Commander Adam Dalgliesh of New Scotland Yard has been asked by Sir Alred Treeves to take a closer look into the suspicious death of his adopted son Ronald, who suffocated under the cliffs near St. Anselms by an avalanche of sand. Was it an accident, suicide, or murder? Dalgliesh, the son of a rector, has former ties to the school - as a young teen, he spent several happy summer holidays there among the priests and ordinands.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?Death in Holy Orders is another extremely entertaining whodunnit by P.D. James, and without a doubt my favorite (so far) of the three I've read (in backwards order). Very possibly, this has everything to do with the excellent TV adaptation starring Martin Shaw as Dalgliesh, Robert Hardy as Father Martin and Jesse Spencer as Raphael Arbuthnot. The movie stayed fundamentally true to the events from the book, but also added another layer of texture to the story and characters IMO.The thing I liked most about the story was the backdrop; St. Anselms, the fictional elitist theological college on a remote Suffolk coast, which is known for turning out the best and brightest Anglican priests, but is now in danger of being decommissioned by the CoE powers that be (not to mention the very real threat of the college tumbling into the North Sea by an eroding cliffline). The solitude found in and around the setting, along with the contemplative (almost monastic) aspect of the story definitely appealed to my personal taste. The characters carried around their own brand of P.D. James' favorite pet vices; petty power struggles, greed, various sexual insecurities/proclivities, religious apathy and a pervading sense of depression.Good, if predictable, fare. I'll have more, please.
P.D. James once again executes an admirable balancing act by combining, in her definition of a classic detective story, "a credible mystery with believable characters and a setting which both complements and integrates the action." The setting is East Anglia, one used by James in a number of her novels. It is here on the gloomy, windswept Suffolk coast, within yards of the North Sea, that we find St. Anselm's, a small theological college with only four resident priests and a student body that never exceeds twenty. St. Anselm's is described as High Church, probably Prayer Book Catholic, strong on theology, elitist, opposed to practically everything that's happened in Anglicanism in the past 50 years . . . and the food and wine are good. It is the action's locus, of which the reader is well aware long before Detective Inspector Kate Miskin observes, "So, it's going to be one of those self-contained cases with all the suspects under one roof . . ."In "Death in Holy Orders," James gives us an apparent suicide (Ronald Treeves, ordinand), a certified natural death (Margaret Munroe, employee), and a brutal murder (Archdeacon Crampton, guest and trustee). Commander Adam Dalgliesh, who is brought to St. Anselm's at the request of Ronald Treeves's influential father, is convinced that the three deaths are connected. The Treeves and Munroe deaths occur before his arrival, but the murder of the unpopular Archdeacon takes place during Dalgliesh's stay at the college. Upon viewing the body, he becomes angered and vows to lift the burden of his past failure ("A Certain Justice") by making an arrest in the present murder. Soon after, yet another death (murder or accident?) broadens the challenge. Dalgliesh's presence throughout much of the book will be well-received by his admirers, and James further indulges his fans with what appears to be the promise of a new romance. And she carts out a cast of typically Jamesian characters: diverse, some pleasingly off-center, and all believable. The assemblage of deaths imbues the story with an aura of mystery from start to finish, which is intensified by the superb setting. All things considered, "Death in Holy Orders" is P.D. James at the top of her classic detective story game.
What do You think about Death In Holy Orders (2002)?
I wanted to enjoy this book. I like a good murder mystery. Many years ago I read a PD James book and thought that it was a good little ramble. So I was looking forward to kicking back on a Sunday with a cup of tea and a little bit of ecclesiastical murder and intrigue.I found the book to be slow, repetitive, and rather dull.However, no matter how well drawn the characters may be, not matter how clever the plot line (not that this book can claim to have that), I cannot enjoy a book where so many of the characters support a paedophile priest and condemn a man who supported the law against the priest. Apparently PD James believes that the inappropriate touching and holding of young boys is not really paedophilia. Not only is the paedophile priest written as a character deserving of our sympathy and comfort, PD James draws the old, tired and very incorrect link between peadophilia and homosexuality.I normally do not believe in books being reviewed and re-written after publication. However, this book would benefit from a little bit of revision.
—Joanne Hall
here's a little story for you...so a famous San Francisco lobbyist - a lively raconteur, a darling of the media, and an infamously debauched homosexual - was unfortunately on his deathbed. because this was a man who helped build the careers of many politicians, his hospital room was often inundanted by various famous local personages. one afternoon, as his final hours drew near, a respected and well-known priest came to see him. the lobbyist looked up, seemed rather surprised, and beckoned the good Father to come closer. grasping his hand, the lobbyist pulled him down towards his head, and whispered loudly for the priest and all the room to hear: "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."the true story above is also a completely spoiler-free clue to solving the mystery of Death in Holy Orders - delivered to you free of charge!as far as the novel itself goes, this is yet another well-done James slow-burner featuring the inimitable Adam Dalgliesh - detective and poet extraordinaire. as this is one of the author's later entries in the series, the mystery itself is impressively dark, gothic in atmosphere, and rich in meaning. several of the characters and situations are quite haunting, in particular the central murder victim and the unnerving opening scene. PD James is one of the best!
—mark monday
A young, unpopular ordinand at St. Anselm's Theological College on the Suffolk coast dies under a collapsed mound of sand. The elderly woman who finds his body is suffocated by a killer. The pensive Dalgliesh is summoned to investigate the ordinand's death by the ordinand's ruthless, alpha-male father. An archdeacon is bludgeoned, an altar painting desecrated. Dalgliesh, so long alone, feels stirring in his loins for the beautiful Cambridge poetess Emma Lavenham. (Is that even accurate - does Dalgliesh have loins? Isn't he one of literature's loinless?) The unravelling of the mystery is perhaps a teeny bit disappointing, as the murderer hadn't really been on my radar screen until near the end of the book. But who cares? People read mysteries for the buildup. I thought this was one of James's better ones.Fawn count: 5
—Lobstergirl
