Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to our November 2020 Challenge Read of Death in Holy Orders by P.D. James

Published in 2001, this is the 11th book in the Inspector Adam Dalgliesh series.

When the body of a student of an Anglican theological college is found on the shore of a desolate stretch of coast smothered by a fall of sand, his wealthy father demands that Scotland Yard re-examine the verdict of accidental death. Commander Dalgliesh has visited St Anselm's in his boyhood and, as he is due for a holiday, agrees to pay a visit. He finds himself embroiled in one of the most puzzling cases of his career.

Please do not post spoilers in this thread. Thank you.

It's the weekend, so a good time to open up our new month's discussions! Again, thanks to Susan for setting up the threads for this one. Who is reading the book?

We are back to a very characteristic setting for P.D. James, on the Suffolk coast, in a remote theological college.

I have finished the book and enjoyed the first half a lot although I had some problems with later plot developments, which I will talk about in the spoiler thread a bit later on.

I will read this, Judy. It’s been interesting reading the series & seeing how the characters have developed. It was much less obvious, I think, while reading the books years ago when each one was published.

I think this was the first book I ever read by James, about 30 years ago. I remember enjoying it very much and then went on the find the others over time. So looking forward to this one.

I have started this one and am enjoying it so far. A good opening, I thought and the series seems more assured, with James more confident.

I will be reading it later in the month as I’ve only just startedA Certain Justice. I am shamefully slow with this series :)

They are quite long, Pamela. I was doing quite well this month and then I seem to have got behind again too, so don't worry!

I've started this and find one of the sub-plots disturbing after recent church disclosures. The setting is quite similar to an earlier book.

Sandy wrote: "I've started this and find one of the sub-plots disturbing after recent church disclosures. The setting is quite similar to an earlier book."

Agree with both your points, Sandy. I wondered how it would have been received had we not had those church disclosures. Would it have been disturbing, or would it just be classed as good imagination and storytelling?

When I first looked at the book, I saw lots of reviews had voted it down because of this sub-plot. I am trying to take the book for what it is - fiction - and not judge it too much until I have finished it.

I agree about the setting being very similar to an earlier book, The Black Tower - I was quite surprised by how similar it felt. I suppose several of her books do feature these small institutions, but even so I had a slight feeling of deja vu.

Similar settings and, often, a similar type of place - rural, isolated. She used a lot of those closed settings; although they work well in mysteries, as you have a fixed number of suspects.

I just finished this one and I enjoyed it much more than any other James book we've read so far. I loved the setting and the plot and characters were all very interesting.

I'm into half of the book and liking it so far. I do like the setting which I agree is similar to that in The Black Tower - remote and coastal. I'm not much familiar with the subplot yet, but I agree with Susan that the book should be appreciated as fiction.

As usual, James' writing is powerful, evocative, character driven and extremely well-detailed. But yet again, the world she has built is just so depressing. Everyone seems to lead dreary, painful lives, with no real happiness or contentment. No solace can be found in a fulfilling career, religion, money, or relationships. This book draws you in, but I am certainly happy to leave her world once the book is finished.