Richard Derrington and Deborah McAndrew star in this thrilling dramatisation of P.D. James' enduringly popular mystery. When two men are discovered with their throats cut in the vestry of St Matthew's Church, the police are faced with an intriguing challenge. For one of the victims was ex-Government minister Sir Paul Berowne, the other Harry Mack, a local tramp and alcoholic. For Commander Adam Dalgliesh, now heading a Scotland Yard unit set up to investigate politically sensitive crimes, the case is particularly affecting - he had known Berowne, and the minister had asked for his help regarding an anonymous letter shortly before his resignation. Could the letter, implicating Berowne in the deaths of two women, be linked to the bodies in the vestry? How are Berowne's wife and family involved - and what is the relationship between Berowne and the tramp? Aided by Inspector Kate Miskin and Chief Inspector John Massingham, Dalgliesh must answer these questions to uncover the truth...
Richard Derrington and Deborah McAndrew star in this thrilling dramatisation of P.D. James' enduringly popular mystery. When two men are discovered with their throats cut in the vestry of St Matthew's Church, the police are faced with an intriguing challenge. For one of the victims was ex-Government minister Sir Paul Berowne, the other Harry Mack, a local tramp and alcoholic. For Commander Adam Dalgliesh, now heading a Scotland Yard unit set up to investigate politically sensitive crimes, the case is particularly affecting - he had known Berowne, and the minister had asked for his help regarding an anonymous letter shortly before his resignation. Could the letter, implicating Berowne in the deaths of two women, be linked to the bodies in the vestry? How are Berowne's wife and family involved - and what is the relationship between Berowne and the tramp? Aided by Inspector Kate Miskin and Chief Inspector John Massingham, Dalgliesh must answer these questions to uncover the truth...
Richard Derrington and Deborah McAndrew star in this thrilling dramatisation of P.D. James' enduringly popular mystery.
P. D. James was born in Oxford in 1920 and educated at Cambridge High School for Girls. From 1949 to 1968 she worked in the National Health Service and subsequently in the Home Office, first in the Police Department and later in the Criminal Policy Department. All that experience has been used in her novels. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Royal Society of the Arts and has served as a Governor of the BBC, a member of the Arts Council, where she was Chairman of its Literary Advisory Panel, on the Board of the British Council and as a magistrate in Middlesex and London. She has won awards for crime writing in Britain, America, Italy and Scandinavia, including the Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Award. She has received honorary degrees from seven British universities, was awarded an OBE in 1983 and was created a life peer in 1991. In 1997 she was elected President of the Society of Authors.
In her latest Commander Adam Dalgliesh detective novel, James subtly deepens the complexities of his personality, making him an ever more credible protagonist. When two bodies are discovered with their throats slashed in a London church, Dalgleish is called upon to solve the case. One victim is Sir Paul Berowne, former Minister of the Crown; the other is a tramp accustomed to sleeping in the church vestibule. It seems that these deaths may be tied to those of two young women who have recently been employed in the Berowne household. Dalgleish feels an unusual empathy in this case; he had known Berowne and sensed several parallels in their lives. This sense of compassion is one of the things that distinguishes James's novels. In delving into what she calls ``the fascination of character,'' she makes each actor in the drama memorable. The characters here read Trollope and Philip Larkin; they are knowledgeable about architecture and art. Yet James's civilized digressions do not detract from the suspense of the plot. She does not employ horrific details for shock effect, but her step-by-step description of procedural details, particularly those of forensic medicine, totally immerse readers in the investigation. Literate readers who have not yet made Adam Dalgliesh's acquaintance should rush to the bookstores for this one. 100,000 first printing; BOMC main selection; author tour. (November 1
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