From the back cover: Combe Island off the Cornish coast of England has a bloodstained history of piracy and cruelty. Owned for centuries by the same family, it now serves as a place where over-stressed men and women in positions of high authority can come to find serenity in conditions of guaranteed security. But when one of its distinguished visitors is found hanging from … [Read more...] about The Lighthouse by P. D. James: A-
Mystery
Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh: C-
From the back cover: The crime was committed on stage at the Unicorn Theatre, when an unloaded gun fired a very real bullet. The victim was Arthur Surbanadier, an actor clawing his way to stardom using blackmail victims. The stage was set for one of Chief Detective Inspector Alleyn's most baffling cases... Review: I think I need a new rating for laughably bad. I simply … [Read more...] about Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh: C-
The Murder Room by P. D. James: B+
From the front flap: The Dupayne, a small private museum on the edge of London's Hampstead Heath devoted to the interwar years 1919-39, is in turmoil. The trustees—the three children of the museum founder, old Max Dupayne—are bitterly at odds over whether it should be closed. Then one of them is brutally murdered, and what seemed to be no more than a family dispute erupts … [Read more...] about The Murder Room by P. D. James: B+
Death in Holy Orders by P. D. James: A
From the back cover: On the East Anglican seacoast a small theological college hangs precariously on an eroding shoreline and an equally precarious future. Then, the body of a student is found buried in the sand, and the boy's influential father demands that Scotland Yard investigate. Adam Dalgliesh, the son of a parson, once spent happy summers at the school. A detective … [Read more...] about Death in Holy Orders by P. D. James: A
A Certain Justice by P. D. James: A
Book description: Venetia Aldridge is a criminal lawyer of large talents and small personal charm, working at a venerable London firm. As she tries to save a young lower-class tough who is accused of murdering his prostitute aunt, it is revealed that she is in a position to ruin a number of professional lives, and is of precisely the temperament to do it. When she is found … [Read more...] about A Certain Justice by P. D. James: A