Death in Holy Orders: An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery: 11

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Decent Adam Dalglish romp spoiled by the narrator's apparent lack of basic ecclesiastical knowledge which manifests itself in the constant mispronunciation of standard ecclesiastical terms, particularly Compline which rhymes with bin NOT dine. This person had no regard for the person he was benefiting by committing the murders as he made perfectly clear on a number of occasions. We had been home from our honeymoon for less than two weeks; we had known each other for less than a year.

Another death, this time a murder, brings all of Dalgliesh's team into the case; DI Piers Tarrant, DI Kate Miskin and DS Robbins. The book, however, is far superior with more backstory and details about the key characters and the way it is read give you an instant picture and impression of all the characters. Set on the wild coast of East Anglia, this number one bestseller is the fourteenth Adam Dalgliesh novel and a thrilling work of crime fiction possessing all of the qualities which distinguish P. Anselm's, a small theological college on a lonely stretch of the Anglian coast, so isolated that a fallen tree on the only road to the college can effectively block all access to it. The setting was well-drawn but I had little sympathy for any of the characters save the hero and even he wasn't on his best form.Overall, I am enjoying this series, but this is certainly not a favourite and - at times - something of an uncomfortable read. Like many in the series, this is set in an isolated, rural community - in this case, Saint Anselm's - an Anglo-Catholic theological college. All of the professors and some of the ordinands (those studying to become Anglican priests) have nefarious events in their past or antipathy toward one or other of the rest of the characters. P D James's flagstones and pantries are set in the 21st century, but the values their description represents are both loving and unfashionable. Dalgliesh is first drawn to a "ravishingly beautiful" murder suspect, feeling a strange attraction that, we are told, he has not felt since the death of his wife.

I chose it as I've see the 2 part tv drama starring Martin Shaw which is, in its own right, a very good program and keeps quite close to book with only a few minor differences. I've always been interested in the way James teases out the effects of nasty things people do or say to each other as well as of death in suspicious circumstances.So many red herrings and rabbit trails-I was stumped to figure out the culprit and even when it was revealed I was thinking it was actually going to turn out to be someone else!