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British master James's 13th Adam Dalgliesh mystery, like its two predecessors1, The Murder Room (2003) and Death in Holy Orders (2001), focuses at first on a hostile character who threatens to shatter a longstanding way of life. Acclaimed2 novelist Nathan Oliver incurs3 the wrath4 of his fellow residents on Combe Island, a private property off the Cornish coast used as an exclusive retreat by movers and shakers in many fields.
When Oliver is murdered, Scotland Yard dispatches Dalgliesh and two of his team to Combe, where the commander checks alibis5 and motives6 in his trademark7 understated manner. Because the detective's new romantic attachment8 is more of a backstory than in The Murder Room, it intrudes9 less on the murder inquiry10. The solution, which hinges on the existence of an unknown child, is less than fully11 satisfactory and also borrows elements from some of James's recent plots. Devotees more interested in her hero's personal growth than his deductive technique will find much to enjoy.
Book review
This is James' eighteenth book, and is one of Adam Dalgliesh series.
On the eve of a special weekend with his new love, Emma Lavenham, Dalgliesh is summoned to handle an especially delicate case at short notice. He and his team, D.I. Kate Miskin and Sargeant Benton-Smith, are to fly by helicopter to remote Combe Island to investigate the suspicious death of a prominent author, and report back immediately. The island is needed for a secret conference and it must be shown to be secure.
The dead man, aging novelist Nathan Oliver, had been found hanging from the rails of the lighthouse. The few residents and guests on the island all had reason to dislike him, but no real obvious motives for murder (the bruising12 on his neck does prove it to be murder).
The manager, the accountant/priest, the housekeeper13, the cook, the boat captain, the handyman, the maid, the last descendant of the family who owned the island and her valet, the teenage maid, the two guests, and the novelist's middle-aged14 daughter and his personal copy editor...who could have hated him so much?
Another tragic15 death happens before the mystery can be solved; and a SARS outbreak takes out Dalgliesh, quarantines the island, and leaves Miskin and Benton-Smith on their own and in charge.
This book is another success for James--a wonderful location and her usually superbly drawn16 and realistically motivated characters make it a must-read this winter.
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