Rating: 
Summary: A stunning return to form
Review: The average mystery writer, however durable or prolific, would probably be all tuckered out by her eightieth birthday...fortunately, P.D. James is not your average mystery writer. Proving that her literary instincts are as sharp as ever, Britain's Queen of Crime has turned out what may be her most genuinely satisfying effort to date. For all its flaws (and yes, there are some), "Death in Holy Orders" is a must-read. If you are an Adam Dalgliesh fan--or indeed, if James' books have ever given you the slightest pleasure--you cannot afford to miss this novel.Commander Dalgliesh is summoned to St. Anselm's, a small theological college on the East Anglian coast, to investigate the death of a young ordinand which may or may not be murder. But all doubts fade when a much-loathed archdeacon is found horribly bludgeoned in the church one morning, and Dalgliesh, flanked once again by Inspectors Kate Miskin and Piers Tarrant, once more finds himself grappling with a ruthless killer. As in "A Certain Justice," which brought murder into the heart of a legal community, the presence of evil within these sacred halls provides James with a deliciously twisted moral premise--not to mention the largest and shiftiest cast she's ever dealt with. With her typically skillful blend of wit, intuition and understanding, James lays bare the frailties and complexities of every character, from a priest convicted of pedophilia to an incestuous young hired hand. Make no mistake, "Death in Holy Orders" is a hell of an absorbing entertainment--you'd be hard-pressed to find a novel laced with more voyeuristic pleasures--but James' prose is so soulful, her psychological insights so piercing, that the line between detective novel and mainstream fiction almost ceases to exist. This only gets to be a problem, however, when James becomes too aware of her status as champion of the "serious" mystery. Her scorn for Agatha Christie is well-known, and more than once in "Death in Holy Orders" she uses her characters as mouthpieces for this superior attitude. Certainly, Christie was a literary lightweight, but she was also the world's greatest mystery writer, damnit, and James' catty remarks in this regard only undermine the credibility of the world she has so carefully crafted for us--especially given that the extraordinarily intricate plot, though plausible and convincing, does smack a bit of Christie-esque ingenuity, particularly where clues and red herrings are concerned. It's a shame then that James, refusing to provide the sudden, shocking solution so favored by the genre, settles instead for a rather anticlimactic revelation of identity. These are only minor flaws in a novel so rich, so wise, and so superbly riveting that you feel positively grateful after finishing it. It seems to me that P.D. James, after the rather bloated excess of "Devices and Desires" and "Original Sin," is experiencing a late creative renaissance--"A Certain Justice" and "Death in Holy Orders" are probably the most mature works she has yet produced. But while the former was a masterpiece of flawless craftsmanship, it was also bleak and slightly remote; "Death in Holy Orders" is far more willing to take risks, and it's ultimately got more of a heart. That heart, of course, is Adam Dalgliesh. James clearly has her fans in mind; after years of neglecting her introspective, poetry-writing sleuth, she's finally put him front and center where he belongs. She spends a great deal of time inside Dalgliesh's head--a fascinating place to be--and not only provides a wonderful childhood flashback, but also hints at a possible romance in his future. At long last, that "splinter of ice" in Dalgliesh's heart is starting to melt. Whether we will be allowed to see the aftermath remains a mystery, but if P.D. James' vitality is any indication, this series hasn't breathed its last--not by a long shot.
Rating: 
Summary: This one is good!
Review: After not reading P. D. James' recent books, this one is a keeper. Descriptions and feeling them have always been important to me when reading a book. I have to "be" there. English authors sometimes do this terribly well. I could not put this book down. Mystery and solution were proper. Mind didnt wander wondering why I was reading this as I did her last one. It's a good read, especially on a rainy or snowy day.
Rating: 
Summary: Another great novel from a "reader's writer".
Review: P.D. James just gets better and better. Adam Dalgliesh is a detective with a poet's heart and mind. This book is like good wine. A little bit goes a long way. You do not want to rush through it. You want to savor it.
Rating:
Summary: Incomparable and Artistic
Review: Amid the wide range of over-cute, oddly plotted, unconvincingly hardboiled and weakly written stories that make up bulk of mysteries published today, P.D. James's "Death in Holy Orders" stands out for its incisive character analysis, its sense of place and its bracing yet poetic realism. She writes beautifully without drawing attention to her style, is learned without being fussy and, indeed, is literary without pretension. For example, the Trollope references within this story, set in a theological college, are apt and telling both for their illumination of plot points and for their delineation of personality. P.D. James has a gift for creating characters who serve a story -- we learn about them in ways intrinsic to the tale being told. This is a rare thing, especially when so many mysteries nowadays are peopled by fussy and quirky protagonists who seem to have been devised only for their fussiness and quirkiness, revealing nothing of human nature. But P.D. James should not be praised simply for being what other, lesser authors are not. She works within a solid tradition of British mysteries that also flows from a solid lineage of the finest British 19th-century novel: she is as much influenced by Victorian masters of suspense as Wilkie Collins ("The Woman in White") as by Anthony Trollope and even, if only in passing, to George Eliot. P.D. James excels at psychological nuance, like Trollope and Eliot, and atmosphere, like Collins. She also devises well-wrought plots, like Dorothy Sawyers and has a palpable sense of the evil in the world, like Agatha Christie. But she is able to combine seamlessly both a true novelist's unerring eye for the telling detail and the mystery writer's fascination with creating and unraveling puzzles. She is, then, an original. "Death in Holy Orders" builds inexorably toward its satisfying conclusion -- a superlatively constructed tale. It is insightful, knowing, witty, allusive as well as suspenseful and sometimes surprising. These are rare qualities in novels, let alone mysteries. P.D. James has written a novel that, while it may not be a work of the highest art itself, is surely a work of surpassing artistry. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The Indestructible, Unshockable Baroness
Review: It has been a long time between books for P.D. James and I. I am struck anew by her facility with language. She uses words that are almost, but not quite, archaic and does so with grace and perfection. (Though I scurry to the dictionary quite a bit!) Adam Dalgliesh is a mite monkish these days. The baroness will have to find him a love interest. The setting is a remote theological college in East Anglia. The descriptions are impeccable of this wild and desolate area. The characterizations are full dimensional, mostly quirky, but always interesting. It is a credit to Ms. James' skill that I felt great sympathy for the Archdeacon though he was, in fact, a very disagreeable man. There is no bump or wart on a personality that manages to shock Ms. James. Incest is not judged or hinted at, it just is. I noted an editorial review described the murders as "horrifying." I disagree. In fact, though we, the readers know; some of them didn't look like murders at all, and one of them wasn't. The book was well paced and plotted. Though I felt there was overmuch on "missing keys"-it was rather like Button, Button, Whose Got The Button - and the college was so High Church that I kept thinking I was in a monastery, my interest did not flag. For those who enjoy "the locked room" type mystery, this will give them enormous satisfaction.
Rating:
Summary: Another perfectly British mystery
Review: Though many of the characters in P.D. James' stories are stuffy as all get out, they're still compelling. I can't imagine that it would be much fun to hang out with Adam Dalgliesh, but he makes a good, if somewhat unbelievably intelligent detective. The only facet I take issue with is the odd way of dealing with the pedophile priest. I'm not sure why James goes to such great lengths to create sympathy for him and emnity for his accusers. Sure, he's only human, but so are his victims.
Rating:
Summary: A WONDERFUL WORK OF MYSTERY AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Review: I have read only one other P. D. James book, "Devices and Desires" and now this one. I bought it a while back and delayed reading it because I knew I had to give it my undivided attention. I love the love that Ms. James has for the English language and the way she develops the characters, describes the apartments of the various characters, the meres, the ordinands, the priests, etc. I didn't want to put the book down until I finished reading it and, although there were many allusions to who the murderer might be, I honestly didn't know who it was until I read it. There's a humanity in even the most cynical character in this story. This is a mystery that appeals to one's intellect and Ms. James' use of the language is marvelous. I enjoyed every word. The villains' identity is almost incidental to the story although the mystery itself is riveting. I don't enjoy reading language that I find offensive and this book is on an entirely different - higher - plane. I found myself re-reading certain descriptions of characters and countryside just to absorb the flavor. One can feel the cold winds of the North Sea and see the craggy cliffs. I highly recommend this work.
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: P.D. James is marvelous. Richly drawn characters in a wonderful mystery that puts other writers to shame. Certainly that James' novels are thoughtful, beautifully written, and expertly realized puts her in a class uniquely her own. This one, with its setting, characters, and dialogue, is particularly and richly satisfying.There are few writers who approach a mystery with such care, art, and brilliance, creating something of fine entertainment and lasting value.
Rating:
Summary: Can't put this book down
Review: A good mystery is hard to find but once I picked this one up, I couldn't put it down. There were a few of P.D. James' books that weren't that good so I was worried as to how this would be. Wow, I hope she continues to write as she did in this book. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Vivid setting & characters
Review: This is a mystery in which becoming acquainted with the characters is as diverting as determining whodunit. James evokes a vivid sense of place with her Anglican seminary inhabited by anachronistic, yet timeless, characters. They are truly human, with the range of experiences that make any of us capable of great good or great evil. The key to the mystery itself lies in a complex web of relationships that the author slowly reveals. A few things hold me back from giving this five stars. First, a good 50 pages easily might have been trimmed from the book without injury to the story. Also, some American readers may find it difficult to visualize the route of the detectives as they traipse around the London suburbs and the English countryside. Overall, though, a great read.
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