A Taste for Death (Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries No. 7) [Mass Market Paperback]

-6 Stars! Superb, intricately plotted and riveting story.

...If you havent read P.D. James....it might be better to start with "Death of an Expert Witness". However, for a taste of P.D. James- this is an excellent choice!
Newcomers would still enjoy it, but may miss a little of the depth of character of the key players: Adam Dagliesh, a Scotland yard Detective with his own tragic past, who is also a published poet; and Sgt Kate Miskin, newly assigned to replace Dalgliesh's previous longtime assistant, wanting to make an impression, but plagued with problems in her personal life.

As a dedicated P.D. James fan, I would say this is even a step above her usual fascinating, exquisitely crafted stories!
Beautifully written and carefully plotted as usual.
This book is notable for the wonderful glimpses into the life of Dalgliesh's Sgt.: Kate Miskin. These personal moments dont distract, but further the story, and converge with the mystery plot to create a moving and exciting climax.

James always creates characters who are complex and beautifully described, but in this book she outdoes herself. She has created a rainbow of personalities ranging from the most endearing to the most odious characters.
In brief, a well-crafted, imaginative, wonderfully absorbing mystery. Only caveat would be a fairly bloody crime scene encountered by the detectives. Hopefully this wont put you off, as James never throws in gratuitous gore or violence. This was my absolute favorite P.D. James novel. If youve heard the authors name, and want to see if you like her without starting "at the beginning": This is a great choice.
In short: If you love mysteries, and dont own this book- RUN, dont walk to the "add to shopping cart" link!

3/5/02 edited 3/19/02

Among the masters of crime writing stands P.D. James, 80 years old, read by millions, and still selling (better than ever). She got her peerage in 1991 and sits in the House of Lords as the Baroness of Holland Park, on the Tory side opposite her rival Ruth Rendell, who is, incidentally, probably the better writer. Proclaimed as the Queen of mystery, P.D. was constrained by straightened circumstances to enter the British civil service. There she worked her way up eventually ending in the Police and Criminal Law Departments of the Home Office. Along the way she has also served as a Magistrate and as a governor of the BBC. All of which experiences she brings to bear on her wonderful, entertaining, and innovative fiction. Need I remind anyone that Baroness Holland Park in 1971 invented Cordelia Gray, the world's first female private eye and showed that women can have the same intelligence, powers of observation, and deductive sense as men? A Taste for Death, her best book, takes us into the world and minds of all characters, expresses their complex beliefs, psychological attitudes, and interesting thoroughly British behaviors so that we understand why these people are taking every fatal step. Some have found PD's writing slightly flat and wordy and have thought that this book, which runs 211,000 words, could have benefited from the kindly ministrations of a good editor. But who would dare edit her? It would be like pinching one's grandmother. Personally, I like reading how London homes look on the inside and I enjoy all those hallmark details of tea preparation and descriptions of elegant and not so elegant gardens. It's like reading Barbara Pym with the additional benefit of a horrible set of murders thrown in. Yes, friends, this is crime fiction at its very best. It goes beyond that fine achievement into another realm, the redemptive realm of art.

I didn't enjoy this P.D. James mystery as much as I have enjoyed other books by her, such as The Murder Room or The Lighthouse. Originally published in 1986, A Taste For Death has only recently come out in this Vintage series. This is the novel in which the Special Crimes Squad performs, and introduces Inspector Kate Miskin.

Two men have been murdered in the vestry of St. Matthew's church, and found by a parishioner. One is a highly regarded Member of Parliament, Sir Paul Berowne, and the other is a local tramp, Harry Mack. Its quite obvious that the murderer is someone acquainted with Berowne, and Commander Dalgliesh spnds most of the novel tracking down leads in that direction. The suspects in the murder case are many, and most are relatives of Berowne's that have a motive for killing him: his mother, Lady Ursula; his widow, Barbara; his daughter, Sarah; his widow's lover; his daughter's boyfriend; his widow's brother; the housekeeper. Also connected are the recent deaths of to servants who worked for the Berownes- one by suicide, the other death by drowning in the Thames.

Absolutely no attention has been paid to the tramp who was also murdered- in the second half of the book he ceases to exist; this what what bothered me most about the plot, which was tedious at best. So while the double-murder plot is intriguing, its highly unnecessary. I often felt that James's prose was wandering, unfocused. James spends too much time focusing on the personal lives of Dalgliesh, Kate Miskin, and the other officers who work on the case, and less on what really matters- the solving of the case.