![]() The real problem is that you get the feeling that the inspectors would prefer to be somewhere else and think that they have better things to do. This is unusual for crime fiction, yet not really for PD James’ (same happened in The Murder Room, which I reviewed earlier), and I don’t see it as a weakness at all. The first murder occurs at about the half of the book and the pace gains momentum at 2 thirds. The background information of every suspect is cleverly dispensed and interesting. Of course, everyone has a good reason to kill the victim, and the characters depiction is the strong point of PD James. This fictional island never really came close to believable, nor did the reasons why beloved Inspector Dalgliesh should get there to solve the mystery in the first place. Most books are supposed to work only if the reader benevolently suspends his/her disbelief, but here, unfortunately, I couldn’t. It’s a classic whodunit, set in a closed environment, as always, here a fictional island off Cornwall. If you’re an unconditional fan of PD James, my disappointed review won’t really deter you, but beware, there are spoilers ahead… But today, about her latest book, The Lighthouse, I’m going to commit the sacrilege. Together with Ruth Rendell, she is the queen of my personal crime fiction pantheon. ![]() I find it almost sacrilegious to say anything bad about PD James’s mysteries. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |