Das war der langweiligste Krimi, der mir jemals untergekommen ist. Schwafelig, wo er hätte spannend sein sollen, rasselt P.D. James ihre Handlung runter.
Die Charaktere blieben blass und leblos, was für einen Krimi die falsche Interpretation einer Leiche ist.
Warum Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh sich da auch nur ansatzweise etwas zusammenreimen konnte, wird mir wohl ewig ein Rätsel bleiben. Der Autorin war es anscheinend auch nicht klar. Darum begnügte sie sich wohl auch damit Dalgliesh sagen zu lassen, er wüsste, wer der Täter sei.
Plump!
Zum Schluss gelangt der Superintendent günstigerweise und durch reinen Zufall an das Geständnis des Täters, was dann dem Leser statt einer Lösung ersatzweise vorgetragen wird.

Dieser Krimi belegte eines. Egal, wie brutal oder eklig eine Kriminalgeschichte beginnt, ist das überhaupt keine Garantie, dass sie auch spannend werden wird. Eher ist das Gegenteil der Fall, weil der Autor auf so schlechte Mittel zurückgreifen musste.

This is certainly not one of James’ better mysteries. The premise is wonderful and the opening scenes really grab you into the story. But quickly it just goes flat – like a car getting bogged in a muddy swamp. One then feels like they are sinking, with no escape and that pretty much sums up the narrative.

I found the characters a little TOO similar. Really?? A village that doesn’t have any facilities holds that many writers?? I don’t think so. There were the typical comments such as a male not fitting the normal stereotype being a pansy or a queer. There is the derogatory language towards a girl who isn’t “pretty” and so on.

What I did like was James’ eye for the social detail. Each and every one of her earlier novels highlight the poverty that was in Britain in the 1960s & 70s. Where other countries were spending up big on goods, Britain was this grimy nation that had a huge divide between the very haves and the have nots; a divide that crossed the Middle Class, and not at the Lower Class, as would be expected. The night club scene and dialogue was something out of one of those Rank kitchen sink b&w dramas. “a tart in tights drinking pink gin, with smeared make up” was a phrase that entered my head a lot here – it is from a forgotten 1960s pulp novel I read decades ago, but which has never left me.

There is also a storm and flood section that is very exciting and well paced. Ultimately, I found the resolution and outing of the killer really unbelievable and too far-fetched. How it was all achieved was just plain silly – and the motive is so weak, it is almost laughable. It was all very disappointing.

Read this book for the social commentary, for the open chapter, and for the wonderful storm scene, but give that mystery a miss.

An atmospheric mystery set on the British coast. I enjoyed the slow roll-out of the mystery and the resolution by Detective Dalgliesh. P.D. James has an intriguing writing style. I'll be checking out more of her books in time.