A mind to murder by P.D. James

A piercing scream, shattering the evening calm, brings Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh hurrying from his literary party to the nearby Steen Psychiatric Clinic, where he discovers the body of a woman sprawled on the basement floor, a chisel thrust through her heart. As Dalgliesh probes beneath the apparently unruffled calm of the clinic, he discovers that many an intrigue lies hidden behind the Georgian terrace's unassuming facade. Professionally, he has never known the taste of failure. Now, for the first time, he feels unsure of his own mastery as he battles to unmask a cool killer who is proving to be his intellectual equal, and who is poised to strike again.

Dear Daddy, what am I doing wrong? Why can't I get into these P.D. James books? I tried, I tried so hard but I had to put it down after 2 very tedious chapters. You were dead on about Elizabeth George. She's the bomb. Every time a new book of hers comes out, I am so sad you are not here to read it. Kind of like I'm so sad you missed the first Matrix, Harry Potter, and His Dark Materials. But PD James just doesn't draw me in. Who cares about all those repressed therapists at the psychiatric hospital? And her Adam Dagliesh leaves me snoozing. Where's his love affair the reviewers keep mentioning? I feel like a failure for not finishing it. But I will keep trying. Someday, Daddy. Until then we'll still have Elizabeth George and Doctor Who.

Don't complicate things
an unlikable victim
shanked in the basement.

This one was hard for me to rate because James is such a talented writer and has a knack for plotting her mysteries well.

But when it came down to it, I found the first half of the book rather dry. Hospital administration is not one of my interests, and that's largely what the first half of this book consisted of, that and lots of characters and alibis that were difficult to keep track of.

The second half picked up and held my interest more. The suspects were put into scenes where they were much easier to keep track of and we got to know more of the interesting bits about the characters. The ending hit all the right notes for me and James should be applauded for her plotting.

That said, she has a rather cruel way of treating her characters that I find grating. For example, she described one woman as having a “stupid face” (seems harsh and childish) and others are constantly described as common, unintelligent, petty, etc. which makes the entire read feel cynical. No one has a good opinion of anyone else, and occasionally it feels slightly misogynistic.

Apparently she has a high view of doctors, though, as well as hospitals (not one I share, unfortunately) and she adheres to patient confidentiality, even with her fictional characters. I found that, in particular, extremely strange.