Catching Up…

It was not uncommon for our 4th Wednesdays Mystery Readers group at the Library, to want to read and discuss this author. She always had a way of keeping us engaged with her stories. And, this one was no different. Especially with Inspector Adam Dalgliesh.

So, when this was dropped off as a donation to my Little Free Library Shed, it was only expected again, for me to re-visit it so that I could finally write my review for Goodreads.

In many ways, all of us in the book group really felt so connected to the Inspector for his strong sense of conscience and his intricate sense of justice.

This particular setting is beautifully scenic and isolated. It is a supposed sanctuary where individuals go to seek security and quiet and hopefully regained health. And of course, the landscape creates its own sense of spooky and beauty with the cliffs and mist, which is pure James.

The pace is slow, the build-up tense, and when someone dies, the question being, is it suicide, or murder?

And, when in an isolated setting, who-dunnit? And, will there be more murders? And, of course, the why? Which always leads to the moral dilemmas. Which makes this story even more compelling.

And, that is why a P.D. James story isn’t just a great mystery, to be solved, it is a perfect book discussion selection.

Not my fave of the Dalgliesh books, but still very well crafted in terms of plot and with detailed insight into troubled minds.
A closed room type mystery as the murders take place on an isolated island, and therefore with a small number of suspects. I liked that the clues were all there in the text, but very subtle and easy to miss.
I’m running out of things to say about PD James books that I haven’t already said. So sad that there is only one more to go to complete my reread.

Upřímně, jsem ráda, že jsem Maják náhodně vyhrabala ve čtečce během válení se v posteli s chřipkou a tím pádem o knize předem nic nevěděla, protože přečíst si tu anotaci, tak tu knihu hned v začátku zahodím. Takto mě u ní drželo aspoň hádání, kdo umře, i když to bylo jasné jak facka – nejprotivnější osoba, na kterou měli pifku skoro všichni = hromada motivů. Jinak mi vadilo skoro všechno: strojené dialogy, opakování dávno řečených faktů (bez přidání něčeho nového), architektonické exkurze, nucená linka s nákazou SARSu, která byla víceméně zbytečná, resp. by bez ní nemohli vyšetřovat kriminalisté bez svého brilantního šéfa, který nakonec vraha odhalil během záblesku jasného myšlení v deliriu nemoci, kdy si najednou poskládal všechna fakta (tohle bylo fakt wtf). No prostě intelektuální úroveň dokonale odpovídala mým myšlenkovým schopnostem oslabeným chřipajznou. 2,5*

This is the thirteenth Adam Dalgliesh book and I can hardly believe I am nearly at the end of this series.

This mystery takes place on Coombe Island; a retreat for the wealthy and famous. This sees Dalgliesh, along with Kate Miskin and Sgt. Francis Benton-Smith being asked to investigate the murder of author, Nathan Oliver. As usual with P.D.James, we have a cast of suspects, a closed community and number of motives.

Complicating the situation is a case of SARS on the island, which is almost eerily relevant to the situation at the end of 2020 when I write this review. I have one more in the series to read and look forward to completing it next year.

P. D. James was both old-fashioned and modern in her novels. This 2005 offering has traditional elements of British crime fiction structure and plotting. The murders however, are by no means cozy, and the issues are current. Character driven, suspenseful, and the writing, as expected, pitch perfect.

Adam Dalgleish with two colleagues heads for a small island off the Cornish coast to investigate a murder. Classic whodunnit, the dramatic setting makes for a limited list of suspects, Dalgleish falls ill in mid-investigation and has to rely on his colleagues more than he usually does.

Listened to all tbe P.D.James books as audiobooks whilst ill.

Combe Island is a secluded haven for public figures to vacation without the press of publicity or security teams. Therefore an unexpected death is occasion for intense interest from government departments in London. Commander Dalgliesh and his team seem like heavy guns just to answer the question of Accident? Suicide? Murder? This seemingly idyllic island will eventually be very glad to have them.

In my opinion the most beautiful of the series. This isn’t just because the printed book is such a fine artifact: light in the hands, readable font, lovely cover. The island lives, supporting its likeable inhabitants during their confusion at their unprecedented situation.

Read once, listened once

Adam Dalgliesh, Kate Mishkin and her new partner fly in to a remote island frequented by the rich and famous to investigate a murder. A wealthy and renown author has been found hanging in the Lighthouse. There is no love loss among the island's residents and guests; the writer was a despicable man and no one but no one is mourning his loss. Dalgliesh and his team have a wealth of suspects as well as great digs. His boss wants the case contained - no press. But something else is present on this beautiful island getaway that could threaten each person, and it is deadly.

This was and still is my introduction to the novels of P.D. James. She is surprisingly easy to read and knows how to keep the reader turning the page. She is a master at building suspense and well developed characters. I thought what she used to contain the people on the island was slightly way over the top though. That said, The Lighthouse is a very good whodunnit!

This was more fun than The Private Patient. Maybe I just know these characters well enough to like them better now. I think it's more than that, though. I think this was a tighter story, and the interplay between the junior detectives was more involving.

This is the thirteenth novel in the Dalgliesh series, and the second which I've read. Whilst I enjoy James on the whole, her strongest books as far as I'm concerned are the two in the Cordelia Gray series, which should have been expanded. Regardless, I do not perceive James as a crime author in the vein of Agatha Christie and Edmund Crispin, where I very much want to read their entire oeuvres. Whilst I rated The Lighthouse three stars, I found quite a large portion of the novel rather dull, and will be putting the series to bed accordingly.

The crime itself and its motives were rather interesting, but the novel felt so drawn out that entire chapters were superfluous to the whole. Many of them deal with the minutiae of the characters; development on this scale I am fine with, but not at the expense of the story. There are very few twists and hooks in The Lighthouse, and I have come away feeling rather disappointed.

This was one of the best ones of PD James so far...didn't give too much away at the begining and kept me guessing.