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Rating(4 / 5.0, 99 votes)
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Interesting in part because of the dearth of likeable characters. Even Dalgliesh is out of sorts. While I don't think it's absolutely her best work, I'm giving it high marks for atmosphere, and for creating characters I didn't like but about whom I wanted to read.
There are, however, a lot of characters. I sometimes felt as though I wanted a sheet of notes on who's who.
There are, however, a lot of characters. I sometimes felt as though I wanted a sheet of notes on who's who.
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This is the longest winding murder-mystery I've ever read. The story is based on a good plot, no doubt; but for the readers to comprehend this, they have to wait till the very end. The problem with this particular installment, I believe lies in the execution of the plot. The too detailed descriptive trend that the author uses on scenes, the thoughts and actions of suspects, and even of Dalgliesh makes the main murder-mystery stray from its course. In this particular installment, two men including a reverend father are dead, and a couple of deaths take place during the course, but all I read was the descriptions of events, scenes, suspects' minds and actions, and Adam Dalgliesh's disinterestedness. It was one long tedious reading.
This was not an official case for Commander Adam Dalgliesh. He arrives at the scene (which is a sort of institution for the patients with disabling diseases) by an invitation of the reverend father attached to the place and finds him dead and buried. It is only Dalgliesh's hunch that something was amiss. But Dalgliesh, being convalescent, is at a point of indecision as to continue his work with the police force or not. His indecision makes him reluctant to involve himself and he proceeds with his hunch only in disinterested curiosity. This isn't a flaw of course, but I prefer Dalgliesh in his official capacity when his authority and force of character come out to his advantage.
The story wasn't interesting. There is no suspense, none at all, except in the final two chapters. But even then it was a feeble attempt at that, for the ending was predictable. The setting is becoming repetitive. This is the third time in five books that the author took us into a medical institution. The characters were intolerable and I dislike the whole set of them. Of Adam Dalgliesh, I didn't like the particular character portrayal of his in this installment.
After five books, I'm still not drawn into this series. But for some reason, I don't feel like quitting yet.
This was not an official case for Commander Adam Dalgliesh. He arrives at the scene (which is a sort of institution for the patients with disabling diseases) by an invitation of the reverend father attached to the place and finds him dead and buried. It is only Dalgliesh's hunch that something was amiss. But Dalgliesh, being convalescent, is at a point of indecision as to continue his work with the police force or not. His indecision makes him reluctant to involve himself and he proceeds with his hunch only in disinterested curiosity. This isn't a flaw of course, but I prefer Dalgliesh in his official capacity when his authority and force of character come out to his advantage.
The story wasn't interesting. There is no suspense, none at all, except in the final two chapters. But even then it was a feeble attempt at that, for the ending was predictable. The setting is becoming repetitive. This is the third time in five books that the author took us into a medical institution. The characters were intolerable and I dislike the whole set of them. Of Adam Dalgliesh, I didn't like the particular character portrayal of his in this installment.
After five books, I'm still not drawn into this series. But for some reason, I don't feel like quitting yet.
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