Another entry in the Dalgleish series which finds the Commander called to a private island which is a haven of peace and introspection for high profile guests. A murder has occurred which has thrown the guests and staff into a panic. To complicate an already complicated situation, an outbreak of SARS hits the island.
With a limited number of suspects, the identification of the murderer should be easy but this is a James novel, so nothing is as it seems. You won't be naming that killer until the end of the story, if at all. Another good book from one of the greatest of British mystery writers.

I’ve loved this mystery series. One to go!

The Lighthouse, by PD James isn't a book that those who want realism in their crime stories will like.

It's set on an island off the British coast that the "well to do" use as a retreat from their stressful (but "terribly correct") lives. When a prize winning author is found hanging in the lighthouse on the island, the police, in the shape of Adam Dalgliesh and his merry band of men, are called in to solve the case.

I've read worse books. I've read worse crime books in fact, but this one didn't grab me. I come from a fairly well to do background, but I didn't recognise the people in this book. They're all about "correctness," "show," and how they present themselves to the world, and after a while this really starts to get on my wick. It shouldn't but it did.

My irritation over the suspects wasn't helped by the fact that Dalgliesh (a senior officer) is too sensitive by half. I've never particularly fond the idea of a poetry writing detective, but the more I read of him, the more I just want to yell "Get over yourself and get on with the crime bit of the story."

My other criticism is that it takes a long time for anything to happen. We're told early that something's coming but it took almost 200 pages (of 466) to get there, and I'm sorry, but I found that beyond irritating.

My book club chose to read something from a "classic" mystery writer for May. This club had read a P.D. James before and many of us couldn't get through it. When this one was mentioned, I perked up. I swear I read this years ago...I'm pretty obsessed with lighthouses so it wouldn't surprise me if I had. I can find no proof of it. Everything about it seemed familiar. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it this time.

Combe Island, located off the Cornish coast, has been family-owned years ago, but was eventually opened up to become a restful place for VIPs. It's quiet, remote, no need for security, and the staff is discreet. All that changes when one of it's famous visitors is found hanging from the island's lighthouse. Commander Adam Dalgliesh, with his team of investigators, are flown in to determine if the death was suicide or homicide. Very quickly, it is determined to be a suspicious death, and the team must take a close look at everyone on the island and consider them to be a potential suspect. Frankly, they all seem to have a dislike for the deceased, and some with a pretty solid motive. When another death occurs on the island, the team kicks into overdrive. But then a potentially deadly, virulent, mysterious illness strikes one island visitor as well as Dalgliesh, and his understudies must step up to the task.

Classic case of a locked room mystery, right? It will definitely remind you of "And Then There Were None", or more recently "The Guest List". There is nothing more delicious than a remote island, a finite cast of characters, and a murder most foul! Each character has a well-drawn, quirky personality, and because this is a series we have ongoing drama with the detectives. I'm not sure how I felt about the "mysterious illness" (I won't spoil that here) but it hits close to home with our potentially deadly virus floating around the last couple years. Sure, throwing that in adds additional drama and forces minor characters to take a major role, but I did find myself eye-rolling.

Charles Keating narrated this audio. It is interesting that he also narrates other P.D. James novels, as well as Elizabeth George and other British mysteries. He does fit well with this genre, with his proper British accent.

P.D. James's scrupulous examination of this closed community of characters rivetted me. The phrase "late-night page-turner" has never been more accurately used. This is a novelist who compels you to overcome tiredness, as you read through to the end. In the character of Nathan Oliver she challenges us with the chilling juxtaposition of a brilliant novelist and an unpleasant, universally-disliked personality. James is masterful in her use of the murder mystery device upon which to hang her examination of a group of people in a closed community - all but one we know to be innocent yet every character behaves in ways that make them seem guilty. I loved the clever twist which came when I thought, "Hang on, Dalgleish is the main protagonist but he's out of the action with a dreaded disease!" And yet the breakthough came though him and precisely because of his being in enforced solitude and contemplation. P.D. James ia a master of many things, but I can single out the pacing and the intensity of the terrifying confrontation with the killer near the end.

I liked this story. I've only given it three stars because there were some elements that I thought didn't quite work well enough for a higher rating. There are rather a lot of characters, most of whom are introduced to us quite rapidly at the beginning of the story and I found myself struggling to remember who was who. I very much liked the setting, although I thought the names of the cottages were a little contrived and, as with the characters, there were rather of lot of them and I struggled to place each one. The illness that develops further into the story seemed a little far-fetched, although it did solve the problem of not being able to have any outside interference on the island. The characters themselves are do not reveal themselves a great deal to us. As this is a reasonably long book, I would have thought there was plenty of room for us to actually get to know the characters a lot more than we do. As it was, I found I didn't particularly care one way or another for most of them. Having said all this, I still found I enjoyed the story. PD James has a quite beautiful way of writing, which made this story a pleasure to read. I would be tempted to liken this story to a modern day Agatha Christie, so if you like that sort of thing (I do!), then you are sure to enjoy this book.

I used to enjoy P.D. James novels, but no longer. Although elegantly written in exceedingly formal English (which was also spoken by nearly all her characters), it was 2/3 rds wordy and irrelevant description (the scrabble game comes to mind), with all the action in the last quarter of the book. First it was boring, then it was annoying, then I started skipping long passages, and finally I didn't bother with the epilogue because I had really had enough. Conan Doyle could have done it with a short story. No more PD James for me.

Recensione: https://chelibroleggere.blogspot.com/...

Good mystery, one of her better ones.

Well written mystery, easy to read, enjoyable

This is the second in the last of the Inspector Daglish books. Daglish and his team are called out to a remote Cornish island that is used as a very secure and private retreat for political big wigs. There has been a death, which may be ruled as suicide but since we know the Met have been called in, there is lots of room for murder to have been the cause of death.

I like P.D. James’ mysteries. They are always satisfyingly stuffed with suspicious characters and motivations and this one was no different in that respect. I did feel there were a few weak points and I particularly didn’t like the sub-plot with Daglish’s love life.
Read for Litsy Cloak and Dagger Christmas.

this book is verygood and interesting