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The Private Patient (Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries) by P.D. James
Book Summary InformationAuthor: P.D. James Edition: Hardcover Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published) Published: 2008-11-18 ISBN: 0307270777 Number of pages: 352 Publisher: Knopf
Book Reviews of The Private Patient (Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries)Book Review: P.D. James Has Not Lost Her Touch Summary: 4 StarsAn enjoyable and intelligently written novel, as one might expect from P. D. James, with a few downsides, namely an unnecessary amount of narrative and a preoccupation with death (over and above the murder mystery aspect)--but perhaps this is only natural given account of the author's age. Most problematic though was that there were too many detectives involved. With Kate, Benton and Dalgliesh all involved in the interviewing of witnesses, it got confusing and detracted from the suspense, and I found it peculiar that Dalgliesh would leave the interviewing of a prime witness to his two subordinates, for no apparent reason. The parts dealing with his relationship with Emma lent nothing to the plot or even the story. Dalgliesh himself is a rather vague character. The beginning of the story about "the private patient" was the most riveting part. The characters at the clinic and those incidental to the plot were well described, but, again, there were just too many of them. Not wanting to give anything away, I'll just say that the book went on too long after the revelation of the culprit, even though it sped up in the telling and jumped forward in time. Having said that, it was still better than a lot of contemporary mysteries.
Summary of The Private Patient (Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries)Cheverell Manor is a lovely old house in deepest Dorset, now a private clinic belonging to the famous plastic surgeon George Chandler-Powell. When investigative journalist Rhoda Gradwyn arrived there one late autumn afternoon, scheduled to have a disfiguring and long-standing facial scar removed, she had every expectation of a successful operation and a pleasant week recuperating.
Two days later she was dead, the victim of murder.
To Commander Adam Dalgliesh, who with his team is called in to investigate the case, the mystery at first seems absolute. Few things about it make sense. Yet as the detectives begin probing the lives and backgrounds of those connected with the dead woman-the surgeon, members of the manor staff, close acquaintances-suspects multiply all too rapidly. New confusions arise, including strange historical overtones of madness and a lynching 350 years in the past. Then there is a second murder, and Dalgliesh finds himself confronted by issues even more challenging than innocence or guilt.
P. D. James has gained an enviable reputation for creating detective stories of uncommon depth and intricacy, combined with the sort of humanity and perceptiveness found only in the finest novelists. The Private Patient ranks among her very best.
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