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Summary: Suicide, natural causes, or .....murder????
Review: Adam Dagliesh, a Scotland Yard Inspector, returns in another well developed murder mystery. This wonderfully woven murder mystery takes place in a small theological college on a windswept coastline. The original investigation deals with what appears to be an improbable suicide. While Dagliesh, the poet-cop, is looking into this death of a student, another person dies, and then a third person is murdered.The cast of characters in this twisting novel could not be a less likely group of possible suspects in the bizarre death of a prominent church official. The possible suspects are either professors or the students who are studying to become priests. Throw in a chance for several people to suddenly become quite wealthy if the right circumstance occurs, and you have a classic mystery, wonderfully crafted by the amazing P.D. James.
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Summary: No unimportant detail left undescribed.
Review: A 150 page novel written in over 400 pages.
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Summary: Another gem from a supremely gifted writer
Review: "Death in Holy Orders" marks the welcome return of Adam Dalgliesh as the main character in an Adam Dalgliesh mystery. In her two mystery novels preceding this, AD was MIA for hundreds of pages at a time, leaving this long-time fan wondering if the Baroness of Holland Park had grown tired of her great fictional creation. But here, he's back, front and center, investigating dark doings at a theological college where Dalgliesh spent happy summer days as a young man. The body count is high, the number of vividly-drawn suspects even higher. As always, the author uses the murder investigation as an excuse for sharing her thoughts on a variety of interesting topics, including (this time) the relevance of an ancient religion in a modern society and challenges to women in law enforcement. It's all very thought-provoking without being pedantic. The scope of the novel is impressive; in the hands of a lesser writer the book would collapse from the weight of its own ambitions. It does not, serving to confirm what most fans of the genre already know; PD James is the best in the business.
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Summary: Great story, abrupt ending
Review: Complex tale and interesting characters. James is a gripping storyteller. I enjoyed the book, but felt unsatisfied by a forced, cinematic ending.
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Summary: Wonderful, wry, witty, wise and really English....
Review: DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS by PD James is a fine book. This is not her best novel, but it is a good mystery, and proves once more that on her worst day she's still the best mystery writer alive, at least of the genre I like--the English murder mystery. James has a wonderful store of knowledge and she employs it in her stories. She can delve back into her own past and uncover anectdotal information younger writers have to research. When she spins a yarn it's her story, not something she cobbled together from news paper headlines and other people's books. She doesn't depend on shocking violence though she can be shocking enough. In addition, James is English, and her novels set in England ring with verismilitude. Sadly, she is beginning to wind down, and the liklihood of anyone ever writing mysteries of equal worth are almost nil.James lived through most of the 20th Century (she was 80 years old in 2000) and she witnessed incredible changes to institutions that stand for civilized life. In DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS she tackles the demise of the Anglican church. To survive the Church has sold vicarages and church buildings (now converted into condos!!) and many of the remaining buildings are in physical decline. The dismemberment of the old way of life is the backdrop of several murders in DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS. As usual, James has written a complex book that borders on the literary. I asked myself why this isn't literature as I read it, and I think it isn't because to a certain extent like all mystery writers James follows a relatively predictable pattern when it comes to her plot. Agatha Christie's plots were so predictable, I was able to figure out on page three who the murderer was. With James it takes longer, but when the killer is uncovered it is predictable. On the other hand, the character development, and her development of place, her imagery, and other aspects of writing are as literary as anything written by the academic class. DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS is a real treat to read and I envy those of you who have not yet read it.
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Summary: LONG LIVE THE QUEEN
Review: As a mystery author with my first novel in its initial release, I genuinely respect the accomplishments of P.D. James. In DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS, she clearly proves again that she is the QUEEN of Crime Fiction. Adam Dalgliesh travels to a theological college where he has been asked to investigate the death of a student. The death has been declared accidental, yet the student's family is far from certain. Dalgliesh investigates. P.D. James serves up a magnifiecnt plot and excellent character studies. Her setting allows theology to be worked into the story, and Adam Dalgliesh, her poetry-loving sleuth, seems right at home. DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS is a terrific book, one of the queen's best.
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Summary: Pretty good
Review: I liked the style and the story. I was very uncomfortable with not only the acceptance but the almost glorification of a pedifile, as if he were the victim!
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Summary: I like Adam. but I like Reed more
Review: his is one of a series that has an interesting formula. The work falls in line with the others. I highly recommend a look at some other works based on "Orders" such as the Defenders of the Holy Grail, which tells of the Templars and the bloodline of JEsus, plus romance! This is summer reading at best and no one will confuse James with Shakespeare.
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Summary: Dalglish finds murder while on a holiday
Review: A good Dalglish story - he has the chance to explore his past and the contemplative life he gave up when he became a policeman. Adam Dalglish is one man, however, I would not want to be friends with. His temperament, which drives him to discover the hidden truth, also leave him cold and unsentimental to casual observers. Here he has to use his acute senses to solve not only the murder, but the many mysteries which surround it. Dark secrets continually get in the way of the truth. Not a book to keep you up all night reading - not much of the page-turning suspense some prefer. But if you like well considered characters with all the fallibilities of humanity, you will enjoy "Death in Holy Orders."
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Summary: Beautiful writing, poor ending.
Review: Few would dispute that Baroness James is one of the most gifted mystery novelists alive, and "Death in Holy Orders" is no exception. The story grabbed my attention from the very beginning and many of the characters were incisively drawn, without detracting from the storyline. However - and this is the problem with other P.D. James novels I've read - the author spins an intriguing story but lets me down with an unconvincing resolution. After finishing the book, I found myself looking back at the beginning in case I might have missed something that pointed to murder motives, but I never found a very convincing one. In the finale there are even scenes and elements almost painfully contrived, which is suprising to see in a work by such a gifted and literary author. There is also an element of pessimism and fatalism in most of P.D. James' novels that I, as a Christian, find it difficult to relate to. I completely agree with another reviewer that the sympathy everyone had for the pedophile priest was sadly misplaced. In conclusion, this is a beautifully written and engaging book that, sadly, still left me disappointed.
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