The worst book I've read this year!!!

This is my first book by P D James and I think I've picked the wrong book. I'm willing to try more of her works in a future

Rather disappointing. I picked this book up at a book sale for a song, mostly because the cover advertised the book as "Agatha Christie's Crown Princess" and being a Christie fan I thought I'd try it out. The story was long, boring, and the mystery easy to figure out. Very few of the characters had any appeal to me and quite honestly, I skipped parts just to get through to the end. Sorry to say, I don't think I'll try any more of PD James's books.

It was a pleasant hearing, although I would not classify this Dalgliesh book as excellent. Dalgliesh is in a recovery phase and visits an old friend at his request. Unfortunately, he is late because his friend died a few days ago. It is striking that Dalgliesh is always a tad too late in this book. He realizes that there is something bad at work, but there are dead before he finds out anything.

3.3/5

More of a crime novel than a mystery novel in that the inspector does not really make much progress with the case. It is also slow at many points, including at the start, when the introduction to the characters felt well-written and psychologically astute, yet quite boring at the same time.

Pros:
- James treats the plight of the disabled sympathetically yet realistically, evoking a sense of the body horror of finding your body failing your mind, and in some senses, your dreams and goals.
- The atmosphere is slow and foreboding, which makes it ominous and atmospheric, yet at times a little soporific. James is a good writer who uses the setting in the South of England to good effect.

Cons:
- The villain was a little obvious I thought - there was one character who just broadly did not belong in the whole place. As a result, it took me a while to work up the interest to finish reading it.
- This novel works a bit better as crime literary fiction than as a mystery novel because the main appeal to me was more about the moral blackness of the crime and its set-up, rather than any sense of problem-solving or suspense. But this is arguably my fault for having expectations which the author herself did not advertise.

I've lost track of how many P.D. James mysteries are set at medical facilities, but it's getting ridiculous. This one is pretty tedious up until the last 30 pages or so. We have a bunch of convalescents, some seriously ill or dying, in wheelchairs (this makes pushing them off cliffs easier). Commander Dalgliesh, himself convalescing from mono that the doctors at first thought was leukemia, serendipitously ends up among them, as they begin to die, apparently from suicide or natural causes. It takes Dalgliesh 253 pages to figure out that there is something more sinister going on - and since he has decided to quit the police force, he keeps pretending he isn't going to get involved anyway. Tiresome! Honestly, the most interesting part was when Dalgliesh was sorting through an old pile of books.

This is the fifth in the Adam Dalgliesh series and sees him needing to recuperate, after a stay in hospital, which has led him to question his career in the police. Having received a message from the old curate, of his father’s, asking him to visit, he decides to take him up on his offer and heads off to Toyton Grange, a home for the disabled. He is not sure why Father Baddeley wanted to see him, but, by the time he arrives, the old family friend is already dead.

Before long, and despite his attempts not to get involved, Dalgliesh is questioning events at the Grange. Who wrote the poison pen letter that Dalgliesh finds among Father Baddeley’s papers? Was the recent death of one of the patients an accident, or is there something to investigate? Obviously, the detective in Dalgliesh still lurks and, before long, he is asking questions and uncovering more strange events, among the assorted group of people who live, and work, at the home. Meanwhile, the Black Tower, on the grounds, looms over the countryside; used mainly by the warden, and owner, Wilfred, who opened Toyton Grange after experiencing a personal cure, which he sees as a miracle.

Author P.D. James spent much of her life working in the health service and many of her books have a setting revolving around doctors, nurses, hospitals or clinics. Dalgliesh, disenchanted by his career, also finds himself vaguely uncomfortable around the inhabitants of the home. This is a personal trait which has occurred in previous books and, although it may be realistic, it is quite uncomfortable for the reader. It makes the dour detective seem both cold and judgemental. His distaste of the odours, his discomfort around the patients, his analytical nature, all tend to make you aware of the faults of the man. The fact he is also aware of them, is cold comfort at times.

Overall, this is not my favourite of the Dalgliesh mysteries so far. I do not mind when such books are slow, and winding. However, these are not, frankly, a cast of characters which excite much interest, despite the schemes and plotting beneath the surface, and the plot takes too long to conclude. It has something of the feeling of a waiting room, where you always have the sense that something might happen, but that, probably, you are in for the long haul… I look forward to reading on, despite my difficulties with this novel. I loved the previous book in the series – I hope I will love the next as much. Rated 3.5.

I'm rereading this book and finding it very disappointing. Yes, James's descriptions of the English countryside are wonderful and her vocabulary is amazing, not to say daunting. But what an unlikeable group of characters. Even Dalgliesh, on whom I had a huge crush, is irritating, too often filled with self-disgust, for no clear reason. Maybe my crush was really on Roy Marsden who played him in the tv series. I'm over three-quarters of the way through and I don't really care who dunnit. I guess there are some books you should never go back to.

Update. I finished the book and the last quarter is pretty exciting. It's not the book I remember, but P.D. James has redeemed herself a little bit in my opinion.

Classic fantastic P.D. James with subtly profound insight into life with disability. She is marvelous.

P.D. stands for Perfect Detectivestory.

As the year comes to an end, I returned to one of my favourite gentleman detectives, Adam Dalgliesh. PD James paints a vivid picture of a remote coastal town where Adam finds himself one foggy morning in search of meeting an old friend, who he finds to be dead. What follows then is a cat and mouse game between Adam the sleuth, his convalescing self hell-bent on leaving the Yard and the crafty villain who preys more on people's psyche than their wallets.

The plot is made more memorable by James' deft and sublime writing, character arcs and her capability to make the reader imagine the Dorset coast setting in all its beauty and gloom. Seldom in detective fiction writing, has anyone reached James' writing calibre and of late, I can only see Louise Penny approaching that prowess.

My Rating - 4.5/5

Reading the Dalgleish series back to back all year has revealed some weaknesses in James's style and themes. You notice a lot of sameness in terms of her characters and plot elements, to the point where it becomes predictable. James is certainly not the only author to suffer from this problem, but it lowers her reputation in my opinion. I'm happy to say this is my final James book of the year, and likely, forever.

I'd never read any P.D. James before. I think The Black Tower was probably a good choice to begin with. If this book isn't an example of mystery literature then I really don't know what is. Although, it was a bit difficult to read in spots, in all, it was a fine story and wonderful characters. Even the ones we weren't supposed to like were well defined.

I'll probably read more Adam Dagliesh books, but, at the moment, I don't have a definite choice in mind. If this one is any example, I don't think I could go very far wrong with any choice from the series. But, might just want to start at the beginning.