жестокость становится приятна сама по себе, то, наверное, пришло время перестать быть сыщиком.
Жуткий, но исполненный мрачного очарования роман в традициях классического английского детектива. Время действия начало семидесятых прошлого века, место - Дом Найтингейл, казалось бы, названный в честь основательницы движения медицинских сестер как общественного института Флоренс Найтингейл. Однако в этой истории абсолютное большинство вещей оказывается не тем, чем кажется.
Ни к "Леди с лампой", ни к Соловью (nightingale) из женской разведсети, воспетому Кристиной Ханной, роман "Тайна Найтингейла" (Shroud for a Nightingale) отношения не имеет. Хотя отголоски событий Второй Мировой сыграют здесь немалую роль, а местом действия окажется школа медсестер.
Филлис Дороти Джеймс, известную как баронесса Джеймс из Холланд Парка, не случайно называют современной Агатой Кристи. Суммарный тираж ее книг более шестидесяти миллионов экземпляров, а их сквозной персонаж, сыщик-поэт Адам Дэлглиш, по праву в ряду наиболее любимых книжных детективов. Я встречаюсь с ним впервые и признаюсь, очарована.
О чем книга? В школе медсестер происходят странные и страшные вещи. Прямо на практическом занятии погибает студентка. Знаете процедуру зондального кормления, когда больной не может по каким-то причинам питаться? Ее навык, как любой другой, должен быть отработан будущими сестрами, а моделью для процедур поочередно служат сокурсницы. Той, кому это вы пало сегодня, вместо теплого молока вводят другую субстанцию. А спустя день - еще одна смерть.
Дело ведет инспектор Далглиш, известный тем, что расследования проводит быстро и тщательно, В ходе следствия выяснится множество вещей, шокирующих даже в нынешнее свободное время. Однако следует помнить, что герои книги медики, представители самой гуманной, но и наиболее циничной из профессий, которые в собственной повседневности сталкиваются с муками и болью, с отталкивающим и уродливым.
Отличный детектив в традициях Агаты Кристи. Сдержанный в физиологических описаниях, внимательный к психологическим портретам участников. И я в очередной раз благодарна Игорю Князеву за блистательно прочитанную аудиокнигу.
Phyllis Dorothy James, known as Baroness James of Holland Park, is not accidentally called the modern Agatha Christie. The total circulation of her books is more than sixty million copies, and their end-to-end character, detective-poet Adam Dalgliesh, is rightfully among the most beloved book detectives. I'm meeting him for the first time and I admit I'm fascinated.
What is the book about? Strange and scary things happen at the nursing school. Right at the practical lesson, a student dies. Do you know the procedure of anal feeding when a patient cannot eat for some reason? Her skill, like any other, should be worked out by future sisters, and fellow students serve as a model for procedures in turn. The one to whom this has fallen today is injected with another substance instead of warm milk. And a day later - another death.
Найтингейл. Не Флоренс
Я не думаю, что можно быть сыщиком и всегда оставаться добрым. Но если вы только заметили, что жестокость становится приятна сама по себе, то, наверное, пришло время перестать быть сыщиком.
Жуткий, но исполненный мрачного очарования роман в традициях классического английского детектива. Время действия начало семидесятых прошлого века, место - Дом Найтингейл, казалось бы, названный в честь основательницы движения медицинских сестер как общественного института Флоренс Найтингейл. Однако в этой истории абсолютное большинство вещей оказывается не тем, чем кажется.
Ни к "Леди с лампой", ни к Соловью (nightingale) из женской разведсети, воспетому Кристиной Ханной, роман "Тайна Найтингейла" (Shroud for a Nightingale) отношения не имеет. Хотя отголоски событий Второй Мировой сыграют здесь немалую роль, а местом действия окажется школа медсестер.
Филлис Дороти Джеймс, известную как баронесса Джеймс из Холланд Парка, не случайно называют современной Агатой Кристи. Суммарный тираж ее книг более шестидесяти миллионов экземпляров, а их сквозной персонаж, сыщик-поэт Адам Дэлглиш, по праву в ряду наиболее любимых книжных детективов. Я встречаюсь с ним впервые и признаюсь, очарована.
О чем книга? В школе медсестер происходят странные и страшные вещи. Прямо на практическом занятии погибает студентка. Знаете процедуру зондального кормления, когда больной не может по каким-то причинам питаться? Ее навык, как любой другой, должен быть отработан будущими сестрами, а моделью для процедур поочередно служат сокурсницы. Той, кому это вы пало сегодня, вместо теплого молока вводят другую субстанцию. А спустя день - еще одна смерть.
Дело ведет инспектор Далглиш, известный тем, что расследования проводит быстро и тщательно, В ходе следствия выяснится множество вещей, шокирующих даже в нынешнее свободное время. Однако следует помнить, что герои книги медики, представители самой гуманной, но и наиболее циничной из профессий, которые в собственной повседневности сталкиваются с муками и болью, с отталкивающим и уродливым.
Отличный детектив в традициях Агаты Кристи. Сдержанный в физиологических описаниях, внимательный к психологическим портретам участников. И я в очередной раз благодарна Игорю Князеву за блистательно прочитанную аудиокнигу.
April 4, 2020
This feels like a step-up in confidence for James's Dalgleish series: it still has its roots in the classic Christie-esque (the closed community, the poisonings, the limited circle of suspects, the secret lives beneath the surface) but the NHS setting gives it oomph. I did wonder if women in the 1970s were quite this old-fashioned (49 is impending old age, nurse's training is abandoned on marriage, a whiskey night-cap is an indicator of racy behaviour) but that's a question, not a criticism.
Dalgleish is starting to come into focus more: chilly, fastidious both physically and emotionally (this time he's 'disgusted' by hospitals as, in the last book, he was disgusted by a woman with braces on her legs...'coz, ya know, women are supposed to ornament his inner world and not offend his poet's aesthetics!), arrogant, as he recognises himself. We have an interesting foil in a new side-kick, Masterson, who is ambitious, has rather grubby morals, and doesn't like Dalgleish - the scene with him in London is grotesque and hilarious: a rare attempt at humour on James's part.
I wasn't completely convinced by the solution The characterization, too, of the nurses is slight so that even by the end, it was hard to keep them apart, other than the twins and the murdered. And Dalgleish's 'detective instinct' is well to the fore: amidst all the plodding police work, he just miraculously finds the poison bottle...
Nevertheless, there's a richness to the writing and I enjoyed the way this takes the classic genre and makes it 1970s modern.
Dalgleish is starting to come into focus more: chilly, fastidious both physically and emotionally (this time he's 'disgusted' by hospitals as, in the last book, he was disgusted by a woman with braces on her legs...'coz, ya know, women are supposed to ornament his inner world and not offend his poet's aesthetics!), arrogant, as he recognises himself. We have an interesting foil in a new side-kick, Masterson, who is ambitious, has rather grubby morals, and doesn't like Dalgleish - the scene with him in London is grotesque and hilarious: a rare attempt at humour on James's part.
I wasn't completely convinced by the solution The characterization, too, of the nurses is slight so that even by the end, it was hard to keep them apart, other than the twins and the murdered. And Dalgleish's 'detective instinct' is well to the fore: amidst all the plodding police work, he just miraculously finds the poison bottle...
Nevertheless, there's a richness to the writing and I enjoyed the way this takes the classic genre and makes it 1970s modern.
January 21, 2010
Student nurses are dropping dead at the Nightingale nurse training school. Does someone there harbor a secret past? (Hint: yes.) Published in 1971, this is James's fourth novel, and of these, her most robust and satisfying. It feels miles away from her earlier, Christie-esque stylings. You wouldn't find a passage like this in any of her first three, for example:
She had given him a depressing glimpse into the stultifying lack of privacy, and of the small pettiness and subterfuges with which people living in unwelcome proximity try to preserve their own privacy or invade that of others. The thought of a grown man peeping surreptitiously around the door before coming out, of two adult lovers creeping furtively down a back staircase to avoid detection, was grotesque and humiliating.
It still has an antique feel, though, for a book published in 1971. It has 1950s gender sensibilities (the assumption that a woman, once married, will end her career or her studies), it has that obsession with spinsters so irresistible to British mystery writers ("she was a thin, brown-skinned woman, brittle and nobbly as a dead branch who looked as if the sap had long since dried in her bones"), and it still features the generalized misanthropy that Christie seemed to bequeath to the genre; nearly all the suspects are hateful, bitter, or piteous in some way.
Perhaps the most appealing aspect of Shroud is that Inspector Dalgliesh becomes a fully-realized character: chilly, exacting, self-aware, with large reserves of self-esteem and compassion; thoroughly likeable. An intriguing side character is Dalgliesh's second-in-command, the horny and resentful Masterson.
She had given him a depressing glimpse into the stultifying lack of privacy, and of the small pettiness and subterfuges with which people living in unwelcome proximity try to preserve their own privacy or invade that of others. The thought of a grown man peeping surreptitiously around the door before coming out, of two adult lovers creeping furtively down a back staircase to avoid detection, was grotesque and humiliating.
It still has an antique feel, though, for a book published in 1971. It has 1950s gender sensibilities (the assumption that a woman, once married, will end her career or her studies), it has that obsession with spinsters so irresistible to British mystery writers ("she was a thin, brown-skinned woman, brittle and nobbly as a dead branch who looked as if the sap had long since dried in her bones"), and it still features the generalized misanthropy that Christie seemed to bequeath to the genre; nearly all the suspects are hateful, bitter, or piteous in some way.
Perhaps the most appealing aspect of Shroud is that Inspector Dalgliesh becomes a fully-realized character: chilly, exacting, self-aware, with large reserves of self-esteem and compassion; thoroughly likeable. An intriguing side character is Dalgliesh's second-in-command, the horny and resentful Masterson.
September 14, 2020
I enjoyed this one a lot better than the last book in the series. Probably because it wasn't so muddled.
Dalgliesh is called out to Nightingale House after two nurses are found dead. One nurse dies during a demonstration where she is pretending to be the patient. Another one is found dead, but some are wondering if she committed suicide. Dalgliesh through interviews and his usual deductions starts to realize that something is wrong at Nightingale House, but he doesn't know what. Since there are times where some people were present and some were not, it quickly becomes a case of who done it and how.
Dalgilesh I find to be a curious character. I like him. I think. At times you think what a pigheaded person he is, but he is very very smart and a really good judge of people. He reminds me a of a less drugged up Sherlock Holmes. I do wonder about Dalgilesh's side-kick Masterson though. We find out some unsavory things about the character so I wonder how that will possibly affect the next book in the series.
The characters we meet at Nightingale House are memorable. From the matron (Mary Taylor) to the Sisters along with the nursing students, you feel as if you could have kept reading about this place forever. I do like the mini-motivations and character asides we get via Dalgliesh. I thought Masterson's view of women was awful though. This once again takes place in 1970 so I don't know if that is to be expected or what.
The setting of this book takes place in 1970 just based on things that were said. I have to say that at one point someone makes a reference about things that happened in World War II were long forgotten and that was the only false note I felt in this whole book. Britain has a lot of remembrance days about War World I and II so I can't see the citizens of the country acting like it wasn't a big deal. Especially since many of the characters in this one would have grown up during the war or in the shadow of the aftermath of War World II.
The ending was really good. I wasn't expecting it and I liked how in the end Dalgliesh was right, but you wonder at the cost of him being right and unmovable.
I read this for the "Locked Room mystery" square.
Dalgliesh is called out to Nightingale House after two nurses are found dead. One nurse dies during a demonstration where she is pretending to be the patient. Another one is found dead, but some are wondering if she committed suicide. Dalgliesh through interviews and his usual deductions starts to realize that something is wrong at Nightingale House, but he doesn't know what. Since there are times where some people were present and some were not, it quickly becomes a case of who done it and how.
Dalgilesh I find to be a curious character. I like him. I think. At times you think what a pigheaded person he is, but he is very very smart and a really good judge of people. He reminds me a of a less drugged up Sherlock Holmes. I do wonder about Dalgilesh's side-kick Masterson though. We find out some unsavory things about the character so I wonder how that will possibly affect the next book in the series.
The characters we meet at Nightingale House are memorable. From the matron (Mary Taylor) to the Sisters along with the nursing students, you feel as if you could have kept reading about this place forever. I do like the mini-motivations and character asides we get via Dalgliesh. I thought Masterson's view of women was awful though. This once again takes place in 1970 so I don't know if that is to be expected or what.
The setting of this book takes place in 1970 just based on things that were said. I have to say that at one point someone makes a reference about things that happened in World War II were long forgotten and that was the only false note I felt in this whole book. Britain has a lot of remembrance days about War World I and II so I can't see the citizens of the country acting like it wasn't a big deal. Especially since many of the characters in this one would have grown up during the war or in the shadow of the aftermath of War World II.
The ending was really good. I wasn't expecting it and I liked how in the end Dalgliesh was right, but you wonder at the cost of him being right and unmovable.
I read this for the "Locked Room mystery" square.
July 18, 2020
This murder-mystery of the Adam Dalgleish series is the best story so far. James has taken quite a lift from her previous (disappointing) installment to this cleverly executed one. The writing is meticulous and the story exhibits both James's knowledge and intelligence.
The story is set in a nurses' training school and we meet an interesting set of characters who soon becomes the suspects of two murders. While telling her story, James takes us also through the characters and lives of each suspect revealing their qualities, secrets, and scandals and giving a good account of their real selves. This probing deeper into the characters of the suspects is quite interesting. It also gives weight to the story. At the same time, however, certain attitudes and the sheer insolence of some of the suspects towards Dalgliesh and his official retinue bit grated on my nerves.
I was happy to have guessed the criminal right so I credit myself for becoming acquainted myself with James's methods. But the motive was totally lost until almost towards the end.
However, this particular installment placed Adam Dalgliesh at a disadvantage. The famous detective Dalgliesh fails to prove his case even after his laborious effort to unravel the truth. Yes, I do understand that every crime cannot be proved and that sometimes the lack of evidence makes the criminal go scot-free, but it gives the story an unsatisfactory ending. This happened in a previous case too, and I hope it won't be a recurring trait.
The story is set in a nurses' training school and we meet an interesting set of characters who soon becomes the suspects of two murders. While telling her story, James takes us also through the characters and lives of each suspect revealing their qualities, secrets, and scandals and giving a good account of their real selves. This probing deeper into the characters of the suspects is quite interesting. It also gives weight to the story. At the same time, however, certain attitudes and the sheer insolence of some of the suspects towards Dalgliesh and his official retinue bit grated on my nerves.
I was happy to have guessed the criminal right so I credit myself for becoming acquainted myself with James's methods. But the motive was totally lost until almost towards the end.
However, this particular installment placed Adam Dalgliesh at a disadvantage. The famous detective Dalgliesh fails to prove his case even after his laborious effort to unravel the truth. Yes, I do understand that every crime cannot be proved and that sometimes the lack of evidence makes the criminal go scot-free, but it gives the story an unsatisfactory ending. This happened in a previous case too, and I hope it won't be a recurring trait.
July 4, 2023
Mε αυτό το μυθιστόρημα, το οποίο ήταν υποψήφιο για βραβείο Edgar Καλύτερου Μυθιστορήματος και τιμήθηκε με το Βραβείο Silver Dagger 1971, η Τζέιμς αποδεικνύει ότι είναι μια γνήσια συγγραφική 'απόγονος' της Άγκαθα Κρίστι. Μόνο που οφείλω να υπογραμμίσω ότι σε αντίθεση με τη Κρίστι, η οποία δίνει μεγάλη σημασία στην αλληλουχία των γεγονότων και στα επιφανειακά χαρακτηριστικά της ανθρώπινης προσωπικότητας, η Τζέιμς γνωρίζει τον τρόπο να διεισδύει , ακόμα, και στις πιο 'σκοτεινές' πλευρές της ανθρώπινης ψυχής.
Το συγκεκριμένο αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα είναι μια προσεκτική και εμπνευσμένη μελέτη χαρακτήρων, η οποία, σταδιακά, μέσα από τις λεπτές αντιθέσεις που παρουσιάζει η συγγραφέας, οδηγούν τον φλεγματικό, ωστόσο, προσαρμοστικό και οξυδερκή ντετέκτιβ, Άνταμ Νταλγκλίς στη πολύπλοκη λύση του μυστηρίου. Σημαντικό στοιχείο στην ατμοσφαιρική πλοκή του βιβλίου διαδραματίζουν ο χώρος όπου διαπράττονται οι δολοφονίες, δηλ. το Οίκημα των μαθητευόμενων νοσηλευτριών 'Νάιτινγκεϊλ', και ο θρύλος της απαγχονισμένης υπηρέτριας στα τέλη του 19ου αιώνα, ο οποίος στοιχειώνει τη περιοχή όπου στεγάζονται το Οίκημα και το αντίστοιχο Νοσοκομείο.
Η Π. Ντ. Τζέιμς παρουσιάζει στο βιβλίο της με περιγραφικό και ξεκάθαρο τρόπο την ιεραρχία που υπήρχε στα νοσοκομεία εκείνης της εποχής και τη σχέση μεταξύ των γιατρών, των νοσοκόμων και των διευθυντικών στελεχών, στοιχεία τα οποία γνώριζε από πρώτο χέρι λόγω της 20χρονης θητείας της στην Εθνική Υπηρεσία Υγείας (1949-1968).
Πέρα από αυτό, η συγγραφέας δεν παραλείπει να αποτυπώσει εύστοχα στο μυθιστόρημα και την βρετανική κουλτούρα της εποχής των τελών της δεκαετίας του '60 και των αρχών της δεκαετίας του '70: υπάρχουν αναφορές στην άνοδο των τεχνών, όπως της ζωγραφικής και της μοντέρνας μουσικής, στη μεγαλύτερη σημασία που, πλέον, έδιναν οι γυναίκες στην εξωτερική τους εμφάνιση μέσω του μακιγιάζ, της κομμωτικής και της μοντέρνας ένδυσης, αλλά και σε πολιτισμικά στοιχεία της πάλαι ποτέ βικτωριανής περιόδου, όπως την τυφλή υπακοή στις εντολές και την αφοσίωση στους ανωτέρους, 2 βασικές δεξιότητες που θα έπρεπε να έχει η επιτυχημένη νοσηλεύτρια (σύμφωνα με κάποιες προϊσταμένες του Οικήματος). Ο αναγνώστης γίνεται με κάποιο τρόπο μάρτυρας αυτής της πάλης μεταξύ του παρελθόντος, του παρόντος και ενός μοντέρνου μέλλοντος. Και σίγουρα, στη συγκεκριμένη περίπτωση, κάποιες αμαρτίες του παρελθόντος θα 'ρίξουν' επικίνδυνα τη σκιά τους στα γεγονότα που θα επακολουθήσουν.
Ωστόσο, πλησιάζοντας στη διαλεύκανση των φόνων και ενώ επέρχεται η κάθαρση, δεν θα είναι λίγοι οι αναγνώστες, οι οποίοι θα αναρωτηθούν αν είναι επαρκές το κίνητρο των 2 πρώτων δολοφονιών, αφού, κανονικά, ο δολοφόνος, μόνο, εμμέσως, θα μπορούσε να συνδέεται με τη βασική αιτία για τη διάπραξή τους.
Πάντως,πρόκειται για ένα από τα πιο πρωτότυπα και ψυχογραφικά μυθιστορήματα της μοντέρνας Βρετανικής Αστυνομικής Λογοτεχνίας.
Βαθμολογία: 4,3/5 ή 8,6/10.
Υ.Γ.: Yπάρχουν κάποια λάθη (ευτυχώς, όχι πολλά για να κάνουν περίεργη εντύπωση) στην μετάφραση και την εκτύπωση του βιβλίου...
Υ.Γ. 2: H P. D. James είναι η αγαπημένη συγγραφέας μυστηρίου της..... Αγγελικής Νικολούλη.
Το συγκεκριμένο αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα είναι μια προσεκτική και εμπνευσμένη μελέτη χαρακτήρων, η οποία, σταδιακά, μέσα από τις λεπτές αντιθέσεις που παρουσιάζει η συγγραφέας, οδηγούν τον φλεγματικό, ωστόσο, προσαρμοστικό και οξυδερκή ντετέκτιβ, Άνταμ Νταλγκλίς στη πολύπλοκη λύση του μυστηρίου. Σημαντικό στοιχείο στην ατμοσφαιρική πλοκή του βιβλίου διαδραματίζουν ο χώρος όπου διαπράττονται οι δολοφονίες, δηλ. το Οίκημα των μαθητευόμενων νοσηλευτριών 'Νάιτινγκεϊλ', και ο θρύλος της απαγχονισμένης υπηρέτριας στα τέλη του 19ου αιώνα, ο οποίος στοιχειώνει τη περιοχή όπου στεγάζονται το Οίκημα και το αντίστοιχο Νοσοκομείο.
Η Π. Ντ. Τζέιμς παρουσιάζει στο βιβλίο της με περιγραφικό και ξεκάθαρο τρόπο την ιεραρχία που υπήρχε στα νοσοκομεία εκείνης της εποχής και τη σχέση μεταξύ των γιατρών, των νοσοκόμων και των διευθυντικών στελεχών, στοιχεία τα οποία γνώριζε από πρώτο χέρι λόγω της 20χρονης θητείας της στην Εθνική Υπηρεσία Υγείας (1949-1968).
Πέρα από αυτό, η συγγραφέας δεν παραλείπει να αποτυπώσει εύστοχα στο μυθιστόρημα και την βρετανική κουλτούρα της εποχής των τελών της δεκαετίας του '60 και των αρχών της δεκαετίας του '70: υπάρχουν αναφορές στην άνοδο των τεχνών, όπως της ζωγραφικής και της μοντέρνας μουσικής, στη μεγαλύτερη σημασία που, πλέον, έδιναν οι γυναίκες στην εξωτερική τους εμφάνιση μέσω του μακιγιάζ, της κομμωτικής και της μοντέρνας ένδυσης, αλλά και σε πολιτισμικά στοιχεία της πάλαι ποτέ βικτωριανής περιόδου, όπως την τυφλή υπακοή στις εντολές και την αφοσίωση στους ανωτέρους, 2 βασικές δεξιότητες που θα έπρεπε να έχει η επιτυχημένη νοσηλεύτρια (σύμφωνα με κάποιες προϊσταμένες του Οικήματος). Ο αναγνώστης γίνεται με κάποιο τρόπο μάρτυρας αυτής της πάλης μεταξύ του παρελθόντος, του παρόντος και ενός μοντέρνου μέλλοντος. Και σίγουρα, στη συγκεκριμένη περίπτωση, κάποιες αμαρτίες του παρελθόντος θα 'ρίξουν' επικίνδυνα τη σκιά τους στα γεγονότα που θα επακολουθήσουν.
Ωστόσο, πλησιάζοντας στη διαλεύκανση των φόνων και ενώ επέρχεται η κάθαρση, δεν θα είναι λίγοι οι αναγνώστες, οι οποίοι θα αναρωτηθούν αν είναι επαρκές το κίνητρο των 2 πρώτων δολοφονιών, αφού, κανονικά, ο δολοφόνος, μόνο, εμμέσως, θα μπορούσε να συνδέεται με τη βασική αιτία για τη διάπραξή τους.
Πάντως,πρόκειται για ένα από τα πιο πρωτότυπα και ψυχογραφικά μυθιστορήματα της μοντέρνας Βρετανικής Αστυνομικής Λογοτεχνίας.
Βαθμολογία: 4,3/5 ή 8,6/10.
Υ.Γ.: Yπάρχουν κάποια λάθη (ευτυχώς, όχι πολλά για να κάνουν περίεργη εντύπωση) στην μετάφραση και την εκτύπωση του βιβλίου...
Υ.Γ. 2: H P. D. James είναι η αγαπημένη συγγραφέας μυστηρίου της..... Αγγελικής Νικολούλη.
December 24, 2012
At several points the main character is discussing the case with his assistant and, despite the fact they've already talked about the evidence and what they think and he's the current viewpoint character and we follow both of them through everything important they do, their important deductions are covered up with sudden reported speech, like "he said what had happened, his assistant said yes that's obvious". Like are you *kidding* me how lazy can you get
The book is OK enough but the denouement is pretty silly and is the sort of thing that makes 95% of the book feel like a total waste. There aren't enough clues for it to make sense and the ones given which do lead to the ending don't really feel consistent or reasonable. They try and link the ending to a character's personality and then right at the end do a "oh btw actually it's someone totally different" for who there are 0 clues given. Not horrible horrible but pretty typical mystery fare in that the ending may as well be detached from the rest of the book because the rest of the book isn't important.
EDIT: After thinking about it some more, decreased my rating to 1 star because of the above and
1) The ending is absolute nonsense. The motives given make no sense, the story of the identity of a character makes no sense and the entire book requires several characters to have acted with no intelligence or thought at all, even ignoring the typical mystery trope of "oh they avoided an easier way because of X unlikely idiosyncrasy"
2) The main character is dull as ditchwater. I remember hardly any of what he did. His assistant just had sex with a suspect (no lead up, no follow up) and made misogynistic+abusive comments about a witness. I'm not saying all characters have to be cool and likeable but scenes which are 15 pages of abusive, cruel thoughts about an old woman from someone who's seriously abused his position is horrible.
3) I could predict an event that happened near the end because it happened at near the exact same time and in a similar way to the other one of her books I read and, like that one, puts the character in incredibly serious danger and then pulls it out by having the dangerous person be a complete idiot and events to play out perfectly.
4) Physical attractiveness is treated as the most important part of each character to a large extent. Not surprising, but really crap.
So yeah this book stinks. A lot.
The book is OK enough but the denouement is pretty silly and is the sort of thing that makes 95% of the book feel like a total waste. There aren't enough clues for it to make sense and the ones given which do lead to the ending don't really feel consistent or reasonable. They try and link the ending to a character's personality and then right at the end do a "oh btw actually it's someone totally different" for who there are 0 clues given. Not horrible horrible but pretty typical mystery fare in that the ending may as well be detached from the rest of the book because the rest of the book isn't important.
EDIT: After thinking about it some more, decreased my rating to 1 star because of the above and
1) The ending is absolute nonsense. The motives given make no sense, the story of the identity of a character makes no sense and the entire book requires several characters to have acted with no intelligence or thought at all, even ignoring the typical mystery trope of "oh they avoided an easier way because of X unlikely idiosyncrasy"
2) The main character is dull as ditchwater. I remember hardly any of what he did. His assistant just had sex with a suspect (no lead up, no follow up) and made misogynistic+abusive comments about a witness. I'm not saying all characters have to be cool and likeable but scenes which are 15 pages of abusive, cruel thoughts about an old woman from someone who's seriously abused his position is horrible.
3) I could predict an event that happened near the end because it happened at near the exact same time and in a similar way to the other one of her books I read and, like that one, puts the character in incredibly serious danger and then pulls it out by having the dangerous person be a complete idiot and events to play out perfectly.
4) Physical attractiveness is treated as the most important part of each character to a large extent. Not surprising, but really crap.
So yeah this book stinks. A lot.
July 11, 2011
My grandmother left this for my mother to read, and bored, I started it waiting for her in the car. Boredom, too, is the only reason I can give for my finishing it -- I was mesmerized by how entirely uninteresting it was, both the story and the literary style.
I don't read mysteries, and essentially all of my related presumptions are based on Cluedo and The Westing Game, but even compared to those, Shroud for a Nightingale is kind of a dud. So two student nurses are killed, the Scotland Yard is called in, and the blurb promises that "a secret medical world of sex, shame, and scandal is about to be exposed." But most of the book is spent discussing hospital administration. This was vaguely interesting, just for the differences in American / British terminology (senior nurses are called "Sisters"), but not exactly riveting fiction. Also, a lot of text is spent on meticulous descriptions of people's faces (spoiler: most of them are ugly), and my copy was lousy with typos.
To reiterate, I'm not a mystery aficionado, but this story's tedious 287 pages are topped only by its even more disappointing solution, supported by some very dull clues (a big plot point concerns a missing library book) and ultimately a left-field "character's dark past" explanation that renders the deduction leading up to it rather pointless. So maybe don't read Shroud for a Nightingale, even to relive severe ennui, as the book will just cause more yawns itself.
I don't read mysteries, and essentially all of my related presumptions are based on Cluedo and The Westing Game, but even compared to those, Shroud for a Nightingale is kind of a dud. So two student nurses are killed, the Scotland Yard is called in, and the blurb promises that "a secret medical world of sex, shame, and scandal is about to be exposed." But most of the book is spent discussing hospital administration. This was vaguely interesting, just for the differences in American / British terminology (senior nurses are called "Sisters"), but not exactly riveting fiction. Also, a lot of text is spent on meticulous descriptions of people's faces (spoiler: most of them are ugly), and my copy was lousy with typos.
To reiterate, I'm not a mystery aficionado, but this story's tedious 287 pages are topped only by its even more disappointing solution, supported by some very dull clues (a big plot point concerns a missing library book) and ultimately a left-field "character's dark past" explanation that renders the deduction leading up to it rather pointless. So maybe don't read Shroud for a Nightingale, even to relive severe ennui, as the book will just cause more yawns itself.
June 25, 2009
I had heard of P.D. James before but had never read any of her works, and I didn't really know she wrote mysteries. So I was quite pleasantly surprised by Shroud for a Nightingale--so much so that I've since read another James and am onto a third.
Shroud is a great caper, written in the 70s. I think it's aged extremely well; in fact, I think the whole plot and setting is made all the more creepy and ominous by the somewhat antiquated medical procedures that figure prominently in the plot. I defy anyone to come up with something inherently scarier than a British nursing school in the 70s where all the nurses where classic nurse uniforms, the school itself is something of a gothic mansion, and even relatively routine medical procedures like inserting a feeding tube take on an intensely macabre character. Good times.
I am not a good mystery reader in that I can never figure anything out until the author reveals it. Actually, I don't know whether that makes me a poor reader or whether it makes James something of an evil genius. Either way, I like the suspense of it all!
Shroud is a great caper, written in the 70s. I think it's aged extremely well; in fact, I think the whole plot and setting is made all the more creepy and ominous by the somewhat antiquated medical procedures that figure prominently in the plot. I defy anyone to come up with something inherently scarier than a British nursing school in the 70s where all the nurses where classic nurse uniforms, the school itself is something of a gothic mansion, and even relatively routine medical procedures like inserting a feeding tube take on an intensely macabre character. Good times.
I am not a good mystery reader in that I can never figure anything out until the author reveals it. Actually, I don't know whether that makes me a poor reader or whether it makes James something of an evil genius. Either way, I like the suspense of it all!
July 27, 2020
This is my fourth book read in the series and by far my favorite. The mystery was very well done with more than a few red herrings. The moody atmospheric setting and weather conditions enhanced the twisty turning plot. P.D. James is an unusual mystery writer, almost literary, and I used the old Webster dictionary several times to look up words I didn't know. I still haven't quite figured out Adam Dalgliesh but I assume each book we learn a bit more about him.
May 11, 2021
A solid crime story with a theme around blackmail, corruption and murder. First Nurse Pearce dies horribly from poison in a demonstration of gastric feeding where milk is replaced by detergent. Then Nurse Fallon dies from possibly suicide or is it.
Dalgleish is called into investigate and discovers intrigue and nurses with few clear motives for murder. The matron, her friend and colleague Ethel, the surgeon and pharmacist all play roles in his investigation with ultimately two more deaths.
I recently watched a tv adaptation with a few changes. The dislike between Masterton and Dalgleish is lacking as in the book. The dancing is left out with one of the characters as well as the assault on Dalgleish. Overall though the adaptation was good and captures the atmosphere of dread at Nightingale house.
Dalgleish is called into investigate and discovers intrigue and nurses with few clear motives for murder. The matron, her friend and colleague Ethel, the surgeon and pharmacist all play roles in his investigation with ultimately two more deaths.
I recently watched a tv adaptation with a few changes. The dislike between Masterton and Dalgleish is lacking as in the book. The dancing is left out with one of the characters as well as the assault on Dalgleish. Overall though the adaptation was good and captures the atmosphere of dread at Nightingale house.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2014
I believe it was Red Skelton who said that to be a writer you have to be a close observer of human nature, but not so close that you start to hate everyone. P.D. James seems to frequently drift across the line into hating everybody. The men in James' world tend to be pompous, self-absorbed, preening narcissists, but they are almost nice compared to the women. The women are often petty, manipulative, mean-spirited and deliberately cruel.
Shroud for a Nightingale is about a series of murders at a small nursing school in rural England. It is about a group of women who work and live together in a rather small space and a veneer of niceness covers a lot of animosity. It is a solid mystery with a number of twists and misleads. Readers familiar with the conventions of the mystery genre may guess the solution, but I think James here is more interested in exploring the dark corners of her characters than with presenting a puzzle.
Shroud for a Nightingale is about a series of murders at a small nursing school in rural England. It is about a group of women who work and live together in a rather small space and a veneer of niceness covers a lot of animosity. It is a solid mystery with a number of twists and misleads. Readers familiar with the conventions of the mystery genre may guess the solution, but I think James here is more interested in exploring the dark corners of her characters than with presenting a puzzle.
May 23, 2017
This was another great Adam Dalgliesh story. I am taking the series slow so that I can enjoy what P.D. James left us.
This story takes place at a nurses training school. A place that is full of secrets and lies.
Read this story and see why James was an award winning crime author.
This story takes place at a nurses training school. A place that is full of secrets and lies.
Read this story and see why James was an award winning crime author.
December 5, 2025
La edición que leí tiene la letra muy chica y eso me hizo tener la sensación de leer más lento, pero también creo que es porque jamás nunca me atrapó la historia, ni sobre todo los personajes.
Tenemos este centro médico en el cual hay 2 asesinatos y suceden bastante seguidos, lo cual se sospecha de inmediato que sí están vinculados. Hay una serie de enfermeras las cuales son todas sospechosas, por supuesto. La trama no es mala, pero siento que PD James se extendió mucho más de la cuenta, sobre todo en la parte de las entrevistas a cada personaje. Sentía que se perdía tiempo en tanto detalle irrelevante.
La magia de decir algo específico es que hay muchas maneras de contarlo. Por lo mismo, cobra muchísima importancia cómo se cuenta una historia y cómo se recibe es totalmente subjetivo... y no me gustó. No me atrapó nunca la investigación en sí y cómo se llegó a la conclusión final. Lo peor de todo, la ida a bailar tango para sacar información relevante... Dios mío!
No tengo tanto fundamento para ponerle 2 estrellas, pero siento que no podría ponerle más que eso. Difícil de explicar.
Tenemos este centro médico en el cual hay 2 asesinatos y suceden bastante seguidos, lo cual se sospecha de inmediato que sí están vinculados. Hay una serie de enfermeras las cuales son todas sospechosas, por supuesto. La trama no es mala, pero siento que PD James se extendió mucho más de la cuenta, sobre todo en la parte de las entrevistas a cada personaje. Sentía que se perdía tiempo en tanto detalle irrelevante.
La magia de decir algo específico es que hay muchas maneras de contarlo. Por lo mismo, cobra muchísima importancia cómo se cuenta una historia y cómo se recibe es totalmente subjetivo... y no me gustó. No me atrapó nunca la investigación en sí y cómo se llegó a la conclusión final. Lo peor de todo, la ida a bailar tango para sacar información relevante... Dios mío!
No tengo tanto fundamento para ponerle 2 estrellas, pero siento que no podría ponerle más que eso. Difícil de explicar.
October 23, 2019
Dame Agatha Christie and Her Peers
BOOK 24
"Mystery at it's finest"? The only big mystery here is will any single character NOT switch hit.
It doesn't surprise me at all that today's nurses are our 'doctors' (nurses had to learn it all, do it all, THEN do the dirty work) and today's 'doctors' either offer 'Concierge Service' at $200 a month whether you visit or not, or are 'Botox Kings' with TV Shows. And now, I shall get off my soapbox and on to my review.
CAST = 1 stars: Absolutely massive, first of all, and one of the novels 2 major downfalls. We're introduced to Miss Muriel Beale, and Inspector Nurse on her way to an inspection, and her roommate Miss Angela Burrows, a Principal Tutor in a London teaching hospital. They disappear until the final chapter. It's sorta cheap that this appearance of 2 ladies living together is really a preview of, well, a number of nurse-nurse relationships. Supposedly, they all have 'boyfriends', so we learn that's what they called them at one time. There is Mary Taylor, Matron at John Gardener's Hospital (SHE has a BIG SECRET and you know what it is). Hilda Rolfe (BIG SECRET!) is the Principal Tutor, Mr. Stephen Courtney-Briggs (well, one character as straight as they come, and sadly to Briggs he is surrounded by pretty young gals with BIG SECRETS) the Senior Surgeon, Sister Mavis Gearing a teacher at said hospital. There are 7 students in an opening training class, plus more in bed with the 'flu'. There is Miss Collins, the housekeeper. Chairman Sir Marcus Cohen is in Isreal and why he is even mentioned is beyond me. Same for Alderman Kealy. And that's not even half the cast. Few authors outside of historical non-fiction need this many people to tell a story. (unless you are James Michenor, natch.) And things like "...that high-handed bitch of a Matron" are the kind of lines encountered often. Did I mention Sister Bum? She has MORE THAN ONE SECRET! (People with this name usually do.)
ATMOSPHERE = 4 stars: This is the star of the show. James really knows her stuff, and I believe she had indeed worked in hospitals. Inspecting, teaching, right answers from students to wrong answers from students, poisons, methods of death, etc., you're gonna feel like you're right there in this hospital, learning along with the student nurses. And there is an added creep factor. Then again, aren't hospitals sorta creepy anyway? Especially AFTER you check in and they show you straps? I, personally, have been strapped down many times...and twice at a hospital!
CRIME/PLOT = 3 stars: The first murder is wildly original and is indeed disturbing. The second not so much as it is rather bland, even for this genre: it's that typical/expected 2nd murder that you just know is right around the corner. Sometimes it works, sometimes, like here, it's about word count.
INVESTIGATION = 2 stars: I'm torn here. This could be the most ridiculous investigating I've ever read. OR, it could be simply the most ridiculously entertaining investigation. At one point, a cop just happens to be a great ballroom dancer, and he goes to interview someone who might have information, and her date to a ballroom dance has conveniently cancelled. She, however, has held onto her dead husband's dancing clothes! So the cop changes clothing. Then,during a masterful tango demonstration, the cop gets all the info he needs while an audience applauds wildly. It's sorta hilarious. Then, taking her home, the cop states the gal is a slut because she has a dirty kitchen. (NOPE,WTF, fun factor gone.) Oh, hilariously, a cop is questioning a suspect but they have sex in the back seat of a car...I forget whose. But I will say one of the participants changes sexual preferences...whenever the story needs them to. THEN,on page 231 (of 296) we get a very vital clue. Granted, James doesn't wait till the final page, but still, the BIG CLUES come late and...
SOLUTION = 1 star: ...the resolution is nonsense and is the novel's 2nd downfall. Yea, I get that James is going for 'ahead of her time' with all the gay relationships but it all turns very, very silly. I don't mean to insult anyone, but this entire book rolls quickly to a soap opera entitled "Nurses Who Wear Really, Really Stupendously Sensible Shoes."
SUMMARY = 2.2. Atmospheric, but rather ridiculous. Yes, I'm comparing authors to Agatha Christie. In Christie's world, no one changed their sexual preference on a whim...or had sex in the back seat of a car. (BTW, there are gay Christie characters.) And even in today's world, people just don't decide to switch hit on a whim. But, yea, people do have sex in cars. Haven't we all? No? Well, never mind. I'd never do that either. And none of us ever go to desperate lengths of self-pleasure. It's a mortal sin, after all! Why, I take showers in my clothing so as not to tempt myself! (People the world over actually do this for this very reason!)
BOOK 24
"Mystery at it's finest"? The only big mystery here is will any single character NOT switch hit.
It doesn't surprise me at all that today's nurses are our 'doctors' (nurses had to learn it all, do it all, THEN do the dirty work) and today's 'doctors' either offer 'Concierge Service' at $200 a month whether you visit or not, or are 'Botox Kings' with TV Shows. And now, I shall get off my soapbox and on to my review.
CAST = 1 stars: Absolutely massive, first of all, and one of the novels 2 major downfalls. We're introduced to Miss Muriel Beale, and Inspector Nurse on her way to an inspection, and her roommate Miss Angela Burrows, a Principal Tutor in a London teaching hospital. They disappear until the final chapter. It's sorta cheap that this appearance of 2 ladies living together is really a preview of, well, a number of nurse-nurse relationships. Supposedly, they all have 'boyfriends', so we learn that's what they called them at one time. There is Mary Taylor, Matron at John Gardener's Hospital (SHE has a BIG SECRET and you know what it is). Hilda Rolfe (BIG SECRET!) is the Principal Tutor, Mr. Stephen Courtney-Briggs (well, one character as straight as they come, and sadly to Briggs he is surrounded by pretty young gals with BIG SECRETS) the Senior Surgeon, Sister Mavis Gearing a teacher at said hospital. There are 7 students in an opening training class, plus more in bed with the 'flu'. There is Miss Collins, the housekeeper. Chairman Sir Marcus Cohen is in Isreal and why he is even mentioned is beyond me. Same for Alderman Kealy. And that's not even half the cast. Few authors outside of historical non-fiction need this many people to tell a story. (unless you are James Michenor, natch.) And things like "...that high-handed bitch of a Matron" are the kind of lines encountered often. Did I mention Sister Bum? She has MORE THAN ONE SECRET! (People with this name usually do.)
ATMOSPHERE = 4 stars: This is the star of the show. James really knows her stuff, and I believe she had indeed worked in hospitals. Inspecting, teaching, right answers from students to wrong answers from students, poisons, methods of death, etc., you're gonna feel like you're right there in this hospital, learning along with the student nurses. And there is an added creep factor. Then again, aren't hospitals sorta creepy anyway? Especially AFTER you check in and they show you straps? I, personally, have been strapped down many times...and twice at a hospital!
CRIME/PLOT = 3 stars: The first murder is wildly original and is indeed disturbing. The second not so much as it is rather bland, even for this genre: it's that typical/expected 2nd murder that you just know is right around the corner. Sometimes it works, sometimes, like here, it's about word count.
INVESTIGATION = 2 stars: I'm torn here. This could be the most ridiculous investigating I've ever read. OR, it could be simply the most ridiculously entertaining investigation. At one point, a cop just happens to be a great ballroom dancer, and he goes to interview someone who might have information, and her date to a ballroom dance has conveniently cancelled. She, however, has held onto her dead husband's dancing clothes! So the cop changes clothing. Then,during a masterful tango demonstration, the cop gets all the info he needs while an audience applauds wildly. It's sorta hilarious. Then, taking her home, the cop states the gal is a slut because she has a dirty kitchen. (NOPE,WTF, fun factor gone.) Oh, hilariously, a cop is questioning a suspect but they have sex in the back seat of a car...I forget whose. But I will say one of the participants changes sexual preferences...whenever the story needs them to. THEN,on page 231 (of 296) we get a very vital clue. Granted, James doesn't wait till the final page, but still, the BIG CLUES come late and...
SOLUTION = 1 star: ...the resolution is nonsense and is the novel's 2nd downfall. Yea, I get that James is going for 'ahead of her time' with all the gay relationships but it all turns very, very silly. I don't mean to insult anyone, but this entire book rolls quickly to a soap opera entitled "Nurses Who Wear Really, Really Stupendously Sensible Shoes."
SUMMARY = 2.2. Atmospheric, but rather ridiculous. Yes, I'm comparing authors to Agatha Christie. In Christie's world, no one changed their sexual preference on a whim...or had sex in the back seat of a car. (BTW, there are gay Christie characters.) And even in today's world, people just don't decide to switch hit on a whim. But, yea, people do have sex in cars. Haven't we all? No? Well, never mind. I'd never do that either. And none of us ever go to desperate lengths of self-pleasure. It's a mortal sin, after all! Why, I take showers in my clothing so as not to tempt myself! (People the world over actually do this for this very reason!)
April 1, 2017
Είναι η 5η περιπέτεια του αστυνόμου της Scotland Yard (και ποιητή) Adam Dalgliesh και η δική μου πρώτη γνωριμία μαζί του. Με συνόδευσε ως ομιλόν βιβλίο αρκετές μέρες στις μετακινήσεις μου.
Η συγγραφέας γνωρίζει καλά το νοσοκομειακό περιβάλλον και αποδίδει με ακρίβεια το κλίμα που επικρατεί. Πιο καλά δε γινόταν! Το νοσοκομείο John Carpender περιγράφεται θαυμάσια!
Ο Οίκος Αδελφών του νοσοκομείου στεγάζεται σε ένα οίκημα, μία πρώην κατοικία που φέρει βαρύ το τίμημα του παρελθόντος εξαιτίας κάποιων γεγονότων που είχαν να κάνουν με τους ιδιοκτήτες της. Λες και το Κακό αφυπνίστηκε μετά από χρόνια, ο Οίκος ταράζεται από 2 θανάτους μαθητευόμενων νοσοκόμων και η τοπική αστυνομία ζητά τη βοήθεια του αστυνόμου ο οποίος θεωρείται ικανότατος στη διαλεύκανση των υποθέσεων που αναλαμβάνει όσο και ταχύτατος. Η συγγραφέας είναι φειδωλή στις λεπτομέρειες της ζωής του αστυνόμου αλλά καθόλου φειδωλή στην απόδοση των σκέψεων του.
Σαν σύνολο, το βιβλίο ήταν εξαιρετικό. Κάποιες αδυναμίες του είχαν να κάνουν με τον διακαή πόθο κάθε συγγραφέα αστυνομικού μυστηρίου να κρύψει καλά το δολοφόνο από τις μαντικές ικανότητες του αναγνώστη. Υπήρχαν μερικές άχρηστες σκηνές, μερικοί διάλογοι και συναντήσεις χωρίς νόημα αλλά το αποτέλεσμα ήταν να μην πάει το μυαλό καθόλου στο πραγματικό αίτιο των φόνων και στο δολοφόνο.
Αντίθετα, απόλαυσα τις περιγραφές που ήταν πολύ ζωντανές.
Απόλαυσα επίσης τη διεισδυτική ματιά στους χαρακτήρες και τη λεπτομερή παρουσίαση τους.
Με δεδομένο το αναμφισβήτητα υψηλό επίπεδο των Αγγλίδων νοσοκόμων διέκρινα την πίκρα της συγγραφέως για την υποβαθμισμένη, στην πραγματικότητα, θέση τους στην ιεραρχία. Τα στερεότυπα ζουν και ανθούν ανά τους αιώνες!
Το τέλος θα μπορούσε να ήταν διαφορετικό και ίσως όχι τόσο σκληρό.
Η φωνή του Ηρακλή Στρούγγη μού έχει γίνει πλέον πολύ οικεία με το χρώμα της αλλά θα πρέπει να εξοικειώνεται κάπως με τις ξένες λέξεις. Δε μπορεί μια τόσο ωραία φωνή να διαβάζει τους Nursing Times νούρσινγκ.
Η συγγραφέας γνωρίζει καλά το νοσοκομειακό περιβάλλον και αποδίδει με ακρίβεια το κλίμα που επικρατεί. Πιο καλά δε γινόταν! Το νοσοκομείο John Carpender περιγράφεται θαυμάσια!
Ο Οίκος Αδελφών του νοσοκομείου στεγάζεται σε ένα οίκημα, μία πρώην κατοικία που φέρει βαρύ το τίμημα του παρελθόντος εξαιτίας κάποιων γεγονότων που είχαν να κάνουν με τους ιδιοκτήτες της. Λες και το Κακό αφυπνίστηκε μετά από χρόνια, ο Οίκος ταράζεται από 2 θανάτους μαθητευόμενων νοσοκόμων και η τοπική αστυνομία ζητά τη βοήθεια του αστυνόμου ο οποίος θεωρείται ικανότατος στη διαλεύκανση των υποθέσεων που αναλαμβάνει όσο και ταχύτατος. Η συγγραφέας είναι φειδωλή στις λεπτομέρειες της ζωής του αστυνόμου αλλά καθόλου φειδωλή στην απόδοση των σκέψεων του.
Σαν σύνολο, το βιβλίο ήταν εξαιρετικό. Κάποιες αδυναμίες του είχαν να κάνουν με τον διακαή πόθο κάθε συγγραφέα αστυνομικού μυστηρίου να κρύψει καλά το δολοφόνο από τις μαντικές ικανότητες του αναγνώστη. Υπήρχαν μερικές άχρηστες σκηνές, μερικοί διάλογοι και συναντήσεις χωρίς νόημα αλλά το αποτέλεσμα ήταν να μην πάει το μυαλό καθόλου στο πραγματικό αίτιο των φόνων και στο δολοφόνο.
Αντίθετα, απόλαυσα τις περιγραφές που ήταν πολύ ζωντανές.
Απόλαυσα επίσης τη διεισδυτική ματιά στους χαρακτήρες και τη λεπτομερή παρουσίαση τους.
Με δεδομένο το αναμφισβήτητα υψηλό επίπεδο των Αγγλίδων νοσοκόμων διέκρινα την πίκρα της συγγραφέως για την υποβαθμισμένη, στην πραγματικότητα, θέση τους στην ιεραρχία. Τα στερεότυπα ζουν και ανθούν ανά τους αιώνες!
Το τέλος θα μπορούσε να ήταν διαφορετικό και ίσως όχι τόσο σκληρό.
Η φωνή του Ηρακλή Στρούγγη μού έχει γίνει πλέον πολύ οικεία με το χρώμα της αλλά θα πρέπει να εξοικειώνεται κάπως με τις ξένες λέξεις. Δε μπορεί μια τόσο ωραία φωνή να διαβάζει τους Nursing Times νούρσινγκ.
May 21, 2022
Another hugely complex Adam Dalgliesh mystery...
Set in late 1960's England, a young student nurse at a teaching institution dies during a rather graphic demonstration of how to insert and use a gastric feeding tube. (Yep, the girls take turns doing this, yikes!) A bit later a second girl is found dead in bed. There's so many things going on here! Doctors and nurses, teaching staff and students, interactions between so many involving possible blackmail, romance, bitter feuds, the list goes ever on...
(And I kept a list on this one! Glad I did! So many characters, so many names! And who did what to whom and when and why! Timing is critical as who was in the room with whom at such and such a time! Leave it to PD James to leave my head in a whirl. I kept one small card of info, but it got crammed!)
Of course, Scotland Yard is called in - almost begrudgingly. (I'll never get the English attitude toward the police. Yeah, we Americans can be pretty darn arrogant, too, but the English all but tell any officer, investigator, even Scotland Yard inspector just HOW to do their investigation, when and where THEY will be available for questioning, and oh, btw, use the door around the back. Yes, they do!)
I exaggerate a bit, but their condescension and awareness-of-status/position/class is glaringly clear in so many books I read by English writers, even those set in the present day.
At any rate, Dalgliesh has a mess to unmash - ever try to unmash mashed potatoes? That's what it's like for this man. Sorting through timelines, and a storm, and using creepy paths which connect the buildings which are part of the institute is sort of mind-numbing. I didn't want to give up on this book - I love me some PD James - but I was often frustrated and set it aside for an 'easier book.'
However, the read was worth it Four stars. (One off for confusing-ness which I hope has nothing to do with my age!)
Set in late 1960's England, a young student nurse at a teaching institution dies during a rather graphic demonstration of how to insert and use a gastric feeding tube. (Yep, the girls take turns doing this, yikes!) A bit later a second girl is found dead in bed. There's so many things going on here! Doctors and nurses, teaching staff and students, interactions between so many involving possible blackmail, romance, bitter feuds, the list goes ever on...
(And I kept a list on this one! Glad I did! So many characters, so many names! And who did what to whom and when and why! Timing is critical as who was in the room with whom at such and such a time! Leave it to PD James to leave my head in a whirl. I kept one small card of info, but it got crammed!)
Of course, Scotland Yard is called in - almost begrudgingly. (I'll never get the English attitude toward the police. Yeah, we Americans can be pretty darn arrogant, too, but the English all but tell any officer, investigator, even Scotland Yard inspector just HOW to do their investigation, when and where THEY will be available for questioning, and oh, btw, use the door around the back. Yes, they do!)
I exaggerate a bit, but their condescension and awareness-of-status/position/class is glaringly clear in so many books I read by English writers, even those set in the present day.
At any rate, Dalgliesh has a mess to unmash - ever try to unmash mashed potatoes? That's what it's like for this man. Sorting through timelines, and a storm, and using creepy paths which connect the buildings which are part of the institute is sort of mind-numbing. I didn't want to give up on this book - I love me some PD James - but I was often frustrated and set it aside for an 'easier book.'
However, the read was worth it Four stars. (One off for confusing-ness which I hope has nothing to do with my age!)
May 23, 2024
Ezek az Agatha Christie-ízű rejtvénykrimik mindig olyan szalmakazal-szerűek. Mert hát ugye ha az író el akar rejteni egy tűt, akkor alkalmasint előbb össze kell hordani hozzá a kazlat: egy csomó párbeszédet a potenciális elkövetőkkel, amiben aztán el lehet dugni a gyilkos személyére vonatkozó információkat. Gyakran olybá tűnik tehát, hogy ezek a regények rettentő bő lére vannak eresztve, ami átcsaphat unalomba, ha nem enyhíti ezen passzusok érdektelenségét a szerző valamivel. Mondjuk egy erős atmoszférával vagy egy izgalmas detektívvel.
Az atmoszféra oké. P.D. James jól rajzolja bele a szövegbe a kórházi nővérszállások zárt, fojtó légkörét, ami olyan pálmaházra emlékeztet, aminek a pletyka a tápoldata. Aztán itt van a nyomozó, Adam Dalgliesh személyesen. Akinek az a skillje, hogy költő, no nem abból a fajtából, aki csak a saját máj- és prosztataproblémáiról tud verselni, hanem egy elegáns, higgadt, finom úriember. (Jó, hát higgadt és finom úriemberek is tudnak máj- és prosztataproblémákat rímeletni, bocs.) És miben segít a költői véna a gyilkosok kézre kerítésében? Hát abban, hogy a felügyelő képes ennek segítségével mintegy intuitíve kiszűrni a hablaty végtelen tengeréből azokat a mondatokat, elszólásokat és hazugságokat, amelyeknek jelentősége van. Egyfajta irodalmi hallás ez, ami kiszűri, ha egy mondat nem stimmel – ez éppúgy elengedhetetlen egy költőnél, mint egy nyomozónál.
Kellemes krimi, a tempót tekintve kényelmes, de azért van benne bőven feszültség, valamint a zsáneren túlmutató morális kérdések. Dalgliesh pedig olyan pacák, akinek kíváncsi is lettem a kötetére. Nagy kár, hogy P.D. James nem sző bele a szövegbe tőle egy költeményt sem, úgyhogy muszáj vagyok én magam írni helyette egyet.
ADAM DALGLIESH: GYILKOSSÁG A KÓRHÁZBAN
Megöltek valakit a kórházban.
Mondjuk praktikus így,
közel van a hullaház.
De benne vagyok egy versciklusban,
úgyhogy passzolom az ügyet.
Megint megöltek valakit a kórházban.
Azt hiszem, muszáj lesz odamennem.
Igazán tapintatlan dolog gyilkolászni.
Az atmoszféra oké. P.D. James jól rajzolja bele a szövegbe a kórházi nővérszállások zárt, fojtó légkörét, ami olyan pálmaházra emlékeztet, aminek a pletyka a tápoldata. Aztán itt van a nyomozó, Adam Dalgliesh személyesen. Akinek az a skillje, hogy költő, no nem abból a fajtából, aki csak a saját máj- és prosztataproblémáiról tud verselni, hanem egy elegáns, higgadt, finom úriember. (Jó, hát higgadt és finom úriemberek is tudnak máj- és prosztataproblémákat rímeletni, bocs.) És miben segít a költői véna a gyilkosok kézre kerítésében? Hát abban, hogy a felügyelő képes ennek segítségével mintegy intuitíve kiszűrni a hablaty végtelen tengeréből azokat a mondatokat, elszólásokat és hazugságokat, amelyeknek jelentősége van. Egyfajta irodalmi hallás ez, ami kiszűri, ha egy mondat nem stimmel – ez éppúgy elengedhetetlen egy költőnél, mint egy nyomozónál.
Kellemes krimi, a tempót tekintve kényelmes, de azért van benne bőven feszültség, valamint a zsáneren túlmutató morális kérdések. Dalgliesh pedig olyan pacák, akinek kíváncsi is lettem a kötetére. Nagy kár, hogy P.D. James nem sző bele a szövegbe tőle egy költeményt sem, úgyhogy muszáj vagyok én magam írni helyette egyet.
ADAM DALGLIESH: GYILKOSSÁG A KÓRHÁZBAN
Megöltek valakit a kórházban.
Mondjuk praktikus így,
közel van a hullaház.
De benne vagyok egy versciklusban,
úgyhogy passzolom az ügyet.
Megint megöltek valakit a kórházban.
Azt hiszem, muszáj lesz odamennem.
Igazán tapintatlan dolog gyilkolászni.
June 6, 2016
Granted this book is older than me, so the dated stereotypes and gender roles within it partially lose their sting. I tried to read it that way, in its historical place as a very psychologically outdated book (as I do with Agatha Christie for example and still derive some enjoyment) but it still rankled even so.
The story itself is quite ingenious, it has the right amounts of twists and turns, complexities and red herrings. The stumbling block for me is character and in particular my inability to like Adam Dalgliesh (I think he was a huge help to me in abandoning my failing heterosexuality actually). In a world-view where men are portrayed as dominant, masterful and normally somewhat abusive he is meant to be seen as a sort of "reneissance man", attracted to intelligence and an ideal of beauty that is centred on individuality and independence not traditional "womanliness". So almost as a pro-feminist "sensitive" male, except he is still so preoccupied with power and with always being on top of every single situation, he is so superior to everyone else around him that he just reeks of elitist masculinity (it probably doesn;t help that I have just spent a couple of years reading about and deconstructing masculinities that he calls to mind).
So at best the plot is a sort of maypole dance with Dalgliesh as the maypole, the focus of female passive-receptive desire (how many times does a female character in a PD James novel irrelevantly notice that the aging Dalgliesh is "handsome" or "attractive"? Other males are too arrogant and abusive to compare to him. Females are clinging, toxic and weak but seen through a victim-blaming lens and males get away with their abusive attitudes and are only very indulgently even judged by the narration. All relationships are in this novel invariably either casual and superficial or toxic, intimacy is a form of imprisonment in every single situation as far as I can see.
This was the early 70s, so the beginning of the cult of the individual, the overly cynical and dehumanising psychological turn which pathologised anything we might have liked to think of as a virtue or truly relational so James would not have been alone in this world-view and she writes it compellingly. History has shown us the resultant rise of the independent, personally responsible individual and the eroding of any sort of public feeling or sense of community, we live in a neoliberal age that logically comes out of the bleak cynicism of writers like James.
Anyone is James is portrayed as weak, ineffectual and pathetic unless they manage to be the victorious (and sometimes cruel) individual. Dalgliesh pursues his version of law with a doggedness, as though he is somehow heroic per se and the lives destroyed are collateral damage. I realise any detective story has this problem somewhere close to the heart of it, and I am never completely satisfied by any authors attempt to deal with it, but James paints an impartial, objective law-man that disregards even his own humanity in the pursuit but manages to sneer at anyone who points this out.
Masterton, his side-kick is just a toxic character. By having both detectives male, even a book with as many female characters as this one (being set in a nurses home and teaching hospital) manages to be phallocentric and I think if it passes the Bechdel test it does it only technically. LGBT characters are curiously abundant in the book, but painted as failing more or less at life, doomed by nature to be unhappy as tend to be older women or in fact any woman who is not beautiful and desirable.
Despite all these considerable flaws there is a flow to the story that is good and the writing itself is excellent. I don't want to read too many of these in a row, and I suspect I would always find these flaws in any I read, but I am prepared to read them. The good thing about a cynical view of sex is we don't get a whole lot of romantic saccharine to deal with!
The story itself is quite ingenious, it has the right amounts of twists and turns, complexities and red herrings. The stumbling block for me is character and in particular my inability to like Adam Dalgliesh (I think he was a huge help to me in abandoning my failing heterosexuality actually). In a world-view where men are portrayed as dominant, masterful and normally somewhat abusive he is meant to be seen as a sort of "reneissance man", attracted to intelligence and an ideal of beauty that is centred on individuality and independence not traditional "womanliness". So almost as a pro-feminist "sensitive" male, except he is still so preoccupied with power and with always being on top of every single situation, he is so superior to everyone else around him that he just reeks of elitist masculinity (it probably doesn;t help that I have just spent a couple of years reading about and deconstructing masculinities that he calls to mind).
So at best the plot is a sort of maypole dance with Dalgliesh as the maypole, the focus of female passive-receptive desire (how many times does a female character in a PD James novel irrelevantly notice that the aging Dalgliesh is "handsome" or "attractive"? Other males are too arrogant and abusive to compare to him. Females are clinging, toxic and weak but seen through a victim-blaming lens and males get away with their abusive attitudes and are only very indulgently even judged by the narration. All relationships are in this novel invariably either casual and superficial or toxic, intimacy is a form of imprisonment in every single situation as far as I can see.
This was the early 70s, so the beginning of the cult of the individual, the overly cynical and dehumanising psychological turn which pathologised anything we might have liked to think of as a virtue or truly relational so James would not have been alone in this world-view and she writes it compellingly. History has shown us the resultant rise of the independent, personally responsible individual and the eroding of any sort of public feeling or sense of community, we live in a neoliberal age that logically comes out of the bleak cynicism of writers like James.
Anyone is James is portrayed as weak, ineffectual and pathetic unless they manage to be the victorious (and sometimes cruel) individual. Dalgliesh pursues his version of law with a doggedness, as though he is somehow heroic per se and the lives destroyed are collateral damage. I realise any detective story has this problem somewhere close to the heart of it, and I am never completely satisfied by any authors attempt to deal with it, but James paints an impartial, objective law-man that disregards even his own humanity in the pursuit but manages to sneer at anyone who points this out.
Masterton, his side-kick is just a toxic character. By having both detectives male, even a book with as many female characters as this one (being set in a nurses home and teaching hospital) manages to be phallocentric and I think if it passes the Bechdel test it does it only technically. LGBT characters are curiously abundant in the book, but painted as failing more or less at life, doomed by nature to be unhappy as tend to be older women or in fact any woman who is not beautiful and desirable.
Despite all these considerable flaws there is a flow to the story that is good and the writing itself is excellent. I don't want to read too many of these in a row, and I suspect I would always find these flaws in any I read, but I am prepared to read them. The good thing about a cynical view of sex is we don't get a whole lot of romantic saccharine to deal with!
January 1, 2017
I waver between 3 and four stars. PD James writes masterful mysteries that are intelligent and interesting. But those are the only levels on which they will effect you. I don't find myself relating or particularly liking the protagonist- he's very intelligent and you can respect him, you just don't care that much- you don't get attached to the recurring characters. I honestly don't think you are supposed to really. I think PD James set out to write exactly the type of mystery I described in the second sentence. And sometimes that is exactly the type of book/mystery that I want, a puzzle for your mind, not a story for your heart. That being said, that type of book won't ever get 5 stars from me no matter how skilled the writing because it's not the life altering kind of book, nor the: I read the whole series in 3 days...couldn't stop...cried when....type of book, if you know what I mean. But it is definitely a good satisfying mystery, as are many of hers that I have read.
March 25, 2013
1971, #4 Supt. Adam Dalgleish, Scotland Yard, Nightingale House, just outside London. Nursing students living in a creepy old hospital building find murder and lots of intrigue; erudite, old-fashioned closed-community/manor house style mystery but with interesting modern (~1970) twists and a bit of then-relevant British history; classic cosy police procedural.
Nursing "sisters" are an alien breed to most US folks, but if you've read or watched a lot of British-set mysteries you'll have a bit of understanding how their ranking system for nurses and doctors works; the plot of this intricate mystery is closely woven around this, with the information presented slowly and interestingly. The systems of training in British hospitals of the period is the center for this murder mystery, and James shows not only her familiarity with the Health Service and many of its ramifications (she worked for them for many years and was, I think, still working for them when she wrote this). But don't be put off by this - the plot is a very good (if convoluted) one, the characters remarkably fine, and the overall writing while a mite florid in spots is beautifully done.
James is one of my favorite writers, and I've reread most of her books several times; this time I listened to SHROUD in audio, read by Michael Jayston, courtesy of my library. He's a smooth, excellent reader, and this was very enjoyable. And now to the plot...
An almost-graduated nursing student is killed while playing the patient in a demonstration/instruction lecture before a visiting VIP. It might have been suicide - the girl was extremely religious, temperamental, moody, and prone to extremes of behavior - much of it rather unforgiving, and some of it perhaps illegal. As the local police work their way through the suspect list and information they've gathered, no real conclusion is reached and the case goes cold. But before too long another student is dead under suspicious circumstances, and the "coincidence" is too much for one high-powered doctor connected with the training facility to endure. He calls Scotland Yard himself, and Adam Dalgleish is assigned to the case, along with Sargent Masterson, a young, not exactly raw (but not far removed from it either) policeman with a slight tendency for bullying witnesses. He's got a lot to learn.
This is an intricately woven story of power and the power of forgiveness - or not, as the case may be. Involving medical - and personal - politics in the late 1960s and a bit of recent British history, the main focus is upon five increasingly interesting young women and their teachers, the nursing Sisters. Each Sister is very clearly presented and followed through the story, along with most of the students as well. James has a facility for showing us the workings of people's minds and their interactions with others. Here she uses that approach in a lot of detail but it never becomes quite slow - the information given is always pertinent, always at least "curious..." if not always immediately easy to understand where it falls within the plot.
Written in a completely classic style this may seem a bit slow-moving for modern tastes, but is downright explosive when compared with earlier, similar, stories. I've recently been reading Mignon Eberhart's nursing mysteries from the 1930s, and if you want "slow-moving thriller" (not *exactly* an oxymoron...), then her earliest work is for you! But while Eberhart was entertaining, James is an overall much better writer, and it is fascinating to see here how little of the attitudes towards nurses and their craft had changed in the intervening forty years. And while outside of the small-hospital environment (the nurses live-in, and don't spend much time in The Real World) things are changing rapidly in the social sense, here the ethos is of an older Britain even in 1970 - the values are traditional, the plotting traditional, the writing style traditional. But not stuffy, not at all boring.
There are chase scenes, murders-in-progress, a couple of nasty assaults, one or two very funny set-pieces (particularly Sargent Masterson's involvement with a ballroom dancing contestant...) and a lot of suspense and gloomy forboding along with really superb characterizations. And the ending exposition while a bit slow in spots is fascinating, and absolutely beautifully done, weaving in every little thread and bit of earlier-presented information we'd been given, while still making us/allowing us to "feel for" the people involved. Really fine writing.
If all you've read of James' writing is her post-1990 books, then give yourself a nice treat and read some of her earlier works - she was first published in 1962. Her earliest novels are smoothly written, very well-plotted, and within a couple of books her characterizations move from "decent" to "very good", and become brilliant by her middle period (~1980s). This 1970 story is an excellent mystery in and of itself, and although IMO it's not her very best, it's still head and shoulders above that of most mystery writers from the period, and comparable to some of the best then (last 1960s, early 1970s) writing in that classic style in the UK (i.e., Catherine Aird, Ruth Rendell, Ellis Peters, Sara Woods, Charlotte Armstrong, Christianna Brand...) and the US (Margaret Millar, Amanda Cross, Elizabeth Peters, Sarah Caudwell, Emma Lathen...).
James obviously read and admired Christie, as did most women readers (and writers!) of her generation. Early on in her career you can easily see how Christie and Sayers et. al. have influenced her. But James then goes on to actually improve upon their writing style, at least IMO, becoming one of the best current practitioners of the "traditional style" mystery now living and still writing. As she's extremely elderly now, I suspect she won't be publishing much more in the future, alas. So savor her earlier works if and when you can - while quite old-fashioned they're still a treat!
SHROUD FOR A NIGHTINGALE may not be her very best novel, but it's an extremely good one, and I highly recommended it to your attention.
Nursing "sisters" are an alien breed to most US folks, but if you've read or watched a lot of British-set mysteries you'll have a bit of understanding how their ranking system for nurses and doctors works; the plot of this intricate mystery is closely woven around this, with the information presented slowly and interestingly. The systems of training in British hospitals of the period is the center for this murder mystery, and James shows not only her familiarity with the Health Service and many of its ramifications (she worked for them for many years and was, I think, still working for them when she wrote this). But don't be put off by this - the plot is a very good (if convoluted) one, the characters remarkably fine, and the overall writing while a mite florid in spots is beautifully done.
James is one of my favorite writers, and I've reread most of her books several times; this time I listened to SHROUD in audio, read by Michael Jayston, courtesy of my library. He's a smooth, excellent reader, and this was very enjoyable. And now to the plot...
An almost-graduated nursing student is killed while playing the patient in a demonstration/instruction lecture before a visiting VIP. It might have been suicide - the girl was extremely religious, temperamental, moody, and prone to extremes of behavior - much of it rather unforgiving, and some of it perhaps illegal. As the local police work their way through the suspect list and information they've gathered, no real conclusion is reached and the case goes cold. But before too long another student is dead under suspicious circumstances, and the "coincidence" is too much for one high-powered doctor connected with the training facility to endure. He calls Scotland Yard himself, and Adam Dalgleish is assigned to the case, along with Sargent Masterson, a young, not exactly raw (but not far removed from it either) policeman with a slight tendency for bullying witnesses. He's got a lot to learn.
This is an intricately woven story of power and the power of forgiveness - or not, as the case may be. Involving medical - and personal - politics in the late 1960s and a bit of recent British history, the main focus is upon five increasingly interesting young women and their teachers, the nursing Sisters. Each Sister is very clearly presented and followed through the story, along with most of the students as well. James has a facility for showing us the workings of people's minds and their interactions with others. Here she uses that approach in a lot of detail but it never becomes quite slow - the information given is always pertinent, always at least "curious..." if not always immediately easy to understand where it falls within the plot.
Written in a completely classic style this may seem a bit slow-moving for modern tastes, but is downright explosive when compared with earlier, similar, stories. I've recently been reading Mignon Eberhart's nursing mysteries from the 1930s, and if you want "slow-moving thriller" (not *exactly* an oxymoron...), then her earliest work is for you! But while Eberhart was entertaining, James is an overall much better writer, and it is fascinating to see here how little of the attitudes towards nurses and their craft had changed in the intervening forty years. And while outside of the small-hospital environment (the nurses live-in, and don't spend much time in The Real World) things are changing rapidly in the social sense, here the ethos is of an older Britain even in 1970 - the values are traditional, the plotting traditional, the writing style traditional. But not stuffy, not at all boring.
There are chase scenes, murders-in-progress, a couple of nasty assaults, one or two very funny set-pieces (particularly Sargent Masterson's involvement with a ballroom dancing contestant...) and a lot of suspense and gloomy forboding along with really superb characterizations. And the ending exposition while a bit slow in spots is fascinating, and absolutely beautifully done, weaving in every little thread and bit of earlier-presented information we'd been given, while still making us/allowing us to "feel for" the people involved. Really fine writing.
If all you've read of James' writing is her post-1990 books, then give yourself a nice treat and read some of her earlier works - she was first published in 1962. Her earliest novels are smoothly written, very well-plotted, and within a couple of books her characterizations move from "decent" to "very good", and become brilliant by her middle period (~1980s). This 1970 story is an excellent mystery in and of itself, and although IMO it's not her very best, it's still head and shoulders above that of most mystery writers from the period, and comparable to some of the best then (last 1960s, early 1970s) writing in that classic style in the UK (i.e., Catherine Aird, Ruth Rendell, Ellis Peters, Sara Woods, Charlotte Armstrong, Christianna Brand...) and the US (Margaret Millar, Amanda Cross, Elizabeth Peters, Sarah Caudwell, Emma Lathen...).
James obviously read and admired Christie, as did most women readers (and writers!) of her generation. Early on in her career you can easily see how Christie and Sayers et. al. have influenced her. But James then goes on to actually improve upon their writing style, at least IMO, becoming one of the best current practitioners of the "traditional style" mystery now living and still writing. As she's extremely elderly now, I suspect she won't be publishing much more in the future, alas. So savor her earlier works if and when you can - while quite old-fashioned they're still a treat!
SHROUD FOR A NIGHTINGALE may not be her very best novel, but it's an extremely good one, and I highly recommended it to your attention.
November 17, 2021
I’m rereading this for possibly the third time. This woman was such an artist with the ability to create what is technically a cozy British mystery but is in fact an extremely chilling story. I promise you’ll love it.
Perhaps later editions could include a cast of characters. By the middle of the book I was able to catch up and understand who was who but almost everyone was a nurse or a nurse in training, making it a bit of a challenge.
Acorn tv is reproducing these books and they are doing a wonderful job. I liked the old Dagliesh actor Marsdon but I like this one as well.
Perhaps later editions could include a cast of characters. By the middle of the book I was able to catch up and understand who was who but almost everyone was a nurse or a nurse in training, making it a bit of a challenge.
Acorn tv is reproducing these books and they are doing a wonderful job. I liked the old Dagliesh actor Marsdon but I like this one as well.
April 27, 2022
Audiobook performed by Penelope Dellaporta
3***
Book 4 in the Adam Dalgliesh mystery series has the detective investigating two deaths at a school of nursing, Nightingale House.
I really like how Dalgliesh is so methodical and contemplative. He never rushes to a conclusion, and carefully constructs and explores the possibilities before proclaiming a case is solved. This one took several turns I didn’t expect. I was sure I had the right person, and then I knew I was wrong. Okay, so it must be THAT one. Wrong again. I never guessed the actual culprit.
Penelope Dellaporta does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. There are a lot of characters, most of them women, and she is up to the task of differentiating them so that the listener always knows who is speaking.
3***
Book 4 in the Adam Dalgliesh mystery series has the detective investigating two deaths at a school of nursing, Nightingale House.
I really like how Dalgliesh is so methodical and contemplative. He never rushes to a conclusion, and carefully constructs and explores the possibilities before proclaiming a case is solved. This one took several turns I didn’t expect. I was sure I had the right person, and then I knew I was wrong. Okay, so it must be THAT one. Wrong again. I never guessed the actual culprit.
Penelope Dellaporta does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. There are a lot of characters, most of them women, and she is up to the task of differentiating them so that the listener always knows who is speaking.
March 23, 2024
לסקירה מפורטת בעברית, קישור לבלוג שלי -
https://sivi-the-avid-reader.com/shro...
https://sivi-the-avid-reader.com/shro...
July 22, 2022
Nurses in the Night
Review of the Sphere Books paperback (1973/1986 reprint) of the Faber & Faber hardcover original (1971)
It seems contradictory, but this is still a 5 star book even if it has to come with an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert ™. P.D. James is definitely hitting her stride here with her trademark style of novels set in "an enclosed world, seething with malice, intrigue, hatred and murder.*"
Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh** is sent to uncover the circumstances behind a death by poisoning of a student nurse at the Nightingale (no relation to Florence) House student nursing facility. A previous poisoning death at the facility had been unsolved by local police. The second fatality brings in the forces of Scotland Yard CID. The suspects range from an egotistical operating surgeon, the nursing matron, the supervising Sister Nurses, several students and the maintenance staff.
Front cover of the original Faber & Faber hardcover edition (1971). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
There are fantastical possibilities of suicide which are discussed, but the evidence finally leads to a diagnosis of murder, but for what motives? Dalgliesh and his somewhat rebellious assistant Masterson have to cover a lot of ground before the diabolical reasons can be unearthed. Along the way there is yet another murder combined with a concealing fire and Dalgliesh himself becomes a potential victim.
Details about the unsatisfactory ending would be a spoiler, but let us say in general that it does not feel satisfactory when justice is not fully served directly, but must come by later indirect means. None of that can downgrade a high rating for the buildup atmosphere of paranoia, the persistence of the investigators, the detailed character building of a very large cast, and the final twist unveiling of the solution.
Actor Bertie Carvel as Adam Dalgliesh in the Acorn TV series "Dalgliesh" (2021-). Image sourced from IMDb.
Trivia and Links
* A quoted excerpt from the Sphere Books back cover synopsis of The Black Tower (Adam Dalgliesh #5, 1975).
** In Book 1 Cover Her Face, Adam Dalgliesh was a Detective Chief Inspector. In Books 2 to 4 he is a Detective Superintendent and then in Books 5 to 14 he is a Detective Commander.
Shroud for a Nightingale was adapted for television in 1984 as part of the long running Dalgliesh TV-series for Anglia Television/ITV (1983-1998) starring actor Roy Marsden as Commander*** Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard. You can watch the 5 episodes of the 1984 adaptation starting with Episode 1 on YouTube here. The adaptation is reasonably faithful to the novel and includes the original "Unsatisfactory Ending".
*** Dalgliesh is a Superintendent in the novel, but in the TV adaptation he was already a Commander.
The new Acorn TV-series reboot Dalgliesh (2021-?) starring Bertie Carver as Adam Dalgliesh filmed an adaptation of Shroud for a Nightingale as Episodes 1 & 2 of Season 1. The adaptation is reasonably faithful to the novel, except that it "fixes" the ending. It has not yet been announced which books are being adapted for Season 2 (as of late July 2022). Season 1 adapted Books 4, 5 & 7.
Review of the Sphere Books paperback (1973/1986 reprint) of the Faber & Faber hardcover original (1971)
It seems contradictory, but this is still a 5 star book even if it has to come with an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert ™. P.D. James is definitely hitting her stride here with her trademark style of novels set in "an enclosed world, seething with malice, intrigue, hatred and murder.*"
Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh** is sent to uncover the circumstances behind a death by poisoning of a student nurse at the Nightingale (no relation to Florence) House student nursing facility. A previous poisoning death at the facility had been unsolved by local police. The second fatality brings in the forces of Scotland Yard CID. The suspects range from an egotistical operating surgeon, the nursing matron, the supervising Sister Nurses, several students and the maintenance staff.
Front cover of the original Faber & Faber hardcover edition (1971). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
There are fantastical possibilities of suicide which are discussed, but the evidence finally leads to a diagnosis of murder, but for what motives? Dalgliesh and his somewhat rebellious assistant Masterson have to cover a lot of ground before the diabolical reasons can be unearthed. Along the way there is yet another murder combined with a concealing fire and Dalgliesh himself becomes a potential victim.
Details about the unsatisfactory ending would be a spoiler, but let us say in general that it does not feel satisfactory when justice is not fully served directly, but must come by later indirect means. None of that can downgrade a high rating for the buildup atmosphere of paranoia, the persistence of the investigators, the detailed character building of a very large cast, and the final twist unveiling of the solution.
Actor Bertie Carvel as Adam Dalgliesh in the Acorn TV series "Dalgliesh" (2021-). Image sourced from IMDb.Trivia and Links
* A quoted excerpt from the Sphere Books back cover synopsis of The Black Tower (Adam Dalgliesh #5, 1975).
** In Book 1 Cover Her Face, Adam Dalgliesh was a Detective Chief Inspector. In Books 2 to 4 he is a Detective Superintendent and then in Books 5 to 14 he is a Detective Commander.
Shroud for a Nightingale was adapted for television in 1984 as part of the long running Dalgliesh TV-series for Anglia Television/ITV (1983-1998) starring actor Roy Marsden as Commander*** Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard. You can watch the 5 episodes of the 1984 adaptation starting with Episode 1 on YouTube here. The adaptation is reasonably faithful to the novel and includes the original "Unsatisfactory Ending".
*** Dalgliesh is a Superintendent in the novel, but in the TV adaptation he was already a Commander.
The new Acorn TV-series reboot Dalgliesh (2021-?) starring Bertie Carver as Adam Dalgliesh filmed an adaptation of Shroud for a Nightingale as Episodes 1 & 2 of Season 1. The adaptation is reasonably faithful to the novel, except that it "fixes" the ending. It has not yet been announced which books are being adapted for Season 2 (as of late July 2022). Season 1 adapted Books 4, 5 & 7.
November 12, 2014
I was reading this, and it was all about par for the course for PD James - you know, unpleasant people, beautiful writing, OTT foreshadowings of horror to come, rather odd emphasis on period architecture - when suddenly it was all UNEXPECTED DANCE COMPETITION SURPRISE NAZIS. I would never have thought that any author could make the revelation of surprise Nazis during a tense and angry tango incredibly depressing, but PD James managed it. Well done.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2018
Hooked me in. Was an engaging mystery but it was nowhere as cozy as a Christie. Sometimes was a bit disturbing even...
May 24, 2020
The best book of the series so far.
December 8, 2013
I am rereading P. D. James' Dalgliesh series and am a bit disappointed with it. Apparently, nostalgia had made the series appear much better than I remembered. Oh well. In the midst of reading my second Colin Dexter novel, I realized that I found it boring, so when I received Shroud of the Nightingale in the mail, I eagerly read it, only to discover that while I thought I had read all of the Dalgliesh series, I had actually missed this one. I give this book 3 stars because of the first half of the novel. James is a master at setting the initial scene. She does a terrific job of establishing characters and does something so much more interesting then just providing motives. I think she must be one of the first mystery novelists to really explore other characters, their psychology and behaviors, without judgment--a true, limited omniscient viewpoint. But in each of her books (and this is the 4th in the series) something unravels, and she stops the tension at the point that tension should be increasing. Add to that that I really am finding Dalgliesh to be incredibly unattractive as the protagonist, and the characters are hard to sympathize with (except for Morag--masterful) that this book too did not live up to the initial first half. In addition, and I'll be curious what I find in the rest of the series, this book is so strange for its extreme sexuality. James actually is coarse at times, which she wasn't in previous books. It creates a jarring tone. Had this been my first James' novel I might not have picked up further ones. How odd and yet interesting. I actually do look forward to the next one, but it is sad that at least for me, James is not living up to my memories of her.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 845 reviews