Rating: 
Summary: Unholy murderous acts!
Review: I was thrilled with this book as P D James is back to her vintage best! It was good to see Adam Dalgliesh taking centre stage once again. I feel that his dominant presence is essential to this series. The plot is set on an isolated part of the East Anglican coast in the gothic surrounds of a theological college. James's tale twists and turns with her usual deft flair for the macabre reflected in the graphic description of the demise of the Archbishop. I was also pleased that Dalgliesh's character is given greater depth in a revealing flashback to his childhood holiday at the college. His past eventually merges into the present as a long and much respected friend finally makes him confront the demons in his personal isolated lifestyle. Multiple deaths confront Dalgliesh and his team, Inspector Kate Miskin and Piers Tarrant. It is not until the final chapters that the truth is finally revealed linking the past with the present. At this time James's heroic Adam makes a descision which could lead to future stability and happiness with a new found love - or will it? It is a frustrated Kate Miskin who subtly shows jealousy towards Emma as if she is a 'rival' It will be interesting to see if this theme carries over into the next book in the series. I can't believe that this will be the last! At times the literary edge to James's writing is quite poetic. A compelling read from start to finish.
Rating:
Summary: A Master at Mystery
Review: I must admit that this was the first P.D. James book that I have read. I must also admit that I am so very glad that this was my introduction to the master weaver of suspense. "Death in Holy Orders" is a well-written mystery, set in the heart of an even greater mystery - the inner workings of the Church of England.When a student is found dead at a small, remote theological college, his father is unsatisfied with the ruling of "accidental death" and seeks out the help of Detective Adam Dalgliesh of the New Scotland Yard. Dalgliesh travels to St. Anselm's in order to uncover any "foul play" surrounding the boy's death; what he finds is an ever-widening circle of deaths, each related to the other. It's an inside job and Dalgliesh must figure out who the killer is before more are found dead. And since it's an inside job, everyone is supsect, even the priests. "Death in Holy Orders" is a quick-paced, sometimes formulaic detective novel. What sets it apart from others is the characterization. Adam Dalgliesh is well-written and entirely believable. The cast of supporting characters, which are numerous, all receive their due and their back stories contribute fully to the plot at hand. Although I correclty suspected who the murderer was fairly early on, I was unsure as to motive; and James kept me guessing to the very end with the likely motives of several of the other characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange happening between monks...
Review: Every now and then, I crave for the book that will lull my mind intothe state of sleepy observance. State in which you can let pagespass by you, almost not noticing what is happening, who did what and why is the shadow on that wall green. So I picked this book whose title and sub-title assured me that it will be one of those.
And it was. The story of the poet-warrior (in this case poet-police commander) is told many times now, and you can almost sketch its lines yourself. What we have here is mysterious murder, aray of tedious (alredy seen) characters, witty (and sad) police inspector and demonic figure of a main bad guy. Attempts at cheap philosophy and many cliche sentences puts this book where it does belong. In a sea of mediocre crime novels useful only during the hot summer afternoons by the lake
or the sea coast.
Rating:
Summary: Classic mystery made fresh
Review: P.D. James's "Death in Holy Orders," which deals with a series of deaths in a small Anglican Church college on England's east coast, is both a well crafted traditional English mystery story and a novel of manners.
Ms. James's detective, Scotland Yard's Adam Dalgliesh, is asked to investigate the death of one of the students and soon he and his squad are involved with an array of priests, academics, students, and staff. Nearly all the characters are amazingly unhappy or amazingly obsessed (including members of the squad), and we learn of their foibles as Commander Dalgliesh unravels their interlocking stories.
Readers who love a good mystery, or just a good novel for that matter, cannot go wrong if they pick this volume up.
Rating: 
Summary: One of her best
Review: I keep trying to kick my P.D. James habit, but every time I stray to another writer, I miss her incisive character portrayals and great sense of atmosphere. "Holy Orders" is one of her best, bringing together a creepy bunch of clerics, Dalgliesh at his contemplative best and a windswept theological school. There's lots of interesting meditation on hypocrisy and faith, and Dalgliesh even gets a love interest, although some glaciers move faster than this romance. James is at her strongest writing about powerful men and their foibles and odd backwaters of British culture. Doesn't get much better than this for an absorbing and powerful read.
Rating:
Summary: A Master at Mystery
Review: I must admit that this was the first P.D. James book that I have read. I must also admit that I am so very glad that this was my introduction to the master weaver of suspense. "Death in Holy Orders" is a well-written mystery, set in the heart of an even greater mystery - the inner workings of the Church of England. When a student is found dead at a small, remote theological college, his father is unsatisfied with the ruling of "accidental death" and seeks out the help of Detective Adam Dalgliesh of the New Scotland Yard. Dalgliesh travels to St. Anselm's in order to uncover any "foul play" surrounding the boy's death; what he finds is an ever-widening circle of deaths, each related to the other. It's an inside job and Dalgliesh must figure out who the killer is before more are found dead. And since it's an inside job, everyone is supsect, even the priests. "Death in Holy Orders" is a quick-paced, sometimes formulaic detective novel. What sets it apart from others is the characterization. Adam Dalgliesh is well-written and entirely believable. The cast of supporting characters, which are numerous, all receive their due and their back stories contribute fully to the plot at hand. Although I correclty suspected who the murderer was fairly early on, I was unsure as to motive; and James kept me guessing to the very end with the likely motives of several of the other characters.
Rating:
Summary: nicely written but not very interesting
Review: This is my first P.D. James novel and one of the few mystery books I've read. Sadly, I'm not hooked. Ms. James has a beautiful grasp of the English language(which is why I give 3 stars and not 2), but this book's plot is quite ponderous, with too many characters to keep track of and too many minor stories running alongside the main one. And at 548 pages it isn't a quick read. James' fans might enjoy it, but anybody looking for a good mystery might want to look elsewhere.
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