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Title: Death of an Expert Witness by P.D. James ISBN: 0-7432-1962-7 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 30 October, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (6 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A book to sit up with all night
Comment: P.D. James' work occasionally collapses under its own weight as the author strains to combine psychological novel with crafty murder mystery--but DEATH OF AN EXPERT WITNESS shows the writer at her best, creating a memorable setting in rural England, a host of very believable characters, and a complex plot, with all aspects of the work coming together in seamless fashion.
Dr. Lorrimer is a forensic scientist employed at a police laboratory, well respected by the scientific community and a bastion of authority in the witness box. Unfortunately, he is also a singularly unpleasant man: bitter at being passed over for promotion, petty in his dealings with underlings, vindictive in his personal relationships. So it is hardly surprising when he is murdered--but the circumstances are something of a shock: he is clubbed to death in the middle of his own laboratory, a situation that seems to indicate one or more of his co-workers is involved. And Chief Inspector Dalgliesh has an abundance of suspects from which to select.
James' detective Dalgliesh is a rather dour creation, and in some James novels he can become a tiresome companion--but here James balances his darkness against the demands of the overall novel to considerable effect. The result is a stylish, atmospheric work with an intelligent plot and a satisfying conclusion--a book to keep mystery fans sitting up all night. Recommended.
Rating: 3
Summary: Not Hercule Poirot
Comment: Two disclaimers for this review: 1, this was my first P.D. James novel. 2, I believe that Agatha Christie was the goddess of all mystery writing.
I am used to a body within the first few pages, and letting Hercule Poirot deduce things from there until the solution is provided. However, there are no bodies until 80 pages into the book, and most of the discussion includes things that Dalgliesh brings out later with witnesses anyway, making them redundant.
Also confusing was James's apparent escape from reality with character names. Some are completely absurd, like the characters names "Makepeace" and "Gotobed." Combining words into names detracts from the proposed seriousness of the situation.
This book is much heavier than a true murder mystery, and the decision comes down to this: whether you want a true murder mystery, where you follow facts and psychology in the attempt to deduce the murderer, or whether you want a deeper novel -- a P.D. James novel -- where, along with the murder, time is spent reflecting on life and the world in a more philosophical fashion.
Rating: 5
Summary: James is in top form!
Comment: P.D. James fittingly wears the crown as "queen of the mystery writers"! And in "Death of an Expert Witness" the title is clearly shown and deserved. Again, James brings in Chief Inspector Adam Dalgleish of Scotland Yard, and once again, this venerable, brilliant, and honorable investigator is in good form. James usually presents a model in human behavior--she's good at this--and gives Dalgleish the full run to work out the inconsistencies, the red herrings, and finally the truth of the case. Dr. Lorrimer is a cold, efficient, dislikeable scientist; now he is a cold, efficient, and dislikeable corpse. Dalgleish must find out why he was killed--and it is more than merely because he was disliked. What did he know that panicked his murderer? After all, he was cold, efficient, dislikeable, and very knowledgeable, "an expert witness," as it were. Bring along a dictionary, as James' vocabulary is challenging--but not distracting--and her works are refreshingly intelligent and worth the effort it may take!([email protected])
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Title: The Black Tower by P.D. James ISBN: 0743219619 Publisher: Scribner Paperback Fiction Pub. Date: 18 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Unnatural Causes by P.D. James ISBN: 0743219597 Publisher: Scribner Paperback Fiction Pub. Date: 31 July, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Shroud for a Nightingale by P.D. James ISBN: 0743219600 Publisher: Scribner Paperback Fiction Pub. Date: 04 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Cover Her Face by P.D. James ISBN: 0743219570 Publisher: Scribner Paperback Fiction Pub. Date: 01 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: A Mind to Murder by P.D. James ISBN: 0743219589 Publisher: Scribner Paperback Fiction Pub. Date: 22 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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