jjares reviewed on 5/30/2020 + 3263 more book reviews

Twenty years ago, I read Adam Dalgliesh novels and loved them. Why did I set them aside? Probably because there were only 14 books to enjoy. Recently, DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS came my way and I decided to reread it. The author drops the reader into a quaint English area near the sea. Adam Dalgliesh is sent to a small theological college, where a young student has died in odd circumstances.

Unfortunately, as Dalgliesh arrives, the bodies continue to drop. Instead of explaining what was going on, the deaths add to the mystery. There is so much going on in the psychological ruminations of the characters, that I couldn't set the book aside. The people were fascinating.

It seemed to me that this book was a mood piece. Before getting too far into the book, I felt the unique atmosphere of the East Anglia college, sitting by the ocean. The atmosphere and the characters seemed to move in tandem to help me feel part of the scene. I'm not explaining this well, but I felt swept away in a unique place. When the book ended, I felt as if I'd been thumped down -- back where I'd taken up the challenge of the story. Who would have thought I could have such profound feelings about a mere mystery?

Inspector Adam Dalgliesh
1. Cover Her Face (1962)
2. A Mind to Murder (1963)
3. Unnatural Causes (1967)
4. Shroud for a Nightingale (1971)
5. The Black Tower (1975)
6.Death of an Expert Witness (1977)
7. A Taste for Death (1986)
8. Devices and Desires (1989)
9. Original Sin (1994)
10. A Certain Justice (1997)
** 11. Death in Holy Orders (2001)

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