Death in Holy Orders: An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery: 11

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And just to make sure we know where we're supposed to stand, Dalgleish, a Commander at Scotland Yard, has more sympathy for the paedophile who served a three-year prison term than for the fellow-priest who exposed him: 'He [the whistle-blower] did what he saw as his duty and it caused him a lot of pain. Dalgleish privately thought that the greater pain had been suffered by Father John [the convicted paedophile].' I should add that this book was published in 2001. On the plus side, the story was complex and quite well constructed. I didn't guess who 'dunnit' until it came out about two thirds of the way through that someone had a huge motive for commiting a string of murders, the rest of the book being about how Commander Dalgleish goes about proving it.

Others present include only a few of the students, the Fathers, the resident help, a visiting lecturer, Emma Lavenham, and a researcher, Clive Stannard. The conclusion -- the final, full explanation -- and the small ray of hope for Dalgliesh's personal life that are presented in the brief, final section seem almost a bit much -- though James does get away with it (just). This is relevant to the present situation in that it shows that Dalgliesh has a prodigious memory, that he is a keen observer with a penchant for details, and that he has a sensibility that facilitates his development of relationships, perhaps even with potential suspects. James’s detective is not at all the two-dimensional sleuth of most mysteries, a caricature composed of a bundle of idiosyncrasies. He is a self-effacing professional, secure about his position and happy to have aides make crucial, enlightening discoveries. When asked if he is happy, widower Dalgliesh replies: “I have health, a job I enjoy; enough food, comfort, occasional luxuries if I feel the need of them, my poetry. Given the state of three-quarters of the world’s poor, wouldn’t you say that unhappiness would be a perverse indulgence?” The apparent suicide, the certified natural death, the brutal murder -- there was a cord which connected them. James prefaces Dalgliesh’s first interview with Father Sebastian by describing the warden, his clothes, and his office:In spite of a good tale, and vivid characters, I couldn't get beyond, (nor should anyone) the defense of child abuse, ("it was only fondling") and the vilification of someone who "dug up" more victims. The fact that the story is so well done makes it worse, in that it carries some legitimacy to the idea of abuse being minimal. The subtext of abuse was not primary to the story, but it was definitely central - you couldn't miss it. No one would permit an defense of racism or rape or any other illegal and immoral activities. It is not only nature that undermines the College: the Church is apparently looking to close it down, and then events at the college itself reinforce the sense of inevitability of this. to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70% Murder of certain profession? - students/teachers Misc. Murder Plotlets - "All in the family" murder - Big focus on forensic evidence Kind of investigator - police procedural, British Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. This is not a madman moved by evil passion to commit terrible acts, but a psychologically complex person about whom Dalgliesh wonders how he will endure his imprisonment and “was he even now looking from his barred windows and wishing that he, too, could smell the sweetness of this spring day?”

Dalgliesh, James’s master detective who rises from chief inspector in the first novel to chief superintendent and then to commander, is a serious, introspective person, moralistic yet realistic. The novels in which he appears are peopled by fully rounded characters, who are civilized, genteel, and motivated. The public resonance created by James’s singular characterization and deployment of classic mystery devices led to most of the novels featuring Dalgliesh being filmed for television. James, who earned the sobriquet “Queen of Crime,” penned 14 Dalgliesh novels, with the last, The Private Patient, appearing in 2008.Nowhere in the first section does James seem merely to be going through the motions, but in the later ones she falters very occasionally, giving in to trite and unnecessary predictability in stray sentences and explanations: The setting itself is elemental P. D. James: the bleak coast of East Anglia, where atop a sweep of low cliffs stands the small theological college of St. Anselm’s. On the shore not far away, smothered beneath a fall of sand, lies the body of one of the school’s young ordinands. He is the son of Sir Alred Treves, a hugely successful and flamboyant businessman who is accustomed to getting what he wants—and in this case what he wants is Commander Adam Dalgliesh to investigate his son’s death. Although there seems to be little to investigate, Dalgliesh agrees, largely out of nostalgia for several happy summers he spent at St. Anselm’s as a boy. No sooner does he arrive, however, than the college is torn apart by a sacrilegious and horrifying murder, and Dalgliesh finds himself ineluctably drawn into the labyrinth of an intricate and violent mystery.

There is no shortage of possible suspects, or motives, for Ronald's death. But before Dalgliesh even arrives on the scene, another death occurs - a death everyone else considers natural and expected. Dalgliesh wonders otherwise. As the body count continues to rise, so too the means, motive and opportunity of almost the entire community of St. Anselms. Dalgliesh and his team steadily work to reveal the killer or killers before someone else falls victim. Long-time widower Dalgliesh is furthered hampered in the investigation by his unexpected feelings for a visiting guest lecturer, Emma Lavenham. Will the possibility of love turn out to be a blessing or curse for Dalgliesh? For Dalgliesh, the setting holds special meaning, since he spent part of his youth there. He experiences a deep nostalgia for those summer days, rediscovers close ties to the former warden, the elderly and devout Father Martin, and finds peace and rest in this place. Thus, he feels comfortable asking questions about the troubled youth who perished beneath a sudden fall of sand from the cliff above him. James introduces the players, the conflicts, the relationships, and the building tensions with Dalgliesh on the spot observing, rather than coming in after murder has been clearly committed. Amid talk of religious art and of the controversy surrounding a papyrus fragment that could shake the foundations of Christianity, Dalgliesh suddenly finds himself in the midst of multiple murders that strike at the heart of this small, pious community. Although three deaths arouse Dalgliesh’s intuitive suspicions, it is the murder of the archbishop that provides the impetus for calling in his London team. Once on the spot, they and he uncover some of the nasty secrets behind the innocent facades: pedophilia, incest, lesbianism, and greed, red herrings that distract from the main offense. With almost everyone lying to some degree or simply failing to tell all they know because they do not realize the significance of minor observations, progression toward a swift resolution proves difficult. Making his eleventh appearance, Scotland Yard Inspector Adam Dalgliesh is planning a vacation visit to St. Anselm’s Theological College on England’s East Anglia coast, where he spent time as a boy; prior to leaving London, he is told to look into the recent death of a St. Anselm ordinand (seminarian), the son of an important industrialist. Though the coroner ruled it an accident, Scotland Yard has received an anonymous letter that raises the specter of foul play. Dalgliesh—an introspective poet-intellectual who epitomizes the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) operative—finds the St. Anselm community upset by the young man’s death. They are also wary of the imminent arrival of Archdeacon Crampton, a trustee who wants the small seminary to be closed because, despite its endowment, it is not self-sufficient and requires too much financial support from the Church. The priests and others who work and reside at St. Anselm’s have many reasons for thwarting Crampton’s intent, though under its founding charter, when the school property (including valuable art holdings) is sold, the four resident priests will share the bounty. Even before Dalgliesh gets to the school, James has built the framework of a typical mystery novel: a restricted community, anxiety-filled characters, complex personal relationships, a suspicious death, an isolated setting, the prospect of inherited wealth as a possible motive. Her novels normally are longer than most mysteries, concerned as she is with theme as well as event, but the leisurely pace enhances the narrative and makes her characters more three-dimensional and realistic.It would be interesting if James deliberately chose the name St. Anselm’s to reflect Anselm’s ontological argument for the existence of God. This argument was successfully undermined by Kant in his Critique of Pure Reason, and it’s formal errors are revealed by modern predicate logic. (As a Christian myself I think there are other arguments that are sound ...) I also wasn't sure I believed the murderer's motives at the end. There were so many red herrings in this novel. Dalgliesh is not the only unwanted guest who appears that weekend: among the others is the very Archdeacon (the position helpfully defined as "a kind of Rottweiler of the Church") who is pushing for the closure of the college, Reverend Crampton (who also caused one of the resident Fathers considerable grief years earlier), as well as a local police Inspector, Yarwood, who in turn caused the Archdeacon considerable grief years earlier (essentially accusing him of having murdered his first wife). Well thank you for coming to see me, Father. I always appreciate your visits. But, sadly, sex is the last the thing on my mind right now."