I was working in London the summer of the year this book was first published but only now have I got round to reading it for the Kindle English Mystery Group.

The servant problem has become so acute post-war that the Maxies of Martingale are reduced to taking on a “delinquent” as housemaid – Sally Jupp, a young woman with an illegitimate child. D. James novel with all its gravitas and psychological nuances held under the thin and busy surface of this book’s plot, trying mightily to escape. Previous reviews paint this first work of the series as a precursor to the following works which I look forward to listening to.

That's something very common, of course — apparently, there's a whole book on the subject: Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village. but if you read quite speedily and are accustomed to quotation marks indicating spoken dialogue, well then, get with the program! On the night of the Church Fete, held at Martingale, home of the Maxie’s, the young woman is killed.

The pavements were spilling with housewives who every now and then, as if propelled by some primeval urge, streamed with maddening slowness across the path of the traffic. Murder shattered the tranquillity of her new home and Chief Detective Inspector Adam Dalgliesh arrived in the peace of a country Sunday to solve a case as mysterious as Sally herself. Meet the dark and brooding Dalgliesh - a gentleman, a poet, and a gifted detective-and read the novel that launched P. In 1997 she was elected President of the Society of Authors, stepping down from the post in August 2013.The decorated boards and text block appear to be in an unread condition and are square, tight, clean and bright. The Reverend Canon Michael Hampel, Precentor of St Paul's Cathedral and a friend of Baroness James, said 'Her creative genius put her alongside the great authors of detective fiction, not least Dorothy L.

Near Fine with slight bruising to spine ends in Near Fine dust jacket with light wear at spine ends, light indents to front panel, bubbling to laminate at front spine joint ends. D. James also made a great contribution to public life as a civil servant, a BBC Governor and as a peer of the realm. This acerbic description gives added richness to the character of Felix, and also shows the perceptive eye of P.

Investigating the violent death at the manor house, Detective Chief Inspector Adam Dalgliesh becomes embroiled in the complicated passions beneath the calm surface of English country life.