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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN num: 9780345446664
ISBN number: 0345446666
Label: Fawcett
Manufacturer: Fawcett
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 448
Printing Date: March 26, 2002
Publishing house: Fawcett
Release Date: March 26, 2002
Sale Popularity Level: 222234
Studio: Fawcett
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Product Description:
On the East Anglican seacoast a small theological college hangs precariously on an eroding shoreline and an equally precarious future. Then, the body of a student is found buried in the sand, and the boy’s influential father demands that Scotland Yard investigate. Adam Dalgleish, the son of a parson, once spent happy summers at the school. A detective who loves poetry, a man who has known loss and discovery, Dalgliesh is the perfect candidate to look for the truth in a remote, rarified community of the faithful–and the frightened. For when one death leads to another, Dalgliesh finds himself steeped in a world of good and evil, of stifled passions and hidden pasts, where someone has cause not just to commit one crime, but to begin an unholy order of murder. . . .
Amazon.com's Best of 2001:
Despite challenges from Ruth Rendell and (more recently) Minette Walters, P.D. James's position as Britain's Queen of Crime remains largely unassailable. Although a certain reaction has set in to her reputation (and there are those who claim her poetry-loving copper Adam Dalgliesh doesn't correspond to any of his counterparts in the real world), her detractors can scarcely deny her astonishing literary gifts. More than any other writer, she has elevated the detective story into the realms of literature, with the psychology of the characters treated in the most complex and authoritative fashion. Her plots, too, are full of intriguing detail and studed with brilliantly observed character studies. Who cares if Dalgliesh belongs more in the pages of a book than poking around a graffiti-scrawled council estate? As a policeman, he is considerably more plausible than Doyle's Holmes, and that's never stopped us loving the Baker Street sleuth. Death in Holy Orders represents something of a challenge from James to her critics, taking on all the contentious elements and rigorously reinvigorating them. She had admitted that she was finding it increasingly difficult to find new plots for Dalgliesh, and the locale here (a theological college on a lonely stretch of the East Anglian coast) turns out to be an inspired choice. We're presented with the enclosed setting so beloved of golden age detective writers, and James is able to incorporate her theological interests seamlessly into the plot (but never in any doctrinaire way; the nonbeliever is never uncomfortable). The body of a student at the college is found on the shore, suffocated by a fall of sand. Dalgliesh is called upon to reexamine the verdict of accidental death (which the student's father would not accept). Having visited the College of St. Anselm in his boyhood, he finds the investigation has a strong nostalgic aspect for him. But that is soon overtaken by the realization that he has encountered the most horrific case of his career, and another visitor to the college dies a horrible death. As an exploration of evil--and as a piece of highly distinctive crime writing--this is James at her nonpareil best. Dalgliesh, too, is rendered with new dimensions of psychological complexity. --Barry Forshaw, Amazon.co.uk
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Rated by buyers 
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Pd James is quite simply a marvel. A Death In Holy Orders is yet another example of her excellent writing skills. I cannot think of another author, especially in the Mystery genre, quite so evocative. The mystery in this book made for a nice puzzle. The characters were numerous, yet well-rounded and complete. The star of this book of course is Adam Dalgleish, smooth as usual. Is the book long... yes it is. However, with P.D. James, the books are meant to be savored, not read in one sitting.
Another 5 star outing!
Rated by buyers 
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I admit I haven't read much P.D. James, and this book certainly won't make me anxious to change that. With good editing, this could have been a reasonably entertaining 200 page novel, instead of a boringBORING 400 pager. No wait ... even cutting it in half wouldn't have made the mystery any more mysterious, or the outcome any more believable, or the characters any more interesting, or the writing any more entertaining.
And what was the need for the incest and pedophile sub-plots? The character of the caretaker might have been reasonably interesting, in an outdated Agatha Christie sort of way, but the incestuous relationship with his sister seemed to have been added in for no reason other than just being distasteful. It certainly had no bearing on the plot.
But even more offensive was the sympathy expressed by virtually every character for the pedophile priest Father John, who everyone seemed to feel was just a sad victim of circumstances instead of a confessed and convicted molestor of young boys entrusted to his care. Not a single character expressed any outrage at Father John's actions, or any sympathy for the boys whose lives he undoubtedly ruined. And the one character who was instrumental in having Father John sent to prison was roundly and soundly despised for it by everyone of the eclesiastical college where the story takes place. The pedophile was seen as a sympathetic character, and the man who sent him to prison was seen as mean-spirited and uncaring. Go figure. And on top of that, the whole pedophile issue had nothing at all to do with the plot. Again, included for no apparent reason except for the additional distaste.
If that's any indication of P.D. James's outlook, then I can certainly do without reading any more of her work.
Rated by buyers -
Ms. James cleverly navigates her readers through personal sins, management quandary, and society turmoil. Scores of secrets materialize in a minute community. With so many confusions introduced, one forgets that a clear motive might be an answer to any mysteries. Very cunning of Ms. James in weaving her tale and I applaud her in compelling me to think too deeply into matters all throughout the book. I do not understand the reasoning behind writing only one chapter for book four but Ms. James must have an experienced writer's artistic and logical answer in doing so. Ms. James' vibrant use of the English language together with her vast vocabulary results in a pleasurable read.
Rated by buyers 
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As a psychological novel, Death in Holy Orders is middling to good. As a mystery, it fails entirely. The culprit of the murder is obvious half-way through, with no endeavor to even hide his guilt -- I wondered why on earth I should keep reading. Keep reading I did out of sheer stubborness, but even at the end, when the motive and mechanisms of the crime were all laid out, none of it really was all that convincing. If this is P.D. James at her best, I'd imagine some of her "lesser" works might send me into a coma.
Rated by buyers -
I've come to the conclusion that P.D. James is one of my favorite mystery writers. I only recently picked up another one of her novels; I immediately went and got this one as well. I have no idea why I had never heard of James before a few weeks ago. James does a fantastic job of portraying her characters psychologically. She is adept at getting into the head and heart of the people she writes about.
A young man at a small theological seminary is found buried in the sand, naked. The woman who discovers him, the housekeeper Margaret Munroe, dies about a week later; everyone assumes that her death was due to a heart attack. Or was it? It turns out that the college, established by Agnes Arburthnot in the mid-19th century, is on the verge of closing down for good. The woman's strange will only allows her direct descendents to inherit; since there are none, the college and everything in it goes to the trustees. In addition, there is a priceless Van Der Weyden paiting which hangs above the altar. All four of the archbishops stand to inherit handsomely. A search for a killer ensues; the case is intensened by the death of an archbishop.
P.D. James keeps her reader guessing until the very end. I highly reccomend this book, or any of the other Adam Dalgliesh mysteries.
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