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Adam Dalgliesh #14
The Private Patient
National Bestseller
Cheverell Manor is a beautiful old house in Dorset, which its owner, the famous plastic surgeon George Chandler-Powell, uses as a private clinic. When the investigative journalist, Rhoda Gradwyn, arrives to have a disfiguring facial scar removed, she has every expectation of a successful operation and a peaceful week recuperating. But the clinic houses an implacable enemy and within hours of the operation Rhoda is murdered. Commander Dalgliesh and his team are called in to investigate a case complicated by old crimes and the dark secrets of the past. But Before Rhoda's murder is solved, a second horrific death adds to the complexities of one of Dalgliesh's most perplexing and fascinating cases.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
370 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 11, 2008
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About the author
P.D. James
319 books3,241 followersP. D. James, byname of Phyllis Dorothy James White, Baroness James of Holland Park, (born August 3, 1920, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England—died November 27, 2014, Oxford), British mystery novelist best known for her fictional detective Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard.
The daughter of a middle-grade civil servant, James grew up in the university town of Cambridge. Her formal education, however, ended at age 16 because of lack of funds, and she was thereafter self-educated. In 1941 she married Ernest C.B. White, a medical student and future physician, who returned home from wartime service mentally deranged and spent much of the rest of his life in psychiatric hospitals. To support her family (which included two children), she took work in hospital administration and, after her husband’s death in 1964, became a civil servant in the criminal section of the Department of Home Affairs. Her first mystery novel, Cover Her Face (1962), introduced Dalgliesh and was followed by six more mysteries before she retired from government service in 1979 to devote full time to writing.
Dalgliesh, James’s master detective who rises from chief inspector in the first novel to chief superintendent and then to commander, is a serious, introspective person, moralistic yet realistic. The novels in which he appears are peopled by fully rounded characters, who are civilized, genteel, and motivated. The public resonance created by James’s singular characterization and deployment of classic mystery devices led to most of the novels featuring Dalgliesh being filmed for television. James, who earned the sobriquet “Queen of Crime,” penned 14 Dalgliesh novels, with the last, The Private Patient, appearing in 2008.
James also wrote An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972) and The Skull Beneath the Skin (1982), which centre on Cordelia Gray, a young private detective. The first of these novels was the basis for both a television movie and a short-lived series. James expanded beyond the mystery genre in The Children of Men (1992; film 2006), which explores a dystopian world in which the human race has become infertile. Her final work, Death Comes to Pemberley (2011)—a sequel to Pride and Prejudice (1813)—amplifies the class and relationship tensions between Jane Austen’s characters by situating them in the midst of a murder investigation. James’s nonfiction works include The Maul and the Pear Tree (1971), a telling of the Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811 written with historian T.A. Critchley, and the insightful Talking About Detective Fiction (2009). Her memoir, Time to Be in Earnest, was published in 2000. She was made OBE in 1983 and was named a life peer in 1991.
The daughter of a middle-grade civil servant, James grew up in the university town of Cambridge. Her formal education, however, ended at age 16 because of lack of funds, and she was thereafter self-educated. In 1941 she married Ernest C.B. White, a medical student and future physician, who returned home from wartime service mentally deranged and spent much of the rest of his life in psychiatric hospitals. To support her family (which included two children), she took work in hospital administration and, after her husband’s death in 1964, became a civil servant in the criminal section of the Department of Home Affairs. Her first mystery novel, Cover Her Face (1962), introduced Dalgliesh and was followed by six more mysteries before she retired from government service in 1979 to devote full time to writing.
Dalgliesh, James’s master detective who rises from chief inspector in the first novel to chief superintendent and then to commander, is a serious, introspective person, moralistic yet realistic. The novels in which he appears are peopled by fully rounded characters, who are civilized, genteel, and motivated. The public resonance created by James’s singular characterization and deployment of classic mystery devices led to most of the novels featuring Dalgliesh being filmed for television. James, who earned the sobriquet “Queen of Crime,” penned 14 Dalgliesh novels, with the last, The Private Patient, appearing in 2008.
James also wrote An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972) and The Skull Beneath the Skin (1982), which centre on Cordelia Gray, a young private detective. The first of these novels was the basis for both a television movie and a short-lived series. James expanded beyond the mystery genre in The Children of Men (1992; film 2006), which explores a dystopian world in which the human race has become infertile. Her final work, Death Comes to Pemberley (2011)—a sequel to Pride and Prejudice (1813)—amplifies the class and relationship tensions between Jane Austen’s characters by situating them in the midst of a murder investigation. James’s nonfiction works include The Maul and the Pear Tree (1971), a telling of the Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811 written with historian T.A. Critchley, and the insightful Talking About Detective Fiction (2009). Her memoir, Time to Be in Earnest, was published in 2000. She was made OBE in 1983 and was named a life peer in 1991.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,725 reviews
July 21, 2016
I read many Adam Dalgleish novels back in the days when I did not keep a record of my reading. So it seemed right to go to the last one in the series and see what happened to the man over all those years.
And it was nice to see him tying the knot at last as well as solving one last case for us in his inimitable way.
P.D. James is an acquired taste because she does go into an enormous amount of detail. She really wants her reader to see her settings the way she saw them herself and occasionally does go a little far! However her books are so well written I can forgive her easily.
This is not an exciting, gripping thriller. Rather it is a beautifully written police procedural, comfortably paced and very, very British. It was a pleasure to read.
And it was nice to see him tying the knot at last as well as solving one last case for us in his inimitable way.
P.D. James is an acquired taste because she does go into an enormous amount of detail. She really wants her reader to see her settings the way she saw them herself and occasionally does go a little far! However her books are so well written I can forgive her easily.
This is not an exciting, gripping thriller. Rather it is a beautifully written police procedural, comfortably paced and very, very British. It was a pleasure to read.
December 13, 2008
I found this to be so leisurely -- pages-long descriptions of car trips through the countryside, detailed listings of the stuff in every room -- that I had to force myself to finish. But I'm giving it 3 stars because for God's sake, this woman is 88 YEARS OLD. I can barely find my car keys and she's still cranking out byzantine mystery plots.
November 19, 2021
In this 14th book in the 'Adam Dalgliesh' series, the Scotland Yard detective investigates murder at a medical clinic. The book can be read as a standalone.
*****
Investigative journalist Rhoda Gradwyn - who's exposed her fair share of secrets - schedules plastic surgery to remove a disfiguring facial scar.
Her surgeon, George Chandler-Powell runs a private clinic in his ritzy country estate at Cheverell Manor.
There he employs a motley assortment of characters including an assistant surgeon, a manager/housekeeper, a married pair of young chefs, an accountant, a girl from the village, a sexy nurse, an irascible gardener, and so on.
The scarred journalist has her share of detractors at the clinic, who fear she'll find some secrets to expose - but the surgeon is unmoved by these concerns.
When Rhoda shows up a Cheverell Manor for her preliminary visit and then for her surgery, she's followed by her friend Robin Boyton - an attractive young man who can't find a way to make a living. It so happens that Robin's cousins (the assistant surgeon and his sister) work at Cheverell Manor. Robin rents a cabin on the estate and plans to exhort his cousins to give him some of the fortune they've recently inherited from a mutual grandfather who cut off Robin's side of the family.
Rhoda has successful surgery after which she's brutally murdered in her room at the clinic.
Enter Adam Dalgliesh and his team of detectives to investigate the crime.
This sets up the remainder of the story which involves a long, old-fashioned inquiry. Seriously....a modern mystery wouldn't start an investigation by assembling all the suspects in the library for a mass questioning. The Cheverell Manor residents would love to pin the crime on a 'stranger' but a second death on the estate makes this very unlikely.
Some additional goings on add variety to the story:
Dalgliesh gets engaged;
A tangential female character gets assaulted and raped;
A teacher fears he may be (wrongly) accused of being inappropriate with a child; and so on.
For most of the book the detectives collect evidence, question persons of interest, make discoveries, narrow down the list of suspects, and so on. In the end, the perpetrator essentially exposes themself - and even then we're not quite sure the case has been successfully closed. In my opinion, the book should end right after this climax. However it meanders on for several more chapters to bestow 'happy endings' on various characters.
This isn't one of PD James best books. Fans of the author might enjoy the book for old times sake but it's not a great mystery.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
October 20, 2025
3.5 stars
Original English title: The Private Patient
short review for busy readers:
This is, and is not, a typical James. It's also not the place to start with the series and will certainly disappoint newbies.
in detail:
The setting of a country manor with a plastic surgery clinic attached is not the claustrophobic or desolate setting we're used to seeing. There are too many people coming and going and too many old, interlacing relationships with the local village to generate that feeling.
It's also much less a mystery than a novel that just happens to be about murder and a police investigation. The focus is on the backgrounds of the characters and those old relationships, not on the whodunnit, which is pretty easy to guess. James pulls absolutely no punches and lays no red herrings on that count.
But it is -- by far -- the most beautifully written and poetic of all of her books. The long, loving descriptions of houses, nature and people and the short descriptions of rainy London nights are a joy to read...if you can slow down to the pace of the story and not want to race through to find out the killer was exactly who you thought it was.
Baroness James wrote this novel when she was in her upper 80s. It's one of her best *novels* but a weak mystery.
We can forgive that, if simply for the singing prose and the ability to walk around in her vividly imagined world with old Commander Dalgliesh.
Original English title: The Private Patient
short review for busy readers:
This is, and is not, a typical James. It's also not the place to start with the series and will certainly disappoint newbies.
in detail:
The setting of a country manor with a plastic surgery clinic attached is not the claustrophobic or desolate setting we're used to seeing. There are too many people coming and going and too many old, interlacing relationships with the local village to generate that feeling.
It's also much less a mystery than a novel that just happens to be about murder and a police investigation. The focus is on the backgrounds of the characters and those old relationships, not on the whodunnit, which is pretty easy to guess. James pulls absolutely no punches and lays no red herrings on that count.
But it is -- by far -- the most beautifully written and poetic of all of her books. The long, loving descriptions of houses, nature and people and the short descriptions of rainy London nights are a joy to read...if you can slow down to the pace of the story and not want to race through to find out the killer was exactly who you thought it was.
Baroness James wrote this novel when she was in her upper 80s. It's one of her best *novels* but a weak mystery.
We can forgive that, if simply for the singing prose and the ability to walk around in her vividly imagined world with old Commander Dalgliesh.
June 9, 2025
I read this book at least 15 years ago, enjoyed it, and couldn't remember exactly "who dunnit". And as you know, you can't go wrong with P.D. James and her Adam Dalgliesh series. As someone mentioned in one of my book clubs, these are not quick reads and have some "meat on the bone". But they are easy reads and the story flows smoothly toward a sometimes susprising denouement.
In this late entry of the series, we find a successful investigative reporter checking into an expensive private plastic surgery clinic to have a disfiguring facial scar removed. All goes well as far as the surgery is concerned but she ends up dead in her bed the next day evidently murdered. Dalgliesh and his team are called up from London to investigate and it soon becomes apparent that it is an "inside job". Now everyone is a suspect from the arrogant surgeon to the gardener and tension among the staff reveals underlying secrets.
The characters are very well realized, which is a James trademark, and the reader gets drawn into the mystery which has few clues. It will test the reader's ability to see the subtle information that the author provides which leads to the identity of the murderer. Recommended.
In this late entry of the series, we find a successful investigative reporter checking into an expensive private plastic surgery clinic to have a disfiguring facial scar removed. All goes well as far as the surgery is concerned but she ends up dead in her bed the next day evidently murdered. Dalgliesh and his team are called up from London to investigate and it soon becomes apparent that it is an "inside job". Now everyone is a suspect from the arrogant surgeon to the gardener and tension among the staff reveals underlying secrets.
The characters are very well realized, which is a James trademark, and the reader gets drawn into the mystery which has few clues. It will test the reader's ability to see the subtle information that the author provides which leads to the identity of the murderer. Recommended.
November 25, 2014
So I have a lot against this book.
First, I've seen reviews that compare this book/author to Agatha Christie and NO, JUST NO. I've read almost every Agatha Christie, some of them several times, and I barely could make myself read two of P.D. James' books (I read the second one because I convinced myself it HAD to get better. Not true).
The character development in this is spectacularly lacking, and the conversations feel forced. The only people I liked were Benton and Kate. The only two characters who had a semblance of proper characterization (Dalgliesh hardly has this, and he's the main character).
Things we never find out:
One: Why Rhoda "had no further use" of her scar? Seriously, why? That's one of the reasons I even continued reading the book, to find out what strange reason she had for wanting to get rid of it. I guess there was something about wanting to set up an confrontation with Candace about the will but that's only speculation.
Two: Was there actually anything up with the will? We are never definitively told what's going on with that. I mean really.
Also: the killer.
This book infuriates me. Rhoda's death just seemed like a way to propel the "plot" forward. "Plot"=not really a plot...
ALSO the random, like, three scenes with Emma and her friends? What was that about? It had absolutely nothing to do with the mystery. Nothing at all.
I just don't understand how anyone who's read Agatha Christie can compare that to THIS.
Note: I may have missed some super obvious explanation that explained everything since I kinda skimmed the book after the killer was revealed.
First, I've seen reviews that compare this book/author to Agatha Christie and NO, JUST NO. I've read almost every Agatha Christie, some of them several times, and I barely could make myself read two of P.D. James' books (I read the second one because I convinced myself it HAD to get better. Not true).
The character development in this is spectacularly lacking, and the conversations feel forced. The only people I liked were Benton and Kate. The only two characters who had a semblance of proper characterization (Dalgliesh hardly has this, and he's the main character).
Things we never find out:
One: Why Rhoda "had no further use" of her scar? Seriously, why? That's one of the reasons I even continued reading the book, to find out what strange reason she had for wanting to get rid of it. I guess there was something about wanting to set up an confrontation with Candace about the will but that's only speculation.
Two: Was there actually anything up with the will? We are never definitively told what's going on with that. I mean really.
Also: the killer.
This book infuriates me. Rhoda's death just seemed like a way to propel the "plot" forward. "Plot"=not really a plot...
ALSO the random, like, three scenes with Emma and her friends? What was that about? It had absolutely nothing to do with the mystery. Nothing at all.
I just don't understand how anyone who's read Agatha Christie can compare that to THIS.
Note: I may have missed some super obvious explanation that explained everything since I kinda skimmed the book after the killer was revealed.
September 10, 2025
With The Private Patient, I come to the end of the Adam Dalgliesh series. I've been reading the series for the past nine months, and there is no regret at parting. The journey with this series wasn't easy. As I've already said in a previous review, it had been like going on a rollercoaster ride. But, since many were of the view that the series gets better with the later installments, I was determined to see to an end. I'm happy to have just done that, but no emotion other than that was felt at this parting.
The murder-mystery here is the weakest and the most predictable one in the series. There is no concealment, nor ambiguity there. James works us right towards the criminal. But the motive is another matter, and it was never revealed and was kept ambiguous. This vagueness and ambiguity is not her style, but somehow, she's been content with it. So I guess, we'll have to be, too. If I rated the book by the murder-mystery alone, it would have earned fewer stars. But, the book was more than a murder-mystery. Being the final novel of the series, James has worked at tieing the ends neatly for Adam Dalgliesh and Kate Miskin - the long-standing detective duo of the series. Much of their private relations were also touched parallel to the murder-mystery. Perhaps, that mixture is not ideal for a murder-mystery since the readers are more interested in the plot than the characters' personal lives. But as this is the ending of the series, I'm happy that James took the trouble to give us a little more insight into how their lives will be when we leave them.
I may be in the minority, but now that I've read them all, I feel that the earlier books of the series are better written, at least from the point of the murder-mystery plot. James was in her eighties when she wrote this, and that was really grand of her. Whatever the flaws the book may have, her courage and perseverance, and her determination to gift this one final book all neatly tied up, are to be appreciated.
The murder-mystery here is the weakest and the most predictable one in the series. There is no concealment, nor ambiguity there. James works us right towards the criminal. But the motive is another matter, and it was never revealed and was kept ambiguous. This vagueness and ambiguity is not her style, but somehow, she's been content with it. So I guess, we'll have to be, too. If I rated the book by the murder-mystery alone, it would have earned fewer stars. But, the book was more than a murder-mystery. Being the final novel of the series, James has worked at tieing the ends neatly for Adam Dalgliesh and Kate Miskin - the long-standing detective duo of the series. Much of their private relations were also touched parallel to the murder-mystery. Perhaps, that mixture is not ideal for a murder-mystery since the readers are more interested in the plot than the characters' personal lives. But as this is the ending of the series, I'm happy that James took the trouble to give us a little more insight into how their lives will be when we leave them.
I may be in the minority, but now that I've read them all, I feel that the earlier books of the series are better written, at least from the point of the murder-mystery plot. James was in her eighties when she wrote this, and that was really grand of her. Whatever the flaws the book may have, her courage and perseverance, and her determination to gift this one final book all neatly tied up, are to be appreciated.
July 8, 2017
Odd to start out with #14 in a series and be able to say you enjoyed it. I liked the murder mystery. It was intricately woven, with each of the suspects having a lot of plausible reasons to commit the murder and real convictions about "who done it" held at bay until very near the end.
I felt less involved in the Commander and his squad, but that was natural, since this is a relationship that has been building for the reader since book one and book fourteen is obviously well into that relationship and I suspect coming to the end. For a book that was picked at random from a sale table, it was not disappointing at all. I had not read anything by James before, although I was well aware of her work. I will not hesitate to read her again.
I felt less involved in the Commander and his squad, but that was natural, since this is a relationship that has been building for the reader since book one and book fourteen is obviously well into that relationship and I suspect coming to the end. For a book that was picked at random from a sale table, it was not disappointing at all. I had not read anything by James before, although I was well aware of her work. I will not hesitate to read her again.
November 29, 2008
I have been a fan of PD James forever and was sure that with her age, The Ligththouse would be her last Dagliesh novel. I was so happy to see that she had another story in her. I rated this 4 stars as much because I love James and her wonderful language. However, I didn't feel that it was her best book. I sensed that she needed to tie up a bunch of loose ends for her characters. Still, on a scale of 1 to 10, if PD James wrote a book that was not her best, it is still an 9 compared to other mystery writers. Her books are as much great literature and they are great mysteries.
July 8, 2023
When we started a sub-group of our Library Book Discussion group called the 4th Wednesdays Mystery Readers Group – obviously, our mission was to read only mysteries. One of our first mysteries was this one.
Premise: Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh investigates the murder of an investigative reporter in an isolated, secure manor house.
Rhoda, the investigative journalist happens to be at this manor to have plastic surgery to remove a scar from a long ago attack from her abusive father that left her disfigured.
Why now? Her reply, “why not?”
So when she is murdered, the question for Dalgliesh and his team, is: why would anyone be interested in an investigative reporter?
As readers, we can rethink this investigative reporter thing. The reality is, we have come to learn that she is more of a gossipmonger.
So...
There are probably many people she has gossiped about who have a thing against her, leaving the list of suspects more than a mile long.
Still…
Dalgliesh has his own questions, too. And as readers, we are following along with him rather anxiously, too.
Why choose this physician?
Why choose the manor clinic over a more convenient London hospital?
Did one dictate the other?
So many secrets and old crimes are just a few of the bewildering and captivating aspect of this case.
The characters are well-developed, vital and vibrant.
The location is moody and atmospheric.
The plot has just enough twists that are unexpected as they are unpredictable.
And…
This was the last case of the Adam Dalgliesh series. And even though it had it's imperfections...
It was...
A wonderful closing to a satisfying series.
Also, a truly excellent book discussion selection.
Premise: Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh investigates the murder of an investigative reporter in an isolated, secure manor house.
Rhoda, the investigative journalist happens to be at this manor to have plastic surgery to remove a scar from a long ago attack from her abusive father that left her disfigured.
Why now? Her reply, “why not?”
So when she is murdered, the question for Dalgliesh and his team, is: why would anyone be interested in an investigative reporter?
As readers, we can rethink this investigative reporter thing. The reality is, we have come to learn that she is more of a gossipmonger.
So...
There are probably many people she has gossiped about who have a thing against her, leaving the list of suspects more than a mile long.
Still…
Dalgliesh has his own questions, too. And as readers, we are following along with him rather anxiously, too.
Why choose this physician?
Why choose the manor clinic over a more convenient London hospital?
Did one dictate the other?
So many secrets and old crimes are just a few of the bewildering and captivating aspect of this case.
The characters are well-developed, vital and vibrant.
The location is moody and atmospheric.
The plot has just enough twists that are unexpected as they are unpredictable.
And…
This was the last case of the Adam Dalgliesh series. And even though it had it's imperfections...
It was...
A wonderful closing to a satisfying series.
Also, a truly excellent book discussion selection.
January 5, 2009
I only seem to update when I didn't really like a book, but maybe I just want to warn everyone. James started out as such a compelling mystery writer and her prose is still good, but her books have become more and more tedious over time. She's become, I think, far too enamored of her own regular characters and too much of the writing is focused, not only their thoughts and feelings, but of the minutia of their actions. I think it was almost page 200 before we read about an interview with a suspect, one of the main suspects was apparently never even interviewed and huge chunks of text went by with little or no reference to the underlying mystery, although we did read once again about how Kate prefers her tea and what papers they regularly got at the Bed and Breakfast where Kate and Benton were staying. Even these secondary characters were only introduced through the thoughts and opinions of the regulars and didn't appear in the narrative themselves. As a result, the identity of the murderer and the motive was no surprise at all. All in all a very disappointing read and the last P.D. James I'll purchase.
September 4, 2024
PD James consistently produces good mysteries that delve deeper into the human psyche than typical modern mysteries. When you consider the author's age, it's even more amazing how relevant her commentary is about society-- and that sensibility has enriched the characters she created... while this felt like her last book, it is just as good a read as the first one.
PS- Le sigh— such a wonderful writer with an amazing legacy!
((Reviewed 4/18/09)
PS- Le sigh— such a wonderful writer with an amazing legacy!
((Reviewed 4/18/09)
December 29, 2008
I guess I'm channeling my mother (who died last year). She was an English teacher who loved to read P. D. James' mysteries. When I saw this on the shelf at Borders, I thought of her and bought it. Now I see why she enjoyed reading James' works. She is an excellent writer, rich and visual. Next time I read one of her books I will keep a dictionary at my side. What a fine way to increase my vocabulary! Of all the current murder/mystery writers active today, James is probably the best WRITER of all. If you enjoy reading well-written prose, give her a try.
November 15, 2017
EXCERPT: On November the 21st, the day of her forty-seventh birthday, and three weeks and two days before she was murdered, Rhoda Gradwyn went to Harley Street to keep a first appointment with her plastic surgeon, and there in a consulting room designed, so it appeared, to inspire confidence and allay apprehension, made the decision which would lead inexorably to her death. Later that day she was to lunch at the Ivy. The timing of the two appointments was fortuitous. Mr Chandler-Powell had no earlier date to offer and the luncheon later with Robin Boyton, booked for twelve forty-five, had been arranged two months previously; one did not expect to get a table at the Ivy on impulse. She regarded neither appointment as a birthday celebration. This detail of her private life, like much else, was never mentioned. She doubted whether Robin had discovered her date of birth or would much care if he had. She knew herself to be a respected, even distinguished journalist, but she hardly expected her name to appear in the Times list of VIP birthdays.
THE BLURB: When the notorious investigative journalist, Rhoda Gradwyn, books into Mr. Chandler-Powell’s private clinic in Dorset for the removal of a disfiguring, long-standing facial scar, she has every prospect of a successful operation by a distinguished surgeon, a week’s peaceful convalescence in one of Dorset’s most beautiful manor houses and the beginning of a new life. She will never leave Cheverell Manor alive. When Adam Dalgliesh and his team are called in to investigate the murder – and a second death occurs – even more complicated problems than the question of innocence or guilt arise.
MY THOUGHTS: I failed to become excited by, or engaged in The Private Patient by P. D. James, #14 in the Adam Dalgleish series. Although this was a BBC Radio adaptation, and a very good one, the story fell flat for me.
I enjoyed the final revelations, but not enough to make up for the tedium of getting there.
2.5 stars for The Private Patient by P. D. James, the audiobook of which was beautifully narrated by Richard Derrington and Deborah McAndrew. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Just because I didn't enjoy this book doesn't mean that you won’t. If you enjoyed the extract and the blurb piques your interest, you may well be one of the many people who enjoy Private Patient. Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
THE BLURB: When the notorious investigative journalist, Rhoda Gradwyn, books into Mr. Chandler-Powell’s private clinic in Dorset for the removal of a disfiguring, long-standing facial scar, she has every prospect of a successful operation by a distinguished surgeon, a week’s peaceful convalescence in one of Dorset’s most beautiful manor houses and the beginning of a new life. She will never leave Cheverell Manor alive. When Adam Dalgliesh and his team are called in to investigate the murder – and a second death occurs – even more complicated problems than the question of innocence or guilt arise.
MY THOUGHTS: I failed to become excited by, or engaged in The Private Patient by P. D. James, #14 in the Adam Dalgleish series. Although this was a BBC Radio adaptation, and a very good one, the story fell flat for me.
I enjoyed the final revelations, but not enough to make up for the tedium of getting there.
2.5 stars for The Private Patient by P. D. James, the audiobook of which was beautifully narrated by Richard Derrington and Deborah McAndrew. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Just because I didn't enjoy this book doesn't mean that you won’t. If you enjoyed the extract and the blurb piques your interest, you may well be one of the many people who enjoy Private Patient. Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
November 24, 2025
Murder at the Manor
A review of the Seal Books paperback (November 4, 2009) of the Faber & Faber hardcover original (2008).
Dalgliesh and his team are called out to Cheverell Manor, a private plastic surgery clinic, where a patient has been found murdered. The number of people on hand is limited and it appears to be an inside job. At first no one appears to have a motive, although the patient was an investigative journalist who was notorious for exposing various scandals. The manor house stands near to an ancient neolithic stone circle which has a notorious history of witch burning. Mysterious lights are known to be seen at night in the vicinity of the stones.
The front cover of the original Faber & Faber hardcover (2008). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
The character background stories were excellent as always with P.D. James's fiction and the atmosphere of the old manor and the stone circle added to a foreboding situation. In the end the case is solved and we can conclude that James was retiring the series as the final scenes provide a conclusion for the characters. A satisfactory ending I would say to one of the top literary detective fiction series ever written.
The Private Patient continued my current Long Books Challenge with several GR friends which also allowed me to complete my P.D. James / Adam Dalgliesh binge which went into hiatus at the end of 2023. It is the last of the original series and no continuation series has been authorized by the Estate. P.D. James's (1920-2014) final novel was the non-Adam Dalgliesh Death Comes to Pemberley (2011) which was a murder mystery sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (1813).
Trivia and Links
The Private Patient has not yet been adapted for TV. The earlier ITV and BBC series which had adapted the Adam Dalgliesh novels had wrapped up before it was published. The current reboot series Dalgleish (2021 - ?) has only adapted 9 of the earlier books to date (November 2025) over 3 seasons. A season 4 has not yet been confirmed, but neither has there been a cancellation announcement. The most recent article which speculates about a season 4 was at Radio Times from December 2024.
A review of the Seal Books paperback (November 4, 2009) of the Faber & Faber hardcover original (2008).
Most suspects were capable of lying with some conviction when questioned alone – some, indeed, were remarkably adept at it. ... But to sustain a lie in company was more difficult. A suspect might be adept at controlling his own facial expression but the responses of his hearers could be a revelation.
Dalgliesh and his team are called out to Cheverell Manor, a private plastic surgery clinic, where a patient has been found murdered. The number of people on hand is limited and it appears to be an inside job. At first no one appears to have a motive, although the patient was an investigative journalist who was notorious for exposing various scandals. The manor house stands near to an ancient neolithic stone circle which has a notorious history of witch burning. Mysterious lights are known to be seen at night in the vicinity of the stones.
The front cover of the original Faber & Faber hardcover (2008). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
The character background stories were excellent as always with P.D. James's fiction and the atmosphere of the old manor and the stone circle added to a foreboding situation. In the end the case is solved and we can conclude that James was retiring the series as the final scenes provide a conclusion for the characters. A satisfactory ending I would say to one of the top literary detective fiction series ever written.
The Private Patient continued my current Long Books Challenge with several GR friends which also allowed me to complete my P.D. James / Adam Dalgliesh binge which went into hiatus at the end of 2023. It is the last of the original series and no continuation series has been authorized by the Estate. P.D. James's (1920-2014) final novel was the non-Adam Dalgliesh Death Comes to Pemberley (2011) which was a murder mystery sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (1813).
Trivia and Links
The Private Patient has not yet been adapted for TV. The earlier ITV and BBC series which had adapted the Adam Dalgliesh novels had wrapped up before it was published. The current reboot series Dalgleish (2021 - ?) has only adapted 9 of the earlier books to date (November 2025) over 3 seasons. A season 4 has not yet been confirmed, but neither has there been a cancellation announcement. The most recent article which speculates about a season 4 was at Radio Times from December 2024.
January 21, 2018
What a wonderful read, great characterization, interesting plot with wonderful descriptions ... just a bit too long-winded for me sometimes. I did get a bit lost in the overload of details that often didn't add to the overall story unfortunately. However, I enjoyed this read and I would take my hat off to anyone who at the age of 88 can produce such an entertaining novel. PD James is an inspiration!
February 13, 2021
Having finally come to the end of the Adam Dalgliesh series, I have mixed feelings. I never really warmed to Dalgliesh himself and his relationship with Emma in the final few books did not seem real – as he was a literary character, it was very much a literary relationship.
This final mystery, admittedly written when the author was quite elderly, features a medical background. In this case, a clinic for wealthy patients having plastic surgery, and run by George Chandler-Powell. James set many of her books in hospitals and clinics, so it is, perhaps, fitting that she ended her series in one. This novel features a journalist, Rhoda Gradwyn, who visits the clinic to remove a facial scar and is killed. Enter Dalgliesh, and his team, to uncover the motive among the staff of the clinic.
Although I am not a reader who dislikes description, or wants non-stop action, my major issue with these books are the over-indulgence of detail. Nobody can pass through a room without noting whether the bed is made, open a door without lifting a latch, look at a mirror without commenting what is on the mantelpiece, walk down a path without a detailed description of the trees, wind, weather, footwear, etc. etc. In the same way, we are never re-introduced to a character without hearing their background. Kate Miskin’s childhood in a high-rise flat, her unrequited love for Dalgliesh, her new apartment – detailed description to follow…
I will be re-reading some of these mysteries; particularly some of the early ones, and certainly have enjoyed them. Still, at times they annoyed me and, in particular, I was surprised to read how much PD James disliked Agatha Christie; who could, frankly, plot her books much better and create characters simply and swiftly, but so you could immediately picture them. As such, I am pleased I have read this series, but feel glad to have finished them and will revisit one now and again, so the refrains of character traits and annoyances of style are not so fresh in my mind.
This final mystery, admittedly written when the author was quite elderly, features a medical background. In this case, a clinic for wealthy patients having plastic surgery, and run by George Chandler-Powell. James set many of her books in hospitals and clinics, so it is, perhaps, fitting that she ended her series in one. This novel features a journalist, Rhoda Gradwyn, who visits the clinic to remove a facial scar and is killed. Enter Dalgliesh, and his team, to uncover the motive among the staff of the clinic.
Although I am not a reader who dislikes description, or wants non-stop action, my major issue with these books are the over-indulgence of detail. Nobody can pass through a room without noting whether the bed is made, open a door without lifting a latch, look at a mirror without commenting what is on the mantelpiece, walk down a path without a detailed description of the trees, wind, weather, footwear, etc. etc. In the same way, we are never re-introduced to a character without hearing their background. Kate Miskin’s childhood in a high-rise flat, her unrequited love for Dalgliesh, her new apartment – detailed description to follow…
I will be re-reading some of these mysteries; particularly some of the early ones, and certainly have enjoyed them. Still, at times they annoyed me and, in particular, I was surprised to read how much PD James disliked Agatha Christie; who could, frankly, plot her books much better and create characters simply and swiftly, but so you could immediately picture them. As such, I am pleased I have read this series, but feel glad to have finished them and will revisit one now and again, so the refrains of character traits and annoyances of style are not so fresh in my mind.
January 24, 2009
When you pick up a P.D. James mystery, you know that you are in the hands of a professional. Cleanly plotted, meticulously detailed, characters revealed layer by layer, hers are the epitome of the "British mysteries" in the tradition of the great Agatha. It is a tradition that I know and love.
"The Private Patient" is her latest entry in the saga of Commander Adam Dalgliesh of New Scotland Yard. It is a police procedural with, as usual, James' touch of humanism.
We find that Dalgliesh is about to marry his beloved. Their romance has had its rocky bits as most romances do, but finally they have decided to join forces officially.
Before that can take place though, Adam is confronted with another mystery, the murder of a famous, and apparently rather notorious, investigative journalist, who has a reputation for ruthlessness in her profession.
Said journalist had decided, after some 30 years of living with it, to have a disfiguring scar removed from her face. She selected a surgeon who maintains a private clinic in Dorset for his patients who seek privacy. And there, after successful surgery on her face, is where the journalist is murdered.
In short order, a second murder, of a friend of the journalist who had followed her to Dorset, takes place and the plot thickens.
Dalgliesh and his team pursue every clue, interview all the principals, eliminate all the red herrings, and eventually are zeroing in on the "prime suspect" when things come to a head in a (perhaps) not unsurprising way.
It is always a joy to read James' books and just to watch the way she works. This was not her best effort, I thought, but still, it was a satisfying read, one that I would certainly recommend to fans of the genre.
"The Private Patient" is her latest entry in the saga of Commander Adam Dalgliesh of New Scotland Yard. It is a police procedural with, as usual, James' touch of humanism.
We find that Dalgliesh is about to marry his beloved. Their romance has had its rocky bits as most romances do, but finally they have decided to join forces officially.
Before that can take place though, Adam is confronted with another mystery, the murder of a famous, and apparently rather notorious, investigative journalist, who has a reputation for ruthlessness in her profession.
Said journalist had decided, after some 30 years of living with it, to have a disfiguring scar removed from her face. She selected a surgeon who maintains a private clinic in Dorset for his patients who seek privacy. And there, after successful surgery on her face, is where the journalist is murdered.
In short order, a second murder, of a friend of the journalist who had followed her to Dorset, takes place and the plot thickens.
Dalgliesh and his team pursue every clue, interview all the principals, eliminate all the red herrings, and eventually are zeroing in on the "prime suspect" when things come to a head in a (perhaps) not unsurprising way.
It is always a joy to read James' books and just to watch the way she works. This was not her best effort, I thought, but still, it was a satisfying read, one that I would certainly recommend to fans of the genre.
July 24, 2021
This is a tome. At 500 pages it was even big to hold. And nothing more than a torture to go through.
It is a police procedural and supposedly the last of fourteen books to feature the detective Adam Dalgliesh and his team made of DI Kate Miskin and DS Benton. For me it was the first book by PD James or about the detective.
It is five hundred long pages of the writer getting her setting across and telling us about the thoughts in each of her character's mind. But she doesn't work on the mystery. The murder of Rhoda Gradwyn seems almost like a by-story. And in spite of being a fine police procedural the police are able to do no detecting at all. The case is solved because of a confession tape. And even then we are told from Adam's viewpoint that the truth hasn't actually been found out.
The writing is pedantic with almost every third word of four to five syllables. It was difficult to read since I wanted a quick fast moving murder mystery neatly tied up at the end. The only tying up at the end that was satisfactory was Adam's nuptials with Emma. I don't even understand why Emma's friends and their little story was thrown in.
Two very glaring loopholes have been left. We aren't told why Rhoda didn't need her scar anymore since she has declared it very grandly to her doctor.
And it isn't made clear if there was some tampering with the will. If the murderer hadn't gone ahead with her actions and just sat quietly, the mystery would never have been solved. As it is, it seems a very shoddy attempt at writing a murder mystery with the characters acting in strange ways only to get the story to a very shaky conclusion.
It was a disappointing read and I do not expect to pick another police procedural by her at least, nor do I recommend it to my friends. My time would have been much better utilized if I had reread an Agatha Christie to which this one doesn't even hope to compare.
It is a police procedural and supposedly the last of fourteen books to feature the detective Adam Dalgliesh and his team made of DI Kate Miskin and DS Benton. For me it was the first book by PD James or about the detective.
It is five hundred long pages of the writer getting her setting across and telling us about the thoughts in each of her character's mind. But she doesn't work on the mystery. The murder of Rhoda Gradwyn seems almost like a by-story. And in spite of being a fine police procedural the police are able to do no detecting at all. The case is solved because of a confession tape. And even then we are told from Adam's viewpoint that the truth hasn't actually been found out.
The writing is pedantic with almost every third word of four to five syllables. It was difficult to read since I wanted a quick fast moving murder mystery neatly tied up at the end. The only tying up at the end that was satisfactory was Adam's nuptials with Emma. I don't even understand why Emma's friends and their little story was thrown in.
Two very glaring loopholes have been left. We aren't told why Rhoda didn't need her scar anymore since she has declared it very grandly to her doctor.
And it isn't made clear if there was some tampering with the will. If the murderer hadn't gone ahead with her actions and just sat quietly, the mystery would never have been solved. As it is, it seems a very shoddy attempt at writing a murder mystery with the characters acting in strange ways only to get the story to a very shaky conclusion.
It was a disappointing read and I do not expect to pick another police procedural by her at least, nor do I recommend it to my friends. My time would have been much better utilized if I had reread an Agatha Christie to which this one doesn't even hope to compare.
November 7, 2019
As far as we know this is the last Dalgliesh story. So reading this was kind of bittersweet.
Possible spoiler.....
The story also ties up some of the plot lines that have run through this series. Maybe James knew that this might be one of her last books and wanted to give her fans some closure.
She was still at the top of her game with this one. So expect the unexpected. It is a good ending to a brilliant series.
Possible spoiler.....
The story also ties up some of the plot lines that have run through this series. Maybe James knew that this might be one of her last books and wanted to give her fans some closure.
She was still at the top of her game with this one. So expect the unexpected. It is a good ending to a brilliant series.
January 4, 2025
לסקירה מפורטת בעברית קישור לבלוג שלי -
https://sivi-the-avid-reader.com/the-...
https://sivi-the-avid-reader.com/the-...
January 10, 2012
A new departure for me as I was listening to this on my journey last week to Liverpool as an audiobook. It meant as I wound my way through rural Dorset and up into Wiltshire and on up to Bath before finally getting on to the motorway if I got stuck behind those people who only seem to drive once a year and then always in front of me I didn't have the normal frustration that seems to ride personnified as a regular passenger on those journeys. Listening to a well read book made me a more patient driver though I will not claim that it made me a better one.
As to the narrator. Michael Jayston was an excellent reader though some of his voices were so similar as to make them difficult to differentiate one from another and this meant it was oddly more stilted for me than if I had been reading it myself as I couldn't always relax into the dialogue because I was too busy concentrating so as to work out who was speaking.
Having said all that the story itself, an Adam Dalgliesh crime thriller, as with so many of James' works worked its way slowly and yet inevitably towards the murder of the aforesaid private patient. You know she will die after the first few sentences and this is reiterated on a regular basis. The inevitability, the doomladen nature of everything therefore hangs heavy. There were a large number of characters, the police characters being returning stars and then assorted prospective victims or assailants litter the early pages. James has a weird propensity to tier off her characters by their names. The posh ones are called things like Candace and Flavia and Annabelle whilst those from 'below stairs' are Sharon or some other more financially neutral one.
The characterization seemed lain on with a trowel in the sense that we were told what it was we were supposed to believe or see or grasp about the various characters by an authorial certainty and the subtlety which I remember from other Jamesian novels was absent. Investigatory cul de sacs and a few unnecessary plot complications that floated by were a distraction. There was a side story of a vicious sexual attack which jarred, not so much because of its content but because it seemed to serve no real purpose other than to give Dalgliesh's fiancee a walk in part midway into the novel.
There were all sorts of traditional PD James elements, flickering torchlight in the dark, dubious wills, a large quota of physically striking but morally unattractive people, intertwining histories and coincidences (including a character called Skelton, my surname, and that always gives me a childish frisson of pleasure; sad but true), and lots of people at the 'top of their respective fields'. This was not exactly a murder mystery by numbers but it was not the best I have encountered.
Listening to it read perhaps makes you more attuned to weird gripes but I noticed she used the word 'miscellany' on I think four occasions to describe mugs, garden tools, surgical instruments and another I forget. This might seem a ridiculous moan but it just seemed an odd restriction of vocabulary. PD James also has a habit of describing drinks being prepared, poured and downed to an almost obsessive degree. I had never noticed it particularly before hearing it narrated. Maybe these are swings and roundabouts to the audio book but on the whole this new departure was one i enjoyed and on long journeys I will indulge in it again.
As to the narrator. Michael Jayston was an excellent reader though some of his voices were so similar as to make them difficult to differentiate one from another and this meant it was oddly more stilted for me than if I had been reading it myself as I couldn't always relax into the dialogue because I was too busy concentrating so as to work out who was speaking.
Having said all that the story itself, an Adam Dalgliesh crime thriller, as with so many of James' works worked its way slowly and yet inevitably towards the murder of the aforesaid private patient. You know she will die after the first few sentences and this is reiterated on a regular basis. The inevitability, the doomladen nature of everything therefore hangs heavy. There were a large number of characters, the police characters being returning stars and then assorted prospective victims or assailants litter the early pages. James has a weird propensity to tier off her characters by their names. The posh ones are called things like Candace and Flavia and Annabelle whilst those from 'below stairs' are Sharon or some other more financially neutral one.
The characterization seemed lain on with a trowel in the sense that we were told what it was we were supposed to believe or see or grasp about the various characters by an authorial certainty and the subtlety which I remember from other Jamesian novels was absent. Investigatory cul de sacs and a few unnecessary plot complications that floated by were a distraction. There was a side story of a vicious sexual attack which jarred, not so much because of its content but because it seemed to serve no real purpose other than to give Dalgliesh's fiancee a walk in part midway into the novel.
There were all sorts of traditional PD James elements, flickering torchlight in the dark, dubious wills, a large quota of physically striking but morally unattractive people, intertwining histories and coincidences (including a character called Skelton, my surname, and that always gives me a childish frisson of pleasure; sad but true), and lots of people at the 'top of their respective fields'. This was not exactly a murder mystery by numbers but it was not the best I have encountered.
Listening to it read perhaps makes you more attuned to weird gripes but I noticed she used the word 'miscellany' on I think four occasions to describe mugs, garden tools, surgical instruments and another I forget. This might seem a ridiculous moan but it just seemed an odd restriction of vocabulary. PD James also has a habit of describing drinks being prepared, poured and downed to an almost obsessive degree. I had never noticed it particularly before hearing it narrated. Maybe these are swings and roundabouts to the audio book but on the whole this new departure was one i enjoyed and on long journeys I will indulge in it again.
August 15, 2018
Ayy diyorum yani. Kitabı 100 günde falan okudum. Aslında yazarın tarzını çok seviyorum ama cildinden midir nedir bu kitapla barışamadım. Cep boy değil de arada bir boy basmışlar. Korsana da benziyor ama internet sitesinden aldım herhalde korsan değildir.
Konusuna gelecek olursak: Küçükken babası tarafından yüzü yaralanan Rhoda bu izden kurtulmak için özel bir kliniğe başvurur. Ameliyatın gizlilik içinde yapılmasını istediği için taşradaki köşke gider. Ameliyatı olur ama sabahına ölü bulunur. Adam Dalglish ve ekibi olaya dahil olur ve takip başlar.
Genel olarak ortalama bir kitaptı. İlk 300 sayfa falan çok durgundu. Sonu da beni pek tatmin etmedi. Bu sefer sonunu tahmin edemedim ama zaten çok da iyi bitmedi. Tavsiye konusunda kararsızım. 🤔
Konusuna gelecek olursak: Küçükken babası tarafından yüzü yaralanan Rhoda bu izden kurtulmak için özel bir kliniğe başvurur. Ameliyatın gizlilik içinde yapılmasını istediği için taşradaki köşke gider. Ameliyatı olur ama sabahına ölü bulunur. Adam Dalglish ve ekibi olaya dahil olur ve takip başlar.
Genel olarak ortalama bir kitaptı. İlk 300 sayfa falan çok durgundu. Sonu da beni pek tatmin etmedi. Bu sefer sonunu tahmin edemedim ama zaten çok da iyi bitmedi. Tavsiye konusunda kararsızım. 🤔
April 19, 2009
I decided to read a detective genre fiction book after a long time. An investigative reporter checks into a private clinic to have a scar removed and is murdered - it sounded like a good premise to work from.
I have to credit James, almost ninety, with continuing to write competent police procedural books which peep into the lives of her suspects, criminals and detectives. And yet, I found several aspects that grated on me: the intruding concern for plot summations at various points of the story (more for the writer it seeemed, than for the reader), dialogue that seemed to be introduced for the sole purpose of providing information to the reader, the endless parade of characters and their physical descriptions - some essential to the central story, others connected with the private lives of the police personnel.
Sex seems a taboo subject for James, and hence several close relationships carry on without any indication that sex is part of the equation: Candace-Westhall and Annabel Skelton, Rhoda and Robin, Collinsby and Lucy,Chandler-Powell and Helena, even Commander Dalglish and his betrothed Emma. Decorum is also maintained in the descriptions of how people seat themselves before conducting any serious business, the taking of tea as a ritual that must be described even when a murder had just taken place, and the logistics of Dalglish's squad's operation during each member's personal down-time.
The story veered off from a whodunit to a howdunit with an epilogue on how-it-was-possible-to-do-it. The coincidences (a murder victim meeting a witness in London during the terrorist bombings, the same day she was supposed to be in the country signing a will - how realistic is that?) and the last minute introduction of characters who made significant contributions to the plot, gave me the impression that James was struggling to conclude her plot and called in the cavalry.
James is particularly keen to settle her squad in the end - marry them off, promote or retire them - perhaps, sending us a gentle hint that this is probably her last Dalglish book.
I have to credit James, almost ninety, with continuing to write competent police procedural books which peep into the lives of her suspects, criminals and detectives. And yet, I found several aspects that grated on me: the intruding concern for plot summations at various points of the story (more for the writer it seeemed, than for the reader), dialogue that seemed to be introduced for the sole purpose of providing information to the reader, the endless parade of characters and their physical descriptions - some essential to the central story, others connected with the private lives of the police personnel.
Sex seems a taboo subject for James, and hence several close relationships carry on without any indication that sex is part of the equation: Candace-Westhall and Annabel Skelton, Rhoda and Robin, Collinsby and Lucy,Chandler-Powell and Helena, even Commander Dalglish and his betrothed Emma. Decorum is also maintained in the descriptions of how people seat themselves before conducting any serious business, the taking of tea as a ritual that must be described even when a murder had just taken place, and the logistics of Dalglish's squad's operation during each member's personal down-time.
The story veered off from a whodunit to a howdunit with an epilogue on how-it-was-possible-to-do-it. The coincidences (a murder victim meeting a witness in London during the terrorist bombings, the same day she was supposed to be in the country signing a will - how realistic is that?) and the last minute introduction of characters who made significant contributions to the plot, gave me the impression that James was struggling to conclude her plot and called in the cavalry.
James is particularly keen to settle her squad in the end - marry them off, promote or retire them - perhaps, sending us a gentle hint that this is probably her last Dalglish book.
March 24, 2019
Cozy mystery with a hard edge.
Probably not the best idea to start with the final book in a series. I had read a short story by James and enjoyed it, found this lingering on my shelf and just decided to read it. While it doesn't have enormous amounts of past references, I'm sure that I missed the understated sub-context of the some of the relationships. Dalgliesh captured my interest and while I'm not racing to read another book in the series, I'll definitely keep them in mind for a nice leisurely, atmospheric read.
Dalgliesh is called out to run an investigation in Dorset when a high profile individual applies some pressure to the appropriate parties. So, it's not his turf, but he's adroit enough and the local constabulary is professional enough that it doesn't turn into a pissing match. There is significant background time spent on being introduced to the suspects and police prior to the actual crime, which really felt a bit slow at the time. Now, I can see the advantage of it and if I knew ahead of time I would have been prepared and enjoyed the strolling nature. The pace was like pushing a car, at first it doesn't seem to move and then it starts to pick up momentum and by the end it's rolling along.
No spoilers, but the actual mystery is quite convoluted and there are twists and turns. Dirty laundry is aired and what I once was far less sympathetic towards felt much more favorably to by the end. If not favorably then neutral. Anyway, it was pleasant and I shall read more in the series.
Probably not the best idea to start with the final book in a series. I had read a short story by James and enjoyed it, found this lingering on my shelf and just decided to read it. While it doesn't have enormous amounts of past references, I'm sure that I missed the understated sub-context of the some of the relationships. Dalgliesh captured my interest and while I'm not racing to read another book in the series, I'll definitely keep them in mind for a nice leisurely, atmospheric read.
Dalgliesh is called out to run an investigation in Dorset when a high profile individual applies some pressure to the appropriate parties. So, it's not his turf, but he's adroit enough and the local constabulary is professional enough that it doesn't turn into a pissing match. There is significant background time spent on being introduced to the suspects and police prior to the actual crime, which really felt a bit slow at the time. Now, I can see the advantage of it and if I knew ahead of time I would have been prepared and enjoyed the strolling nature. The pace was like pushing a car, at first it doesn't seem to move and then it starts to pick up momentum and by the end it's rolling along.
No spoilers, but the actual mystery is quite convoluted and there are twists and turns. Dirty laundry is aired and what I once was far less sympathetic towards felt much more favorably to by the end. If not favorably then neutral. Anyway, it was pleasant and I shall read more in the series.
December 6, 2014
I remember reading a couple of Adam Dalgliesh novels years ago and never really getting into them - preferring the television series instead, but I thought I would give them another go, and see if the years had mellowed me (or them)
Apparently not. Here is an example of the sort of writing.
'Rhoda Gradwyn was interesting about apparently unconscious copying of phrases and ideas and the occasional curious coincidences in literature when a strong idea enters simultaneously into two minds as if its time has come, and examined the subtle ways in which the greatest writers had influenced succeeding generations, as had Bach and Beethoven in music and the major painters of the world on those who followed.'
I still cannot make any sense out of that sentence.
And then we get this:
Kate rang the Old Police Cottage and Dalgliesh asked them to come along as soon as they had fed.
Fed what???
There are also numerous changes of POV within scenes, to the extent that on several occasions I had no idea who I was 'following'.
I couldn't get into this novel. The characters were very detailed and intricate but there was no sense of 'being there' in the situation. Dalgliesh was almost on the periphery, and what little I saw of him hinted at a far more complex and interesting character than the man portrayed in the book.
It was a very disappointing read. I will consign this paperback to the charity pile.
Apparently not. Here is an example of the sort of writing.
'Rhoda Gradwyn was interesting about apparently unconscious copying of phrases and ideas and the occasional curious coincidences in literature when a strong idea enters simultaneously into two minds as if its time has come, and examined the subtle ways in which the greatest writers had influenced succeeding generations, as had Bach and Beethoven in music and the major painters of the world on those who followed.'
I still cannot make any sense out of that sentence.
And then we get this:
Kate rang the Old Police Cottage and Dalgliesh asked them to come along as soon as they had fed.
Fed what???
There are also numerous changes of POV within scenes, to the extent that on several occasions I had no idea who I was 'following'.
I couldn't get into this novel. The characters were very detailed and intricate but there was no sense of 'being there' in the situation. Dalgliesh was almost on the periphery, and what little I saw of him hinted at a far more complex and interesting character than the man portrayed in the book.
It was a very disappointing read. I will consign this paperback to the charity pile.
December 10, 2014
A solid mystery story ... all the characters in the same house - one of them did it. The interactions between the police were superb. There were also many pertinent observations about the process of aging and the ways of responding to the inevitable.
A word regarding James' descriptions of people and places ... I was both a tiny bit irritated that the many descriptions slowed down the story and yet often entranced by their quality.
A word regarding James' descriptions of people and places ... I was both a tiny bit irritated that the many descriptions slowed down the story and yet often entranced by their quality.
December 5, 2024
In my opinion this was the best of Dalgleish- unfortunately it is the last… i will miss this series.
January 16, 2015
I am not a huge fan of murder mysteries so maybe my review is unfairly biased but I found this HORRENDOUSLY boring and drawn out. I stuck at it until the bitter end, but only because I am on holiday and ran out of other books to read.
My main criticism is that it went into way too much unnecessary detail about everything. Every character’s appearance, every meal eaten, every drive taken, every cup of tea drunk (including how long it was steeped and whether or not there was milk and sugar) every facet of every room anyone entered, the LAYOUT of that jolly mansion! I didn’t keep a tally of the number of characters who got a tour or consulted a map of it and confirmed that yes, the EAST wing was the patient wing, but it was too many. I kept picking it up hoping to read something interesting to draw me in but instead it’d inevitably be Dean and Kimberly Bostock whipping up another ‘simple’ three-course meal (consommé, followed by a duck and salmon terrine with a winter salad and roasted new potatoes, and a Queen of Puddings to finish. And then of course tea and coffee and perhaps a light cheese platter). The characters were all very British and class-conscious and snobby, and all made it clear that they considered untidiness to be both repulsive and morally wrong. Robin’s bedroom was described with disgust as having not one but TWO pairs of shoes ‘flung’ into a corner, some clothes on a chair AND the wardrobe doors open – THE HORROR!! Who, as one of the detectives reflected to herself, could LIVE like this??
The police seemed in no hurry to solve the case. In the evenings, in front of a cosy fire with a glass of wine each, they would get together and have long chats about what they had all eaten for dinner and think up a name to call the murderer ('Noctis'??), then very occasionally discuss a few important details before deciding they were all tired and it was time for bed. Luckily for them, the murderer conveniently taped a confession and pretty much handed [HIM OR HER]self in at the end, so all they had to do was eat another jolly good dinner and look smug about how useful they'd been.
Some of the details at the end were SO unlikely and obviously just devices to wind it all up – i.e. a major plot point depended on one of Robin’s friends remembering in exhaustive detail a random story he had told him about where he was on the day of the London Bombings, including the old lady that bumped into him AND the name of the village where she lived. Errmm… ok.
SO yeah in conclusion I think this is the first and last PD James book I will ever attempt...
My main criticism is that it went into way too much unnecessary detail about everything. Every character’s appearance, every meal eaten, every drive taken, every cup of tea drunk (including how long it was steeped and whether or not there was milk and sugar) every facet of every room anyone entered, the LAYOUT of that jolly mansion! I didn’t keep a tally of the number of characters who got a tour or consulted a map of it and confirmed that yes, the EAST wing was the patient wing, but it was too many. I kept picking it up hoping to read something interesting to draw me in but instead it’d inevitably be Dean and Kimberly Bostock whipping up another ‘simple’ three-course meal (consommé, followed by a duck and salmon terrine with a winter salad and roasted new potatoes, and a Queen of Puddings to finish. And then of course tea and coffee and perhaps a light cheese platter). The characters were all very British and class-conscious and snobby, and all made it clear that they considered untidiness to be both repulsive and morally wrong. Robin’s bedroom was described with disgust as having not one but TWO pairs of shoes ‘flung’ into a corner, some clothes on a chair AND the wardrobe doors open – THE HORROR!! Who, as one of the detectives reflected to herself, could LIVE like this??
The police seemed in no hurry to solve the case. In the evenings, in front of a cosy fire with a glass of wine each, they would get together and have long chats about what they had all eaten for dinner and think up a name to call the murderer ('Noctis'??), then very occasionally discuss a few important details before deciding they were all tired and it was time for bed. Luckily for them, the murderer conveniently taped a confession and pretty much handed [HIM OR HER]self in at the end, so all they had to do was eat another jolly good dinner and look smug about how useful they'd been.
Some of the details at the end were SO unlikely and obviously just devices to wind it all up – i.e. a major plot point depended on one of Robin’s friends remembering in exhaustive detail a random story he had told him about where he was on the day of the London Bombings, including the old lady that bumped into him AND the name of the village where she lived. Errmm… ok.
SO yeah in conclusion I think this is the first and last PD James book I will ever attempt...
February 28, 2009
well...it wasn't so much that i didn't like this book, i just wasn't excited about it. there were parts that were too detailed about things that i didn't care about, and there were parts that were fine. i also felt a darkness in the setting and characters, and felt that there wasn't really anyone to like or to relate to. i did think the last few chapters were a little odd - the whole stone thing. what??? ok - i admit that insanity makes people do odd things, but really??? well all i can say is that i will try another one - especially since my friend kaye ( who has read every single book by p.d.james) says she just read this one and it isn't typical of james. she said that it is different from the rest in the focus on characters and that she finished it and wondered what happened at the end, too. i think she did a good job of telling us who did what, and yet leaving us thinking "hmmm...." and wondering when the other shoe was going to drop or if there was a twist. i guess that's a good thing, right? hmmm...
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