At first, I didn't think I would get too attached to the heroine, a young woman struggling to establish herself as lone P.I., but she was a very empathetic character by the middle of the book. The writing style is not at all florid, it could almost be called concise, but she does such a great job at picking what details she does elaborate, and describing psycological turmoil.

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Not a Commander Dalgleish, but still a fascinating mystery. NOT a cozy-but not too graphic.

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PD James writes Very British Mysteries as dense, layered and gorgeous as an English garden. Not easy to start, but then very hard to put down.

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the queen of crime P.D. james.. a good read

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This is a great book by the best mystery writer around, in my humble opinion. Great character development and plot.

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Originally published ion 1972, the key character of the novel is Cordelia Gray, an unassuming woman detective who would fade into the background if you didn't know her. Quiet, she seems like she might be a product of the 1940s but she has inherited a detective agency where she's worked briefly. Her partner, discovering he had cancer, committed suicide and left the agency to her. After the funeral, she takes on her first solo case. The aristocratic father of Mark Callender, a handsome young man, who supposedly hung himself but his father thinks it may be murder. A prominent scientist who didn't communicate much with his son, he wants to find out why his son might have hanged himself. She moves into the small cottage where Callender died and begins her investigation.

Clues lead Gray on a twisting route where she discovers secrets and sins best left uncovered, especially by a sensitive goung woman. Finding that nice people sometimes do nasty things, she soon understands that she, too, is in danger of losing her life. Nevertheless, Gray questions friends of the deceased and attends events with them before she uncovers who murdered Mark Callender and why.

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Originally published ion 1972, the key character of the novel is Cordelia Gray, an unassuming woman detective who would fade into the background if you didn't know her. Quiet, she seems like she might be a product of the 1940s but she has inherited a detective agency where she's worked briefly. Her partner, discovering he had cancer, committed suicide and left the agency to her. After the funeral, she takes on her first solo Case. The aristocratic father of Mark Callender, a handsome young man, who supposedly hung himself but his father thinks it may be murder. A prominent scientist who didn't communicate much with his son, he wants to find out why his son might have hanged himself. She moves into the small cottage where Callender died.

Clues lead Gray on a twisting route where she discovers secrets and sins best left uncovered, especially by a sensitive goung woman. Finding that nice people sometimes do nasty things, she soon understands that she, too, is in danger of losing her life. Nevertheless, Gray questions friends of the deceased and attends events with them before she uncovers who murdered Mark Callender and why.

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This was the first P D James I ever read, when I was a teenager. It was a great introduction, and I was always sad there weren't more novels with thi sleuth.

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