Death of an Expert Witness

Adam Dalgliesh #6: Death of an Expert Witness

  - P.D. James

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is one of the better mysteries so far in the series - with a lot of suspense and tension, inevitable red herrings, and more plausible motives. However, it continues the tradition of the previous books - elements I didn't like - a full cast of unlikable characters, a detestable victim, and a rushed solution derived from intuition rather than reasoning. It deviates in the way the characters are introduced. In earlier books, the setting is introduced first, and then the backstory of the characters is built up through conversation or inner thoughts. Here, the main characters and their stories are introduced first, one after the other, and by the second or third you have a pretty clear idea of who is going to be killed. It also makes the initial 20% of the book rather bland, because it only serves to underline the depravity of the would-be victim.

Even though Dalgliesh's character is more sympathetic in this book than before, and the mystery is good, I am not inclined to continue with this series. I feel it doesn't say much for a mystery series if you cant care about the characters or even the lead. The characters are almost all mean or shallow. As for the hero, I find him inconsistent and unsympathetic, with no endearing personality traits. He may be publishing poetry, but investigating officers are no celebrities and poets are even more obscure, but in this series everyone seems to know of him and his poetic tendencies. There is no continuation of characters, not even a young subordinate or a bungling constable.
Contrast (unfair, I know!) it with the two most famous fictional detectives - despite Poirot's vanity and Holmes's detachment, they are both kind. Even though they may not respect the intelligence of Dr Watson and Captain Hastings, they have a fondness for them. They are not uncivil even to Lestrade and Japp.

The writing is good, but the solution of the mystery leaves much to be desired - critical pieces of evidence are withheld from reader and only brought out at the end, and the logical process of deduction is missing. So, I am leaving it here, and I don't think it will make it to my favorite murder mysteries list.

The Black Tower

Adam Dalgliesh #5: The Black Tower

  - P.D. James

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This was quite bland and tedious. The setting and the atmosphere were both bleak, while the character cast was unlikable as ever. Dalgliesh's role is unofficial for a second time. It restricts the investigation a bit, because even though people are willing to talk for the most part, he cannot exercise his authority much. His deductions, as presented to readers, continue to lack the logical process of reasoning based on facts. The revelation of the poison-pen is totally like pulling a rabbit out of a hat, while the murderer's identity and motive are arrived at through a lengthy speculation with a theory.

The build up of the mystery is actually fine, despite the grim setting and the boring details. What pulls it down is the way the solution is presented - pages of conjecture and a gut-feel of antipathy towards the criminal. I think that is why this series has failed to impress me much, even though I like the writing - the solutions is based more on intuition than on logical deduction or pursuit of clues.
I'd have rated it 2.5-3 had the denouement been better.

Shroud for a Nightingale

Adam Dalgliesh #4: Shroud for a Nightingale

  - P.D. James

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

The mystery in this book is more intriguing than the previous books in the series. Yet, it is surprising that I liked this better than the earlier ones, because I did not find much else to like.

The author repeats her formula - a closed setting, a victim much disliked by everyone, and a number of red herrings (obviously, for otherwise it would be difficult to make a novel out of a murder mystery). Further, most of the characters are unpleasant and I didn't care for them, and this includes the detective Dalgliesh. I found him unsympathetic, cold and prejudiced; what makes it worse is the kind of people he has a bias against - sick, disabled, and even plain-looking ones. Dalgliesh, and several others, are quick to judge people based on their looks and demeanor, and are often unaccountably correct. I found his assistant on this case rather repulsive - he is a lazy sycophant, who has a derogatory attitude to women.

The modus operandi of the first murder was fairly straightforward, and I was surprised to see Dalgliesh take so long to figure it out. I had also guessed the identity of the murderer, though not the motive for it, which made me uncertain of my guess. The reason behind the second murder was tangential, and it was perhaps quite unnecessary. (view spoiler)[ The library book, if at all it was be a reasonable cause, could have been returned without the murder, with the same result. (hide spoiler)].

The author continues to withhold crucial information from the readers, at the same time revealing that the detective has obtained or inferred some vital clues (by means of his though process or discussion with the subordinate). And finally, when the mystery is disclosed to the reader, there is no insight into the process of reaching this conclusions. I feel that this is the one big reason no other author is able to match the works of Christie or Doyle - their detectives are quite likeable despite their eccentricities, their is a clear logical process to the solution and it is revealed to the reader at the end.

What I did like about it was the atmosphere and the tension throughout, that kept me on the edge. I like the way the background and nature of the characters is slowly uncovered, through their talks with the detective, or among themselves, though it becomes a bit confusing when their thoughts are related in lengthy paragraphs.

Unnatural Causes

Adam Dalgliesh #3: Unnatural Causes

  - P.D. James

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The third book in the series was a disappointment, specially because I liked the second one a lot, and expected much from the rest of the series.

This is again a closed circle murder mystery, with a limited number of possibilities and everyone under a shadow of suspicion. I think it started well, but became progressively sluggish and somewhat bizarre. I liked the author's patience in building up the atmosphere in previous books, but I began to feel like it was too much of a good thing - lengthy descriptions of surroundings or oblong thoughts of the characters are not holding up my interest any more. I am more interested in people - so I like to read about their back history and how it shapes their personality and motives, as well as the detective's talks and observations with them.

Once again, nearly all the characters were unlikable, and one of them was stereotypical shallow and insensitive. In fact, I couldn't develop a great liking for Dalgliesh's character either. Further, it is not his case; so his unofficial role in the investigation caused the plot to suffer, while his mutual dislike towards the official investigator was unnecessary and uninteresting. And sad to see that the quiet but intelligent Marin is missing.

I had guessed early who committed the murder and how it was carried out, and felt a satisfaction to find that I was at least partly correct. However, the main culprit's identity and the motive was quite unsatisfactory and far-fetched to me. But what is most disappointing (and definitely not a mark of of a good mystery/thriller IMHO) is the way the great reveal is handled. Dalgliesh "knows" the who and how, and explains it to the official police in charge some way from the end, but the readers are privy neither to the information, nor to the process of arriving at it. I positively loathe it when the reader as well as the other characters get the full picture from a confession. In this case it was in the form of a tape, but from a readers' perspective it was several pages too long, and very unrealistic in tone. I don't know if it would sound better on audio, but I definitely didn't enjoy reading it.

A Mind To Murder

Adam Dalgliesh #2: A Mind To Murder

  - P.D. James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After the first book, I was a little surprised to find that this is not reminiscent of Agatha Christie, but has a more modern setting, though still quite a ‘clean’ crime story - something which I sorely miss in contemporary works.

As in the first book, this is a closed room mystery, the victim is not particularly liked, and almost everyone has a motive. But I liked this one better. Firstly, it did not have the dated setting which felt little out of place in the previous book because of an apparent later time-frame it was set in. It was also easier to follow the characters and the story arc. I found the plot and pace tighter, and the motives more logical.

However, a large part of the solution was evident to me by 50% mark, even though it felt that the author later indulged in obscuring the plot with some red herrings, to pull the story. Once again, coincidences play a role, but it was interesting to find that the detective had not arrived at the complete and correct solution :) In a way, this fallibility humanizes him, making him more likeable.

We get to know a little more about Dalgliesh. His subordinate, Martin, is not shown prominently, but I liked whatever we get to see about him. I hoped to see more of him and his camaraderie with the detective, but sadly he doesn't feature in later books.

Cover Her Face

Adam Dalgliesh #1: Cover Her Face

  - P.D. James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I came across a recommendation for this series (on my online reading group, I think) for people who love British crime novels by authors like Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. By now, I have read four books in the series, so l have a more informed thought about the series itself, but I am going to try to limit this review to this book only.

What I liked about this book was the very Christie-like atmosphere it created - complete with a village setting where everyone knows everyone else, an elite family residing in their large home that the family has lived in for generations, their fortunes depleted over time yet their need to keep up appearances surviving, and a public event where critical events take place. Like Christie's novels, it is a closed-room kind of murder mystery with a limited set of suspects and nearly everyone having a motive.

The author takes her time to develop the characters, and you get a deeper insight into their personality gradually over the course of the story. The atmosphere is also developed well, with attention to detail to build up the background as well as a comprehensive picture of the events. I liked the prose, intelligent and infused with a dry wit.

However, I felt there also were several issues with the style as well as the plot. The beginning was very slow and confusing. For the first two days, I fell asleep after reading only a few pages - something that happens rarely to me while reading any book, let alone a murder mystery. In the initial chapters, I had a challenge keeping track of the characters. And later on, there were times when I had to go back and check whose thoughts or dialogue I was reading. Most of the major characters were unlikeable, one of them quite over the top and stereotyped.

In terms of treatment of the mystery, I was disconcerted to find the detective relying often on his intuition rather than logic or facts, particularly to determine whether or not a person was telling the truth. When he presents the final solution of the mystery, he gathers everyone (again like Christie’s Poirot). But unlike Christie, James does not describe the detective’s process of arriving at the solution, but only his conclusion. The root of the puzzle lies in a coincidence, but then even the grand dame has been known to rely on extraordinary circumstances, so one can't really fault the author on this.

Overall it was an enjoyable read and interested me enough to look out for further novels in the series.