Combe Island off the Cornish coast has a bloodstained history of piracy and cruelty but now, privately owned, it offers respite to over-stressed men and women in positions of high authority who require privacy and guaranteed security. But the peace of Combe is vilated when one of the distinguished visitors is bizarrely murdered. Adam Dalgliesh is called in to solve the mystery quickly and discreetly, but at a difficult time for him and his depleted team, who all have worries of their own. Hardly have the team began to unravel the mystery when there is a second brutal killing and the investigation is jeopardized when Dalgliesh is faced with a potentially fatal danger...This powerful novel combines all the elements P D James fans have come to expect: a vivid evocation of place, sensitive characterisation and a superbly structured plot.
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.
Reading updates
-
Started reading
-
8 January, 2022:
Finished reading
-
8 January, 2022:
Reviewed