When Dalgliesh is about to leave for St. Anselm’s, he recalls in detail his earlier visits, including one at age fourteen when he fell in love with a fifteen-year-old girl, Sadie, for whom he wrote a poem (which he recites to himself). The occasion is so vivid in his memory that he remembers the specific date of their innocent tryst. James also describes his journey from London to Ballard’s Mere, some four hundred miles, at great length, with precise descriptions of the countryside: The solutions -- and the various explanations of the other oddities and unusual behaviour and events -- are all quite well handled. Despite that, everyone except the 'baddie' who is murdered loves him, including Dalgleish himself and his new love interest so James makes it very clear that we as readers are supposed to side with them: as one character says 'He pleaded guilty to misbehaviour with two young boys. He didn't rape them, he didn't seduce them, he didn't physically hurt them' - so in James' world and that of the book, a bit of covert fondling and illegal touching of young boys is perfectly fine - he might not have 'physically' hurt them, but any psychological trauma from being assaulted by their priest is airily waved away. The conclusion -- the final, full explanation -- and the small ray of hope for Dalgliesh's personal life that are presented in the brief, final section seem almost a bit much -- though James does get away with it (just). As in Original Sin (1995) and A Certain Justice (1997), James’s achievement is not to pin down individual guilt, but to show the place of crime and guilt and sin in a whole culture.

Making his eleventh appearance, Scotland Yard Inspector Adam Dalgliesh is planning a vacation visit to St. Anselm’s Theological College on England’s East Anglia coast, where he spent time as a boy; prior to leaving London, he is told to look into the recent death of a St. Anselm ordinand (seminarian), the son of an important industrialist. Though the coroner ruled it an accident, Scotland Yard has received an anonymous letter that raises the specter of foul play. Dalgliesh—an introspective poet-intellectual who epitomizes the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) operative—finds the St. Anselm community upset by the young man’s death. They are also wary of the imminent arrival of Archdeacon Crampton, a trustee who wants the small seminary to be closed because, despite its endowment, it is not self-sufficient and requires too much financial support from the Church. The priests and others who work and reside at St. Anselm’s have many reasons for thwarting Crampton’s intent, though under its founding charter, when the school property (including valuable art holdings) is sold, the four resident priests will share the bounty. Even before Dalgliesh gets to the school, James has built the framework of a typical mystery novel: a restricted community, anxiety-filled characters, complex personal relationships, a suspicious death, an isolated setting, the prospect of inherited wealth as a possible motive. Her novels normally are longer than most mysteries, concerned as she is with theme as well as event, but the leisurely pace enhances the narrative and makes her characters more three-dimensional and realistic. I have read previous reviewers who mention the paedophile priest. This storyline was only mentioned 3 times in the entire book and was in no way part of the story so do not let you put you off. This is relevant to the present situation in that it shows that Dalgliesh has a prodigious memory, that he is a keen observer with a penchant for details, and that he has a sensibility that facilitates his development of relationships, perhaps even with potential suspects. James’s detective is not at all the two-dimensional sleuth of most mysteries, a caricature composed of a bundle of idiosyncrasies. He is a self-effacing professional, secure about his position and happy to have aides make crucial, enlightening discoveries. When asked if he is happy, widower Dalgliesh replies: “I have health, a job I enjoy; enough food, comfort, occasional luxuries if I feel the need of them, my poetry. Given the state of three-quarters of the world’s poor, wouldn’t you say that unhappiness would be a perverse indulgence?” P. D. James, byname of Phyllis Dorothy James White, Baroness James of Holland Park, (born August 3, 1920, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England—died November 27, 2014, Oxford), British mystery novelist best known for her fictional detective Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard. The mystery started with a lot of promise. And as I've already said it was complex and well structured. There were a few suspicious deaths and one positive murder, so it wasn't easy to guess the criminal, nor it was any easier to fathom a connection between the deaths. My suspicions, even though I felt illogical at the time, proved to be true in the end. Now I used the word "illogical", and that is how I still feel, for there is no other word to describe the absurdity of it all. The motive behind the crimes was simply ridiculous! It was a heavy blow to the carefully constructed structure of the murder-mystery which at the weight of it staggered and collapsed.A suspenseful, professional-grade north country procedural whose heroine, a deft mix of compassion and attitude, would be welcome to return and tie up the gaping loose end Box leaves. The unrelenting cold makes this the perfect beach read. I think Tara’s summary, in line with others, that the weaknesses of this book are the motive for murder and excusing of sexual abuse, is exactly right. Commander Adam Dalgliesh, who had spent three summers at St. Anselm's in his youth, offers to poke around. James prefaces Dalgliesh’s first interview with Father Sebastian by describing the warden, his clothes, and his office: Others present include only a few of the students, the Fathers, the resident help, a visiting lecturer, Emma Lavenham, and a researcher, Clive Stannard.

There is no shortage of possible suspects, or motives, for Ronald's death. But before Dalgliesh even arrives on the scene, another death occurs - a death everyone else considers natural and expected. Dalgliesh wonders otherwise. As the body count continues to rise, so too the means, motive and opportunity of almost the entire community of St. Anselms. Dalgliesh and his team steadily work to reveal the killer or killers before someone else falls victim. Long-time widower Dalgliesh is furthered hampered in the investigation by his unexpected feelings for a visiting guest lecturer, Emma Lavenham. Will the possibility of love turn out to be a blessing or curse for Dalgliesh? On the plus side, the story was complex and quite well constructed. I didn't guess who 'dunnit' until it came out about two thirds of the way through that someone had a huge motive for commiting a string of murders, the rest of the book being about how Commander Dalgleish goes about proving it. The setting itself is elemental P. D. James: the bleak coast of East Anglia, where atop a sweep of low cliffs stands the small theological college of St. Anselm’s. On the shore not far away, smothered beneath a fall of sand, lies the body of one of the school’s young ordinands. He is the son of Sir Alred Treves, a hugely successful and flamboyant businessman who is accustomed to getting what he wants—and in this case what he wants is Commander Adam Dalgliesh to investigate his son’s death. Although there seems to be little to investigate, Dalgliesh agrees, largely out of nostalgia for several happy summers he spent at St. Anselm’s as a boy. No sooner does he arrive, however, than the college is torn apart by a sacrilegious and horrifying murder, and Dalgliesh finds himself ineluctably drawn into the labyrinth of an intricate and violent mystery. He dies in horrible fashion, buried alive in sand that collapsed on top of him (despite there being many signs warning of precisely such dangers). to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70% Murder of certain profession? - students/teachers Misc. Murder Plotlets - "All in the family" murder - Big focus on forensic evidence Kind of investigator - police procedural, British Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult BookReview notes: Roy Hattersley tells us "Dalgliesh, as a boy, spent a summer at the college", even though P.D.James has Dalgliesh say: "I stayed there as a boy for three summers." What I enjoyed about this book was the use of the imagery of the sea in connection with religion. Religion was clearly something that James pondered quite a bit, but she ultimately valued cleverness over religion and even sound ethics: It appears to have been a natural one, though in this case the reader already knows for certain that it was not.