Много скучна и безинтересна история... очаквах много повече.

After my brain injury, PD James became a marker for me in my reading progress. Pre-injury I read every one of her books and enjoyed them tremendously for their good writing and good stories. After my injury though, with my reading ability fried, I couldn't read any of her books. Too many characters to follow, plots that meandered beyond my ability to follow, writing at a grade level higher than what I'd sunk down to... It was rather disappointing to see her new books come out over the years and know I wouldn't read them.

And then I was enrolled in a research drug trial in March. I felt my cognitive abilities shift, and I suddenly realised I was reading more. I dared to try a PD James. I followed my rehab therapists' advice: read a book I'd already read, tis easier. And so I went all the way back to James's first Dalgliesh book.

It felt quite familiar.

I'd begun reading PD James in my teens, an age when I still reread books (sometime in my twenties I stopped rereading them because as soon as I'd read the first paragraph, the entire book would flood back into my memory). And so I'd probably reread Cover Her Face a few times years ago. Also, the story is reminiscent of a couple of Agatha Christie mysteries (which I continued to reread after my brain injury), making the plot familiar in several ways. Even so, I did have some trouble keeping track of the characters, and I only solved the mystery near the end, which is better than my usual not-solving-the-mystery-at-all track record since the injury. But the writing was demonstrably superior to many of the books I've been reading. It was rather satisfying to sink my teeth into a book fully of layers and complexities due to the author's good command of the language.

I enjoyed it immensely.

This was P.D. James' first novel and introduces her detective Adam Dalgliesh. Very little is revealed about Dalgliesh's character in this first novel - there are some hints but he has no scenes away from his role as the detective in charge of the case.

The book is set up like a Golden Age Detective novel in that it takes place in a country house with a closed circle of suspects and the classic scene in the last chapter where the detective gathers everyone together.

Because everyone knows that it's likely that one of them is the murderer there is very little discussion
about what happened, secrets are kept, and there is a feeling of tension running through the book which reaches it's peak in the last chapter. I had no idea who the murderer was until just before it was revealed.

Awful, just awful. Slow, poorly written. Confusing prose. Should I even both reading anymore P.D. James?

Back to basics! I switched from modern cozies and crime fiction to a supposed blast from the past. I remembered a few PD James novels I read in college as part of my mystery fiction independent studies and decided to start the series.

As expected, very reminiscent of Agatha Christie but with a little more modern appeal. I enjoyed the characters and premise for a traditional whodunit!

I also like the wrap up of all the main characters in the end, as well as that at least one of them is seen again in future novels (no spoilers here!).

If you're a traditional mystery buff, or have an avid whodunit interest, you may be able to figure the culprit on your own, but rest assured, it's not as simple as X did it the candlestick in the library!

Remember the movie Clue!!!

Couldn't even listen to 1% of this book...

Хареса ми. В стил Агата Кристи,лека и бързо се чете.

I've previously read a couple of other PD James' Inspector Dalgleish mysteries before and enjoyed very much. I like how intelligent James writes. This is the first Dalgleish mystery and I must say I enjoyed as much as the others I've read. Dalgleish is almost a peripheral character in the story, James rather focusses on the other characters/ suspects and their activities, motivations as she develops the story. Basically, Sally Juup, a housemaid is found dead (strangled) in her bedroom. All of the family members are suspects. The story follows Dalgleish as he performs his policework, interrogating the family members, travelling around the area to discuss Sally's character and past with family members and other relations. But at the same time, the story also follows around the people from the estate, allowing us to see their motivations, their thoughts on the murder, their own investigations. It's an interesting way to present a case and I found the story well-written and interesting. There were some nice little surprises which added to the story. All-in-all, most enjoyable and I will be continuing my experiences with Inspector Dalgleish.

A labyrinth of issues woven together to create a mystery that challenges…

Cover Her Face by P.D. James is the first book in the Adam Dalgliesh series. Housemaid Sally Jupp is strangled in her bed in a locked room and Scotland Yard detective Adam Dalgliesh is sent to investigate. A classic style murder mystery with plenty of suspects. It has been a while since I have read any books by this author and decided to start from the beginning. It was interesting but rather dated and not as good as the later books. I would have liked to see more of the detective and his work than what we did.

I recently read a Dagliesh mystery and decided to go back and read the first book by P.D. James that featured this character. Cover Her Face introduces this enigmatic character who has become famous in England and across the pond. This mystery takes place at a quintessential British manor and multiple suspects abound in the death of a servant who has created an atmosphere of fear and hate among the residents of the manor. Through skillful interviews, Dagliesh gets to the crux of the matter despite many possible suspects.

I see Dalgliesh is James' recurring detective character, but we don't get a strong personality here. The rest of the cast, on the other hand, is a bit more complex and developed than is standard for this sort of mystery. As usual I disliked them all, and the one that I found most interesting was on page the least. At least the romance was kept to a minimum.