Rating: 
Summary: another excellent mystery novel from P. D. James
Review: I've read a number of P. D. James' novels, and thought this one tighter than most, except for the conclusion, which seemed a bit rushed and not so carefully written as the rest of the book. I liked the abundance of detail, and the characters seemed true to life, even the principal victim, the lawyer Venetia Aldridge, who despite a prickly, irritable exterior had done pretty well with her life, considering her family of origin. And her feelings of anger and helplessness at her daughter's taking up with someone unsuitable are something that any parent could identify with.Some readers may fault Venetia for helping killers to go free, but I don't think she was to blame for that. The fact is that whether or not an accused person is appealing, he deserves a fair trial. And if the police evidence is not strong enough to convict him, he should not be pronounced guilty. Like many mystery writers, James points out the evils that can arise when people believe that justice has not been done, and they take the law into their own hands. The truth is that suffering can never be compensated for, and each person has a different viewpoint about what outcome would be really fair.
Rating:
Summary: characters you love to hate
Review: Though I am not usually a fan of PD James's detective fiction featuring Adam Dalgleish other than via the PBS dramatizations of her novels, I must admit the pull to read "A Certain Justice" after dipping into only the first chapter was irresistible. Fans of John Mortimer's Rumpole series might imagine themselves well at home among the denizens and vagaries of the English law courts. Like Rumpole, Venetia Aldridge is a criminal barrister but there the similiarity ends. In Venetia Aldridge, James has created what someone once described as the perfect fictional character. I did not tire of her doings, she riveted me when she took center stage, yet Venetia is the kind of person I would not like to know in real life. A complex character much like Jane Austen's Emma Woodhouse, Venetia Aldridge is handsome, clever and rich. Yet it is these very blessings that, in combination with her having been born female, make her such a monster. As social commentary, James highlights the bigotry successful women must endure. A woman cannot it seems compete in a "man's world" and retain her femininity, her likability. Only in the briefest flashes is the reader allowed to glimpse Venetia as the lonely pathetic and frustrated individual she is. In contrast is her male counterpart, Drysdale Laud, who is just as selfish, if not from a more privileged background, than Venetia. Yet he's not described to be as inhuman as Venetia. It is a pity, though crucial to the plot that Venetia die.Fans of Adam Dalgliesh might balk because the Dalgleish character doesn't take center stage in this novel. Indeed, Dalgliesh doesn't appear until a good 100 pages into the narrative and thereafter only sporadically. To appreciate "Justice" a reader must bear in mind that James is delving into "character." In "A Certain Justice" almost all the characters save Dalgliesh had something in their pasts with which they continue to struggle, to try to outlive. Human frailty is the key. James understands that the more fascinating aspect of a mystery is really the "whydunit" rather than exclusively "whodunit."I am a convert and will eagerly await the next PD James novel.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing Story and Characters but a Tad Slow
Review: Venetia Aldridge is a top notch criminal lawyer. She hardly ever looses a case and is able to find the holes in any argument. Her personal life isn't so rosy, however. She is basically estranged from her daughter and considered a problem by her co-workers. Her life really begins to unravel when her daughter announces her engagement - to a man Venetia has recently gotten off for murder. But when Venetia is found dead in her office two days later, it's up to Adam Dalgliesh and his team to figure out who killed her. And with all these motives and suspects, it won't be easy. I'd heard much about P.D. James, but this was the first time I'd actually read one of her books. I found the writing style engaging and would have a hard time putting it down once I started. On the other hand, I'd have a hard time picking it up again. The beginning especially seems to give us too much background on our characters, stuff we don't need to learn until later if at all. This really slowed the story down for me. The more I got into it, the better I enjoyed it, however. There were some nice twists along the way with an intriguing sub-plot. The last couple of chapters did seem a little anti-climatic considering what had gone before, but I was surprised by who the killer turned out to be. Using multiple view points greatly added to the story most of the time, although it did confuse me some as far as timeline goes. I can understand why P.D. James has such a fine reputation. She can paint a picture with words like few other writers currently writing. While she may be a tad too slow for my normal taste, I'm certainly glad to see what all the talk is about. Her reputation is well earned.
Rating: 
Summary: Suspects, Suspects, Suspects
Review: I must admit, this was a different type of Mystery for me. Just an average person, I can normally figure out the "who and why" well before the end of the book. Ms. James did an excellent job of not giving away to many clues so it was impossible until the end of the book to start piecing things together (or so I thought). I really liked the character of Inspector Dalqliesh. The narrator gave him the personality of a hard core detective without the crudeness you see in so many books. My original thought as I listened to this audio book was that it would be 2 stars max. The ending of this book caught me by surprise and I decided to give it 3 stars. If it weren't for Ms. James great detail, I would have probably given it 4 stars. For some reason, Ms. James felt that every character, and place needed to be described to the finest detail. This description lent to the length of the book which was extremely long. More then once I thought of not finishing this book. If this hadn't been an audio book I probably wouldn't have finished it. I felt the book would have been just as good if not better if some of this description had been left out. About the first 20 chapters (6 tapes) was nothing but a description of the suspects who worked in Chambers. Really, not necessary. I have not read any other titles by Ms. James. However, not being one who discounts an author after I book, I will most likely try another in the future. The only author I can think to compare Ms. James with would be Agatha Christie. Both have that passion for describing things in great detail.
Rating: 
Summary: *****A 5 star Mystery-Absorbing,Complex-beautifully done!
Review: ~ -~
* * * * * P.D James does it again! A beautiful intricately woven plot and fascinating characters make "A Certain Justice" one of her best!
You don't have to be a P.D. James fan; all mystery lovers will enjoy this book!
~ -~
Unusually for the "who-dun-it" genre, we actually get to meet and understand the life of the victim- Venetia, a criminal lawyer. We see the complexity of her life, and by the time she is murdered, we already know of many possible motives. Investigator Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh (a poet with a tragic past) is wonderful as always.
~ -~
This book clearly shows James' strength: - creating complex and believable characters that fill the book. We see the best and worst of each of the people in Venetia's world. As always James manages to surprise us all with the solution. I've never been able to outguess Dalgliesh- her plots are too imaginative and subtly hidden in the glimpses we have of the suspects. . This book is absolutely absorbing.
* * * * *
~ Buy this book, and save it for a long wait at the airport, or a day when you are snowed in. You won't want anything to interrupt you when you read it!
Rating:
Summary: Delicious
Review: is the only way to describe A CERTAIN JUSTICE, P.D. James' newest Adam Dalgliesh novel. In comparison with her previous work, I would say the most outstanding facet of this book is the remarkable quality of the writing. While James has always been an accomplished wordsmith, this book seems to be written with even greater literary style, and it flows much more smoothly than ORIGINAL SIN, which at times could become excessively verbose. The characters are, as usual, drawn realistically and interestingly. It is unfortunate that the story's most fascinating character is also the murder victim. Bold, ruthless, and basically dislikeable, Venetia Aldridge is a skilled criminal attorney who has no shortage of enemies. Angry colleagues, a rebellious daughter, and one dangerous psychopath comprise the impressively varied list of people who come under suspicion when Venetia is found stabbed to death at her desk, horrifically decorated with a bloodstained wig. The plot is ! not as complex or as elaborate as, say, an Agatha Christie or even one of James' previous novels. Nonetheless, the story is solidly constructed and serves up quite a few ingenious twists before the final revelation of the murderer's identity. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: characters you love to hate
Review: Though I am not usually a fan of PD James's detective fiction featuring Adam Dalgleish other than via the PBS dramatizations of her novels, I must admit the pull to read "A Certain Justice" after dipping into only the first chapter was irresistible. Fans of John Mortimer's Rumpole series might imagine themselves well at home among the denizens and vagaries of the English law courts. Like Rumpole, Venetia Aldridge is a criminal barrister but there the similiarity ends. In Venetia Aldridge, James has created what someone once described as the perfect fictional character. I did not tire of her doings, she riveted me when she took center stage, yet Venetia is the kind of person I would not like to know in real life. A complex character much like Jane Austen's Emma Woodhouse, Venetia Aldridge is handsome, clever and rich. Yet it is these very blessings that, in combination with her having been born female, make her such a monster. As social commentary, James highlights the bigotry successful women must endure. A woman cannot it seems compete in a "man's world" and retain her femininity, her likability. Only in the briefest flashes is the reader allowed to glimpse Venetia as the lonely pathetic and frustrated individual she is. In contrast is her male counterpart, Drysdale Laud, who is just as selfish, if not from a more privileged background, than Venetia. Yet he's not described to be as inhuman as Venetia. It is a pity, though crucial to the plot that Venetia die.
Fans of Adam Dalgliesh might balk because the Dalgleish character doesn't take center stage in this novel. Indeed, Dalgliesh doesn't appear until a good 100 pages into the narrative and thereafter only sporadically. To appreciate "Justice" a reader must bear in mind that James is delving into "character." In "A Certain Justice" almost all the characters save Dalgliesh had something in their pasts with which they continue to struggle, to try to outlive. Human frailty is the key. James understands that the more fascinating aspect of a mystery is really the "whydunit" rather than exclusively "whodunit."
I am a convert and will eagerly await the next PD James novel.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly Written, But Poor Pay Off
Review: P.D. James has come a very long way from her 1962 debut novel COVER HER FACE, and her narrative skill has become increasingly powerful as the years have gone by. A CERTAIN JUSTICE is indeed a showcase for that skill, for her uncanny knack for creating believable characters seemingly out of midair, and for the grace and power of her prose. And it is extremely easy to become absorbed in the novel: although the paperback edition runs well over four hundred pages, I wolfed it down in less than twenty-four hours. A CERTAIN JUSTICE concerns Venetia Aldridge, a criminal lawyer renowned for her skill at defense. But for all her professional renown, Venetia is something of a failure in her private life: high tempered, demanding, and determined to hold others to the same high standard for which she strives, she has a well deserved reputation for coldness and unkindness. Most specifically, she has a need to be in absolute control--and as a result she makes enough enemies both professionally and publicly to fill a telephone directory. And when she is found dead in her offices there are suspects galore. Throughout the novel James revels in the details of the English court system, painting brilliant portraits of the individuals who move across the surface of the law--and sometimes under it. And as the novel progresses she draws us deeper and deeper still into their lives, their motivations, their worlds. It is a brilliant piece of writing. But it has a problem: the ending stinks. After having skillfully maneuvered us through this unique world and held our interest through two murders and a host of subplots, James essentially cops out by giving us a solution that her detective, Commander Adam Dalgliesh, cannot have logically reached--it is pure guesswork, and frankly James would have done better to simply leave Venetia's murder unsolved than to saddle the novel with such an uninspired conclusion. One of the novel's several points is that murder cannot always be proven in a court of law and therefore cannot always be punished, and I certainly have no quarrel with that concept. But the person who "did the deed"--let us say that for all the logic involved, James could have just as easily selected another character and pinned it there. The final chapter is a tremendous let down, particularly in light of the exceptional work that precedes it. Four stars for James' impressive narrative style, but you're likely to be disappointed on the final page. GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Rating:
Summary: Murder and Mayhem in the Court
Review: I thouroughly enjoyed 'A Certain Justice.' Being a huge PD James fan, I was very anxious to read her new book and I wasn't disappointed with her effort. James is, without a doubt, one of the finest mystery novelists living today.
The victim is Venetia Aldridge, a top-notch criminal lawyer. She gets stabbed with a letter-opener and Dalgleish and his sidekicks must find out who killed her.
This book is a must-read for mystery fans and even people who don't particularly like mysteries will most likely enjoy this one. For no one understands the dark workings of the human heart as well as PD James does.
Rating:
Summary: Overly complicated, with little payoff
Review: P.D. James has populated this Adam Dalgleish (AD) outing with a large cast of largely unsympathetic characters. The first quarter of the novel is spent setting up the murder and establishing motives for over half a dozen could-be killers. In the middle half of the book, AD and team (Detective Inspectors Kate Miskin and newcomer Piers Tarrant) explore these suspects and discover a few more, without making any real progress in the case-and the progress they do make is due to evidence being (literally) handed to them, rather than the result of any actual detecting. Almost the entire final quarter of the book is devoted to a second murder and its fairly-straightforward resolution, with the first murder all but forgotten. When AD comes up with the identity of the first murderer in the final chapter it seems arbitrary and feels unsatisfying. Enjoyment of the mostly fruitless investigation is hampered by DI Miskin's near-constant interior monologue alternately ruing the privations of her lower-class upbringing and feeling superior to the middle- and upper-class characters she encounters. DI Tarrant's green naïveté and arrogance don't help the portions of the book told from his point of view. And while James gives the reader the opportunity to see behind AD's emotionally-detached façade, it seems that what Miskin and Tarrant need to fully develop their personalities (and James her characters) is this same understanding of their Commander. (To be fair, Miskin may learn a little of this at the end of the book, but like the denouement, it seems tacked on rather than being part of her inherent growth.) The book isn't all bad; James' writing is able to shine through her tarnished characters. Unfortunately, the uneven pacing and victims and suspects the reader cares little to nothing either for or about results in a novel that fails to satisfy.
|
