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laurapk's review against another edition
2.0
I admit, part of my problem may have come from the fact that I read it as an Audiobook.
The book had its interesting parts, but I had a hard time keeping up with the characters. Too many names introduced too quickly. Some characters were easier to remember and identify, half were not.
I didn't connect at all with the main protagonist. I don't know anything about his history and had a hard time understanding his actions. We spent little time with him and a little more with the nurses. I give it to the author: the victims were well fleshed out. Their living counterparts...not so much. It's a pity, because the novel took its time describing places and people (the pace is so different from a modern mystery). I honestly don't understand why we spent so much time with Ms. Beale the inspector. She wasn't the POV character for long, she wasn't a substitute for the reader...I'd have rather spent more time inside the Superintendent's head.
The book had its interesting parts, but I had a hard time keeping up with the characters. Too many names introduced too quickly. Some characters were easier to remember and identify, half were not.
I didn't connect at all with the main protagonist. I don't know anything about his history and had a hard time understanding his actions. We spent little time with him and a little more with the nurses. I give it to the author: the victims were well fleshed out. Their living counterparts...not so much. It's a pity, because the novel took its time describing places and people (the pace is so different from a modern mystery). I honestly don't understand why we spent so much time with Ms. Beale the inspector. She wasn't the POV character for long, she wasn't a substitute for the reader...I'd have rather spent more time inside the Superintendent's head.
jenn756's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this. P D James is a remarkably consistent writer, so if you like closed community whodunits, lots of twists and turns and false alibis – and I happen to do so - this is your novel. Otherwise you’ll find it slow and ponderous.
It is set in a nursing training home in the late sixties. Its description of nursing is inadvertently a bit of social history itself, for I think nursing training has changed dramatically since those days. The story is slow starting, not withstanding the grisly murder in the first chapter, and it took me awhile to get into but once I did I was gripped in a gentle kind of way. A good novel if you happen to be ill or on a long journey.
Having said all that Dalgleish is an annoying detective as ever. He supposed to be sardonic and attractive but is actually just dull. He could do with being murdered himself. Fortunately we don’t see his personal life in the novel, for I have no desire to read about his poetry or love affairs and probably would have skipped that part. P D James doesn’t do love very well and lacks a sense of humour, so she is not witty as say, Caroline Graham would be and almost all her characters are unsympathetic. She enjoys doing detailed pen portraits of people, which are entertaining but are generally unflattering. Other people have pointed she just didn’t like the human race very much and I suppose they might be right. Still, doesn’t detract from it being a good novel.
And oh yes, I spotted the murderer in Chapter Two, which says more about the fact that I’ve read too many detective books than my powers of deduction.
It is set in a nursing training home in the late sixties. Its description of nursing is inadvertently a bit of social history itself, for I think nursing training has changed dramatically since those days. The story is slow starting, not withstanding the grisly murder in the first chapter, and it took me awhile to get into but once I did I was gripped in a gentle kind of way. A good novel if you happen to be ill or on a long journey.
Having said all that Dalgleish is an annoying detective as ever. He supposed to be sardonic and attractive but is actually just dull. He could do with being murdered himself. Fortunately we don’t see his personal life in the novel, for I have no desire to read about his poetry or love affairs and probably would have skipped that part. P D James doesn’t do love very well and lacks a sense of humour, so she is not witty as say, Caroline Graham would be and almost all her characters are unsympathetic. She enjoys doing detailed pen portraits of people, which are entertaining but are generally unflattering. Other people have pointed she just didn’t like the human race very much and I suppose they might be right. Still, doesn’t detract from it being a good novel.
And oh yes, I spotted the murderer in Chapter Two, which says more about the fact that I’ve read too many detective books than my powers of deduction.
bplayfuli's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book despite its inconsistencies.
michael5000's review against another edition
2.0
It was OK. I want to like P.D. James, but my attention wanders.
monsterful_alex's review against another edition
3.0
Easy-read, a good old-fashioned comfortable mystery. Although nobody can take Christie's place as my favourite crime author, PD James is quite distinct and engaging in that she puts focus on people's background and psychology in a way that's interesting outside of the purpose of crime solving. In that way the book extends beyond the detective genre.
git_r_read's review against another edition
5.0
I do love P D James. I cannot remember if I started reading the books or seeing the series on BBC first. Whatever it was, I love both reading and watching the series. Adam Dalgliesh is an intriguing character and watching him work is always great.
It's not necessary to read the books in order in the series, at least not to me. Each one is another piece to the puzzle but can be read as a standalone.
I can definitely recommend this book, series and author.
It's not necessary to read the books in order in the series, at least not to me. Each one is another piece to the puzzle but can be read as a standalone.
I can definitely recommend this book, series and author.
rebeccacider's review against another edition
4.0
The best P.D. James I've read so far (I was on quite a mystery kick for a few weeks there). More than its predecessors, this book delivered on creepy atmosphere and had a very intellectually satisfying mystery (although one key element could have been foreshadowed better).
kittkin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
synoptic_view's review against another edition
Good mystery novels are fun. This wasn't quite the puzzle box joy of Christie's "And Then There Were None," but I like the stuck up and fussy character of Dalgliesh.