British master James's 13th Adam Dalgliesh mystery, like its two
predecessors, The Murder Room (2003) and Death in Holy Orders (2001),
focuses at first on a hostile character who threatens to shatter a
longstanding way of life. Acclaimed novelist Nathan Oliver incurs the
wrath of his fellow residents on Combe Island, a private property off the
Cornish coast used as an exclusive retreat by movers and shakers in many
fields. When Oliver is murdered, Scotland Yard dispatches Dalgliesh and
two of his team to Combe, where the commander checks alibis and motives in
his trademark understated manner. Because the detective's new romantic
attachment is more of a backstory than in The Murder Room, it intrudes
less on the murder inquiry. The solution, which hinges on the existence of
an unknown child, is less than fully satisfactory and also borrows
elements from some of James's recent plots. Devotees more interested in
her hero's personal growth than his deductive technique will find much to
enjoy. |