The Lighthouse: An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery (Adam Dalgliesh Mystery, #13) (Adam Dalgliesh) (Inspector Adam Dalgliesh Mystery)

by P. D. James

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A secure and secluded retreat for the rich and powerful becomes the setting for an unsettling series of murders • Part of the bestselling mystery series that inspired Dalgliesh on Acorn TV

"One of the most compelling books of her remarkable career. . . . A magisterial and subtle exploration of all-too-human emotions."–The Seattle Times

Combe Island off the Cornish coast is a restful haven for the elite. But when one of its distinguished visitors is found hanging from the island’s famous lighthouse in what appears to have been a murder, the peace is shattered. Commander Adam Dalgliesh is called in to handle the sensitive case, but at a difficult time for him and his depleted team. He is uncertain about his future with his girlfriend Emma Lavenham; his principle detective Kate Miskin is going through an emotional crisis; and the ambitious Sergeant Francis Benton-Smith is not happy about having a female boss. After a second brutal killing, the whole investigation is jeopardized, and Dalgliesh is faced with a danger even more insidious than murder.

• ISBN10: 0307275736
• ISBN13: 9780307275738
• Publish Date: 10 October 2006 (first published 1 January 2005)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Vintage Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 400
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780307275738

Reviews

[Cameron Trost]

This is my first Adam Dalgliesh novel, and to be quite honest, I'm not sure I'll actively seek out others any time soon. PD James has written a number of truly outstanding short stories and the interesting if far-from-perfect novel, The Children of Men. The Lighthouse left me unimpressed and I would have given it a 2.5-star rating if that were possible. The setting is really the only strong point in this mystery, and even that could have been brought to life more evocatively. The first seventy-five or more pages of the novel were pointless and the narrative would have been much better served by jumping in later. Remaining vague so as to avoid spoilers, the discovery of a body pulled me back in for a while but I subsequently lost interest in the plot and most of the characters again. The final chapters redeemed The Lighthouse to some extent, except that the motive and identity of the culprit were far too obvious to me. Just about anyone cast onto the island could have cracked the case, and this fact left me unsatisfied. Armchair detectives want a challenge and a hero to admire.