P. D. JamesReviews

OK, but still reads like fan fiction. Well-written, but ultimately not that innovative fan fiction.

PD James had very lurid and melodramatic ideas about Jews, gay men, adoption and oh, everything. But I still enjoy her mysteries.

So much telling. So much missing & so many questions. An abrupt ending. I kept going along, hoping to get more clues so I could figure what the deal was with everyone (Sojourners, council members, Quietus, the different Five Fishes, Jasper, etc.) but was left with nothing. Whatever the most opposite of concise is, this is. Superficial treatment of a fascinating premise.

New word = accidie.

I've no idea how it can be made into a faithful movie. Most of the first half, the world-building could be summed up during opening credits, then we could meet the rest of the characters and have the childhood flashbacks in about a quarter hour each (at most), then the chase scene and the climax, but in the movie the climax would be longer and more dramatic and triumphant. But hey, I don't watch many movies so what do I know.

Re-read, I think (from ages ago). Takes aaaaaages to get going (I guess a 100-page section entitled "foreword to murder" warns you of this). Like James has decided that the way to add psychological depth to a whodunnit is to describe exhaustively what is going on with every single character. There's things to like in this and things not to: the descriptions are sometimes informed by a somewhat unpleasant sensibility.

As a whodunnit this is very cleverly constructed, with lots of red herrings, no withholding of information but withholding of interpretation (turns out the police have more of a notion than the reader is told until late on).

The solution does seem to rely on some improbable coincidences, but that's par for the course. And it does gather speed very nicely towards the end.

James' conservatism and social illiberalism is less prominent here than elsewhere, but it is certainly there.

I am going to go crazy trying to figure out what the heck is on the front cover of this book.

I first read this decades ago and didn't remember a thing about it, but I vaguely recalled that I didn't like it as much as the Adam Dagleish books (although he makes a brief appearance in this one). This time around I liked it quite a bit. Cordelia Gray takes over the detective agency run by her and her partner after he commits suicide. Her first case is to determine why a young man committed suicide. There are many very unlikeable characters in this, but Cordelia isn't one of them. She is smart, determined and empathetic. I liked her a lot. And the story was good, not in the least predictable, and enough conflicting motivations to keep one guessing.

When I read Death Comes to Pemberly in 2013, I must confess I and was not all that engaged. This time is different. I've been so immersed in the regency era for the last year that I am rather awed by James' attention to . . . well . . . everything. Language and atmosphere (a long-windedness we can barely tolerate anymore), details of rank and consequence, of custom, and all the little details of furnishings. James is aware of the slower pace and she even jokes about it describing one of the magistrates who proses on endlessly but would disappoint others if he did not. Different world. Interestingly the story takes place during the little lull in fighting Napoleon, the Treaty of Amiens although hints abound that military men are expecting to get back to soldiering. That is so various characters can be present, including poor Captain Denny.

At the same time, the care James took to write authentically led at times to a ponderous feel. I wouldn't attempt write a regency novel that strives to be so authentic because the reading audience wouldn't tolerate it(as I did not the first time around, nor could I do what James did so well.) Once I allowed myself to read it slowly, savouring James' efforts I began to hugely enjoy the book. ****1/2½

I'm happy to say I didn't guess whodunit; I rarely do. I found the solution satisfying The sentence, softly spoken, "I owed Alex a death." [p. 416], explains it all. and the lack of a discovery of any motive for the Whistler's murders also satisfying. I appreciated James letting the victim die in a moment of grace: she has decided to be decent and kind to two men who have made her life difficult and is looking forward to a happy life; if she had lived, she would have been disappointed and no doubt continue to make life difficult for others.½

Honestly, I expected more than an overview of golden age writers. There's a bit about writing, but nothing original.½

I like P.D. James, but I don't think this was her best effort. I liked her descriptions, I like her detective, Adam Dalgliesh. The crime was unusual and interesting. But the cast of characters was a little over the top, and the solution to the crime was very complicated. I didn't buy that Dalgliesh was able to figure it out with the clues there were to go on. Still, I enjoyed the time spent between the covers of this story, so it gets three stars. A solid read, but not remarkable.

This is one of those rare cases where the movie is actually better than the book. I watched The Children of Men on television a couple of months ago and since then I’ve been wanting to get hold of the book. It begins in much the same apocalyptic fashion as I was expecting it to. A fifty year old man begins penning down in his diary, not so much a chronicle of his life, but the inadequacies he has faced through the years. Theodore Faron is a college professor but he is also the cousin of the Warden of England, Xan, a benign tyrant of sorts.

This apocalyptic world, set in the future is aging and dying. No children have been born in the past twenty-five years. Women deprived of their chance at cuddling little babies have taken to taking dolls out for a stroll in a pram. There may not be any hope for this infertile race, but the Warden keeps up regular testing of males and females in case one of them turns up a viable seed.

Theodore, a man who was once an advisor to Xan, is approached by a group of dissenters, rebels who wish to seize power and make conditions in England better than they presently are. On their behalf Theo makes an appeal to Xan which falls on deaf years. Resigned to live out his years in a sense of gloom and grey, he spends a couple of months out of the country.

He returns back home and is approached by the group of rebels once again. This time the appeal for help that they make is no small matter. It is the most significant, most shattering discovery that has not been heard of for a quarter of a century and a discovery that would have Xan himself down on his knees.

What was perhaps the most disappointing part of the book is that the real story took a long time in coming. I shouldn’t have had to read half the book to feel the thrill and the action that finally takes over. This is why I preferred the movie. The absurd discovery is bared to the audience a lot sooner. Also, a lot of things seemed hanging. Like too many coincidences. Like lack of explanations.

Towards the end, neither of the feelings that the author tried so hard to create, stayed. There was no sense of relief from the unending misery nor a feeling of hope or revival of new beginnings, which I remember were two things I felt at the end of the movie. Sadly, the book failed to convey that intensity of emotion.

Had great potential to be a better book. Definitely mellow when compared to the movie.

Honestly I had not thought of the actual murderer thru most of the book = when it was revealed it made a lot of sense but the breadcrumbs of the hints were well hidden until the end. Excellent mystery.

My pop pop always loved PD James and now I see why. Talking About Detective Fiction was informative and fun! Genre studies generally perk me up, and this was no exception. I’d totally reread this one, not the least because of its extensive list of crime fiction recommendations and write ups.

Not a single sympathetic character.

While decent enough as a period mystery I guess, Pride and Prejudice it ain't.

Very good Adam Dalgliesh offering. Student nurses are dropping like flies and the inspector must determine who and why. He does so with his usual style. I really love that one of his techniques for getting information is to simply shut up and listen. That seems to be a lost art.

Some Christmas Murders and More
Review of the Knopf Canada eBook (October 17, 2017) of the Faber & Faber hardcover (October 5, 2017) collecting stories previously published in various anthologies (1973-2006)*.

‘Merry Christmas, Mickledore!
Go to bed and sleep no more.
Take this charm and hold it fast;
This night’s sleep shall be your last.
Christmas bells ring merrily;
Bells of hell shall ring for thee.
Happy Christmas, Mickledore.
Go to bed and sleep no more.’

I wasn't particularly looking for P.D. James' (1920-2014) short stories, but when this popped up recently as a Kindle Deal of the Day I grabbed it immediately. This is a posthumously published collection of stories originally written as far back at 1973. The quality is consistently high throughout and you can become quickly absorbed in each tale. All of these are standalones and none of them feature James' regular series character Scotland Yard CID's Inspector Adam Dalgleish.

See cover at https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/...
The front cover of the original Faber & Faber hardcover edition. Image sourced from Goodreads.

I was quickly reminded how great a writer P.D. James was and I realized that I need to get back to finishing the Dalgleish series for which I started a binge read back in 2022 and 2023, but from which I became distracted. I enjoyed all of these "six murderous tales" equally, so the 4 rating stands for all of them.

1. The Yo-Yo (1996) The title toy becomes a crucial piece of evidence in an apparent accidental death during a Christmas journey.
2. The Victim (1973) The spurned first husband of a rising socialite plots his revenge.
3. The Murder of Santa Claus (1984) The source of the book's title is in a threatening rhyme sent to the miserly host of a Christmas gathering. A young boy observes the nocturnal movements in a mansion during Christmas Eve.
4. The Girl Who Loved Graveyards (1983) A young woman gradually awakens to repressed memories as she traces her life back to her childhood.
5. A Very Desirable Residence (1976) A tale of domestic abuse with a twist ending.
6. Mr Millcroft's Birthday (1992) A pair of greedy siblings find out that they have to match wits with their 80-year-old father whom they have packed away to a nursing home.

Footnote
* This is the copyright information as provided in the front matter of the book:
‘The Yo-Yo’ written 1996; revised as ‘Hearing Ghote’ in The Verdict of Us All, ed. Peter Lovesey ©
P. D. James 2006.
‘The Victim’ first published in Winter’s Crimes 5, ed. Virginia Whitaker © P. D. James 1973.
‘The Murder of Santa Claus’ first published in Great Detectives, ed. D. W. McCullough © P. D.
James 1984.
‘The Girl Who Loved Graveyards’ first published in Winter’s Crimes 15, ed. George Hardinge © P.
D. James 1983.
‘A Very Desirable Residence’ first published in Winter’s Crimes 8, ed. Hilary Watson © P. D. James
1976.
‘Mr Millcroft’s Birthday’ first published as ‘The Man Who Was 80’ in The Man Who © P. D. James
1992; revised as ‘Mr Maybrick’s Birthday’ c.2005.

Good plot and timing. Well-written.

I didn't realize this is the first of Dalgliesh's mysteries, and it was fun to be introduced to the character. Formal, empathetic, thorough, Dalgliesh is wonderful detective whom I appreciate for his rigour and kindness. The plot, however, does read like a first timer: whereas I liked to coziness of a traditional mystery contained in time and space, there were artifices, bizarre complexities and ultimately painful prolonged suspens that read like a beginner novel. Thankfully, James's trademark sense of humour carries the book through; nothing like a crisp, witty observation to lighten the mood.
This is definitely not her best but overall I enjoyed myself greatly.

Dare I say this about the great P.D. James? This book could have used an editor. Lots of delicious tidbits, insights, and discussion about crime/mystery/detective fiction in all its aspects. It read like she was just having a long, uninterrupted chat, ranging here and there, and moving on to new topics abruptly.

Still worth a read. After all, it IS P.D. James!!

A satisfying read. Cordelia Gray is a young - very young - private investigator launched into an untimely solo career by the suicide of her boss, Bernie Pryde. Her first case is to unpick the circumstances behind a young ex-student's suicide. Or is it suicide? There's more death and destruction before the book's over, but despite this, the book is laced with humour. I like James' precise use of language and her exploration of motive. As one reviewer says, it's 'a why-dunnit rather than a who-dunnit' and all the better for it.

The Guardian describes this book as 'a box of crackers', and so it is. These are four short stories of murder most foul that were all originally published elsewhere, all set round about Christmas time. They're clever, and not at all likely to be mistaken for Scandi-noir. These quickly read little gems, nicely presented by Faber and Faber, would make an ideal stocking filler.

I rate PD James and yet I didn't enjoy this novel as much as others of hers that I've read: but it was her first effort and as such is pretty good. The set up is a bit Cluedo-ish: the Elizabethan manor house,with its mistress and her sickly husband, her adult children, a vicar, the murdered maid. But it's better than that suggests. Chief Inspector Dalgleish has a fine interviewing technique, but we don't get to know him at all outside the interview room. It's the other characters who get to move around to London, the village and beyond. But Dalgleish gets the murderer nailed in the end, and the full story is revealed in all its complexity in the last chapter of all. A good bedtime read.

I love the psychological insights professed by the author's characters.

Frequently commissioned by newspapers and magazines to write a short mystery story for Christmas publication, in this collection we have three of those efforts. My favourite is "The Twelve Clues of Christmas" which James has her protagonist, Detective Adam Dalgliesh, claim at the end of the story that it was his most Agatha Christie solution to a murder investigation. All the stories have a twist at the end to surprise the reader as to the solution or the guilt of the killer. A quick fun read.