The Lighthouse: An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery

I love all books PD James! She never disappoints. One of the greatest mystery writers of our time.

I have read a number of James's novels and think that her early work "A Mind to Murder" is a near perfect murder mystery. Now, she is near the end of her career and has twenty books or so in this series of detective novels. I read her recent work "The Murder Room" and I have the same impression of the present novel. For both of these books there is almost no information on the crime for the first hundred pages or so, and there is no review of the crime scene nor is there any sort of police investigation. That is, there is no literary hook or anything else to get the reader interested in the book other than James is the author. Instead, there is a lengthy prologue followed by page after page of character introduction with lengthy background descriptions of each character. The reader is getting ready to scream "enough, stop" by the time the action begins. P.D.James is a wonderful writer but these last two novels are very slow, almost boring, and it goes on for 500 pages. Commander Dalghliesh is mentioned in the first sentence of the book and then seems to disappear. I return to what I have learned from reading a number of her works. James's best works are probably behind her, probably far behind her, and if you want an enthralling read, read her earlier works. They are masterpieces. The present work and like her prior novel just before is a bit ho hum. Many James fans will like it but those new to James should be warned about a very slow start for a mystery novel, and that they should look for earlier work by her to really get an understanding of what James is all about. Neutral recommendation: 4 stars.

P.D. James, master of the traditional English mystery, is back again with "The Lighthouse," another in her Adam Dalgliesh mystery novels. While forensics, of course, is the latest fashion in whodunits, and while TV shows like "Cold Case" feature sympathetic victims whose fates make you tear up, Ms. James continues to do what she does best: the dogged Dalgliesh solves cases the old fashioned way; the victim is unsympathetic, and all the suspects have a reason to want out him of the way. But Ms. James does pay homage to the "new" police procedural style by at least offering an explanation of why the CSIs (called SOCO's in Brit-speak, for I think Scene of Crime Officer) do not appear--the crime takes place on an isolated (fictional) "Combe Island," off the coast of Cornwall, and then . . . ah, but best not to say any more. As always, the characters are expertly drawn (my favorite is the young woman, Millie, who Ms. James, now in her 80s, seems to understand very well), the scenes expertly set, the clues all there for you. But will you guess whodunit before Ms. James is ready to tell you? That, of course, is always the pleasure in a James novel. It's always a treat to play along, perhaps re-reading certain scenes when something comes to "AD's" mind. Or your own. And, again as always, the novel is very cinematic--many of the books in the series have been seen on BBC television--and maybe you'll start casting the movie version in your head. It gives away nothing to say that at the end of "The Lighthouse," Adam Dalgliesh and his associates Kate Miskin and Francis Benton-Smith leave the scene by helicopter. In your mind maybe you'll hear the noise of the chopper, as it "soars above a white tumble of clouds into the shining air." Roll the credits.

I think an avid reader must have a certain elasticity and tolerance for the variability of writers. Like good, long-time friends, writers we've read for years become part of the pattern of our reading and we know their rhythms and how to approach their work. I know that Rankin and Mina are going to be rough and tumble and underworldly. Rendell/Vine and McDermid are going to be dazzling in their observations of the human psyche. And James is going to tell a damned good story in her own damned good time. "The Lighthouse" is no exception, except that perhaps it returns James to a higher place than she's reached in recent books. If you read P.D. James, you must accept that every room will be created for you in aching detail and every horizon will be completely and lovingly described. If you read her without the sufficient time to appreciate these details, you'll also miss beautiful little bits of evidence that she drops like moonlit crumbs for you to follow. This is such a book. When I read that "The Lighthouse" was set on an isolated island with a closely defined cast of characters, my heart sank a little because it was so like her last two books, which were good but not her best. This is not such a book. The shocking uncertainty of the murder that starts the book is matched by the turmoil in Commander Adam Dalgliesh's personal life, and who is to say that just because we get older, we aren't still allowed to be uncertain in love? James writes this element of the book with lovely poignancy and makes us understand that Dalgliesh is truly a copper with a poet's heart. There are so many small things that make this book great. One element that comes to mind is the feeling of true isolation that James is able to project in her description of Combe Island, the setting for nearly the entire book. Another is a joyful, small, yet terribly crucial moment when Sergeant Benton repels off a cliff in search of evidence, the first time he has done this since he was 14 and climbing with his famous mountaineer grandfather, who died shortly afterward. I'm convinced that this short passage is written with as much grace as is possible in any literary form. The murders (two) at the heart of the book are real, urgent, and quite puzzling. But they are made to share space with the changes that come to people who are cut off from the mainland and are left with fewer people and more of their own thoughts and reflections to keep them company. A final note: P.D. James has not let the grass grow under her feet when it comes to research. She shows a firm grasp of contagious medicine uses it to good effect as a subplot. I'm wary of saying any more about the plot because in this book, the journey is the pleasure.

"The call could hardly have come at a less convenient time. After a month of working a sixteen-hour day tiredness had caught up with him, and, although he could mange tiredness, what he longed for was rest, peace and, for two blessed days the company of Emma. He told himself he only had himself to blame for the spoilt weekend. He wasn't compelled to undertake a possible murder investigation, however politically or socially important that victim or challenging the crime." Thus Adam Dalgliesh has set the scene for portraying a little emotion in his life, and how he makes decisions. We come to realize that Commander Dalgliesh is a human after all. He does love Emma, and he does worry that she may not love him as he does her. The worries of a professional man wrapped up in his life, and how to separate the two so that he may enjoy what really matters in life. Commander Dalgliesh decides he must take this assignment and comply with his Superior's request, fly to Combe Island off the Cornish coast of England. A suspicious death has occurred on this most elite island. He calls Detective Inspector Kate Miskin and his new Sergeant Francis Benton-Smith, and they helicopter off to solve a mystery that is one of the best that PD James has written. What they find is a lovely, remote island that is populated by people who all have their own mysteries to hide. It appears that a famous author, Nathan Oliver, has been found hanging from the lighthouse and he is dead. Was this suicide or was this murder? That is exactly what Adam Dalgliesh and Kate Miskin and Benton-Smith are there to find out. In the midst of the investigation, one of the occupants of the island becomes critically ill, and the diagnosis is SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The symptoms are suspiciously similar to what Commander Dalgleish has been experiencing, and as he becomes more ill he is taken to the infirmary where he is put in isolation. Kate Miskin and Benton-Smith must now take on this investigation, and this is a very important career move for Kate Miskin. She has a chance to show that she can carry this investigation to the conclusion. The cast of characters also isolated at the island become a little frantic when another death is uncovered. The tension peaks and Kate and Benton-Smith must rise to the occasion. PD James has given voice and emotion to Commander Adam Dagliesh. Will he lose the affection of his beloved Emma by taking on this case? Detective Inspector Kate Miskin also finds this investigation an emotional rollercoaster. Her past life and loves come to the fore, and can she rise to the occasion of leading the investigation and solving these difficult crimes? Sergeant Francis Benton-Smith has so far not shown that he can be part of a team, and can he really work with a woman who is his superior? PD James has written a superb novel. One of her best, in my mind. It is brilliantly thought through. She is magnificent with the slightest details that give us a clo

"The Lighthouse," by P. D. James, is one of the most carefully constructed and entertaining mysteries of the year. This novel has it all: a scenic landscape, a variety of fascinating, three-dimensional characters, enough red herrings to throw even the most savvy reader off the scent, a hint of romance, and an exploration of what makes human beings so complex and unpredictable. The plot involves the murder of a world-famous individual on Combe, a secluded island off the Cornish coast in England. The investigators are Commander Adam Dalgleish and his team, Detective Inspector Kate Miskin and Sergeant Francis Benton-Smith. The detectives are confronted with a "closed island mystery," since access to Combe is limited to a few invited guests. It would be almost impossible for an intruder to sneak onto Combe and kill someone unnoticed. Which one of the residents had the motive, opportunity, and strength to strangle the victim and hang him from a lighthouse railing? James has complete control of her narrative from the first to the last page, whether she is describing an interview with a suspect, revealing Dalgleish's innermost thoughts, or subtly revealing little clues that only the sharpest observer might notice. The dialogue is pitch perfect, the author's descriptive writing is vivid and never intrusive, and she handles her large cast of characters with expertise. The residents of the island include Nathan Oliver, a novelist, his daughter, Miranda, and Emily Holcombe, an eighty-year old woman whose ancestor, Henry, set up a charitable trust which designated Combe as "a place of rest and seclusion for men in positions of responsibility." Also on Combe at the time of the murder are the trust's secretary, a physician, a former priest, a retired German diplomat, and the director of a controversial research laboratory. James maintains suspense by holding back the identity of the victim until almost eighty pages into the novel. She then gradually reveals the history of each person on the island and their relationship to one another. There are many surprises along the way and a threat from an unexpected source endangers Dalgleish's life. Not only is "The Lighthouse" an exciting whodunit, it also is a deeply psychological novel in which the reader gains insight into the personalities of Dalgleish, Kate, and Benton. The central theme of the novel is the intersection of the past and the present, and the impossibility of anyone ever being completely free of his history. This rich and beautifully developed story shows that P. D. James, at eight-five, could give a few lessons to her younger counterparts in the field of mystery writing.