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hinesight's review against another edition
2.0
I abandoned this one. It seemed repetitive, mean-spirited, and formulaic. All the inmates at the asylum were without any redeeming characteristics.
marlisenicole's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
missbryden's review against another edition
3.0
Mixed bag: started out kind of depressing, and I wonder why I keep reading except that I'm set on comparing to the 2021 adaptation. Got more interesting, nicely dramatic, right towards the end. Disappointed that one feature of the adaptation did not come from the book. Overall, of the opinion that I like the adaptation because of the actor's performance.
bluestarfish's review against another edition
3.0
Commander Dalgliesh is recovering from a serious illness so decides to combine rest and time off with visiting an old acquaintance in Dorset. Adam is by himself, and keeps to himself, which is an interesting thing to do to a detective, especially as he's not too sure about wanting to carry on with his job after his illness. In a beautifully observed location tension builds in the nursing home and its isolated location. Silence and time are given their place in this story.
cimorene1558's review against another edition
3.0
One of the middle-of-the-road P.D. James's. Some of them I quite like, some I can barely stand, and this is one of the in-betweens.
bikes_books_yarn's review against another edition
3.0
I know this was a good book but I really have had no urge to pick up more P.D. James books after I read this one. Maybe I had read to many other good mystery books too close to reading this one and it raised the bar too high.
adamrshields's review against another edition
3.0
Summary: Dalgliesh, recovering from surgery and a misdiagnosis of cancer, Adam heads to the coast to visit a family friend only to find that he had recently died.
I have almost forced myself to pick up fiction this year. I am unsure why, but I have barely read any fiction. I have been slowly working through a collection of the first six books of the Adam Dalgliesh mystery series, which I purchased years ago. I don't love the series yet, but the most well-known books of the series are still to come, so I have been continuing to read, hoping that the series will engage me like Inspector Gamache or others.
In this book, Adam Dalgliesh is not on duty as a homicide detective. Instead, he is on sick leave and planning to resign once he has recovered. Dalgliesh was the son of a pastor. When he was a child, he knew a pastor who had retired to be the chaplain at an estate where the owner was trying to create a community that could care for disabled people who did not need the full care of a nursing home but could not live independently.
Adam felt some obligation to go to this retired pastor who reached out to him, but he also wanted to get away for his own reasons. By the time he arrives (pre-cell phone era), his friend has died of apparent natural causes and has been buried. There was another death, by apparent suicide, at about the same time. As the poet and book collector, Adam was left his friend's library. So he stays around to organize it and clean. But he is drawn into a community he is unsure he wants to be a part of. And his skills as a detective, which he is not sure he wants to use, seem to be needed.
This is another in the series that I did not love, but I liked it enough to keep going on. I own one more book in the series on Kindle. After that, I will check out some of the books from my library. My goal is to get to at least the 11th book before I decide whether to finish the series. But there are only 14 books in the series. So I probably will finish eventually.
I have almost forced myself to pick up fiction this year. I am unsure why, but I have barely read any fiction. I have been slowly working through a collection of the first six books of the Adam Dalgliesh mystery series, which I purchased years ago. I don't love the series yet, but the most well-known books of the series are still to come, so I have been continuing to read, hoping that the series will engage me like Inspector Gamache or others.
In this book, Adam Dalgliesh is not on duty as a homicide detective. Instead, he is on sick leave and planning to resign once he has recovered. Dalgliesh was the son of a pastor. When he was a child, he knew a pastor who had retired to be the chaplain at an estate where the owner was trying to create a community that could care for disabled people who did not need the full care of a nursing home but could not live independently.
Adam felt some obligation to go to this retired pastor who reached out to him, but he also wanted to get away for his own reasons. By the time he arrives (pre-cell phone era), his friend has died of apparent natural causes and has been buried. There was another death, by apparent suicide, at about the same time. As the poet and book collector, Adam was left his friend's library. So he stays around to organize it and clean. But he is drawn into a community he is unsure he wants to be a part of. And his skills as a detective, which he is not sure he wants to use, seem to be needed.
This is another in the series that I did not love, but I liked it enough to keep going on. I own one more book in the series on Kindle. After that, I will check out some of the books from my library. My goal is to get to at least the 11th book before I decide whether to finish the series. But there are only 14 books in the series. So I probably will finish eventually.
michael5000's review against another edition
2.0
I tried to get into Adam Dalgliesh again, and again I feel short.