A Book to be Savoured
This is a book that should be savoured for a number of reasons. The first is that P.D. James has lost none of her talent for writing a novel that grips and holds you. Also, the book is more than just a little mystery story. There is a whole lot more here than that. It's a book that held me in its thrall right until the end. Of course we have Adam Dalgliesh, and we have his team (Kate and Benton). We also have an intriguing mystery when a private patient in a country clinic is found dead in her room. Adam and his team travel to Dorset to try to solve the murder. The book is complex and the murder is also. And last, but not least, there is a possibility that this may be the last Adam Dalgliesh book. Ms. James has certainly approached this issue throughout the book. I will be sad if that is so, but it is a wonderful way to end a brilliant creation! Ms. James is a wonderful author, and I truly revelled in this book. I put it down with a real sense of sadness, but I think it is a book that should be read more than once. A second and third reading may be in order in order that all the rich nuances can be grasped. I have to say, that although it is only the middle of October, I think this is the most significant book of fiction that I will read in 2008.
Farewell to Adam Dalgliesh?
Always on holding a copy of a new P.D. James novel in my hands, I feel awe. The jacket, the paper, the print - all presented with quality and taste preparing for what is to come.
I will not elaborate on this book. Clichés like masterpiece, excellence, pageturner, do not suit a work by this author. As for pageturner, this is not a word which applies well for "The Private Patient". As much as one is caught up in the solving of the mystery, it is a book to be read slowly. Devouring to the full every word of some of the most beautiful English prose ever written.
The book tells about the solving of two murders committed at a private clinic, an old manor house, in Dorset. Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his team have a tricky and meticulous task ahead. There are several suspects and motives, and no apparent direction in which to lead the investigation.
In true P.D. James style, the mystery solving is as much a journey into the human mind and its secrets as a sifting through the acts which may have lead to the deeds. The patience required by the solving team, is required also by the reader. There are no easy explanations. Every action is thoroughly analyzed, the reason sought to be explained in detail.
There is a sharp contrast between the story itself and the quiet writing style. Idyllic presentations of some of England's most beautiful countryside set the sceen for the horrendous deeds and often lead the reader astray into the purity and simplicity of nature's splendour.
"The Private Patient" is the complete Adam Dalgliesh mystery, to the extent of seemingly being a summoning up of all previous books. I do not think it's unfair to new readers to reveal that the book more than indicates that this might be the last Adam Dalgliesh mystery. From the dedication at the beginning of the book to the tying up of loose ends in the last chapter. In particular, is the last paragraph of extraordinary beauty and significance.
A book to be read more than once.
An Unusually Upbeat Ending
This latest Adam Dalgliesh mystery is up to P.D. James' usual standard. Once again there is a world filled with unhappy people from dysfunctional families. But some of those involved do live lives less bleak than often portrayed in her books, and the ending (more of an epilogue, placed half a year after the events in the rest of the book) is actually filled with a whole series of relatively happy couples.
The first murder victim is a freelance investigative journalist, and what bothers me a little is the depiction of her profession. First of all, I don't know if there are that many investigative reporters working freelance. But more important is the image of investigative journalism. To me this conjures up memories of Watergate, and hardworking reporters exposing polluting companies, corrupt politicians, and similar scandals. To the people in this book, in the world that P.D. James portrays, investigative journalists dig up dirt on little people, ruining their lives, just so they can earn a lot of money.
When you watch British mystery shows, the journalists are usually a flock of nuisances, irritating everyone else as they get in the way and ask less than helpful questions. So in this P.D. James seems to be faithful to a British media tradition. But I don't think it reflects the real world at all.
Other than that minor niggle, this is a very good read.
Superb P D James Mystery
After the first page it is very clear that you are once again reading something by one of the masters of the genre. And Adam and his fiance are both involved in the story although she is not involved at all in the mystery.
The actual mystery involves a patient at a private clinic outside of London who wishes to have a scar removed from her face. The clinic sounds utterly marvelous (in an old estate) and the characters are wonderfully drawn. By the end of the book you feel you've once again left some friends behind.
A definite read for any mystery or British mystery fan. Enjoy.
