Review: The Murder Room (Adam Dalgliesh, #12)

P.D James creates a world around her mysteries, probably better than any other mystery writer I know. Such is the case here, when rocks the DuPayne Museum. A small, eccentric museum dedicated to the history of the interwar period, the DuPayne's showpiece is a gallery dedicated to period murders. Full of macabre displays and artifacts, "The Murder Room" appears to have provided inspiration for a serial killer. People in and around the museum are being killed in the same manner as the most notable murders displayed in the gallery. Dalgliesh and his team try to discover the killer as the body count rises.

This is a mystery with a complex plot. It has many moving parts, and numerous richly drawn characters. Set in the waning fall, the atmosphere is appropriately dark and gloomy. I figured out who the murderer was, and I suspected why, which is unusual for me with James's books. There were more direct clues to murderer and motive in this one. In sum, an excellent mystery with a richly-drawn atmosphere.

P.D. James, The Murder Room (Vintage, 2003) ISBN: 1400076099 

Review: The Private Patient

A journalist dies at a plastic surgery clinic after what should have been a routine operation with a renowned surgeon. Investigation proves that the clinic is staffed by a rather odd group of individuals, all of whom seem to have issues. The dead woman, Rhoda Gradwyn, is a London journalist, and she has a nosy best friend who proves to have strange ties to the clinic.

As is always the case with James, the history and back-story of the characters is very important, and becomes essential to solving the mystery. What's really kind of sad for me is that this appears to be the end of the Dalgliesh series. Dalgliesh is ready to retire from Scotland Yard, and his two junior associates are tying up their loose ends. In reading this I couldn't help but think that James's heart was more in writing her Scotland Yard characters than in producing an actual mystery. This one didn't live up to the level of depth or suspense of the earlier volumes in the series.

P.D. James, The Private Patient (Knopf, 2008) ISBN: 0307270777