Inspector Adam Dalgliesh Mystery Series

Read P.D. James in Large Print!
It begins, dramatically enough, with a trial for murder. The distinguished criminal lawyer Venetia Aldridge is defending Garry Ashe on charges of having brutally killed his aunt. For Aldridge the trial is mainly a test of her courtroom skills, one more opportunity to succeed--and she does. But now murder is in the air. The next victim will be Aldridge herself, stabbed to death at her desk in her Chambers in the Middle Temple, a bloodstained wig on her head. Enter Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his team, whose struggle to investigate and understand the shocking events cannot halt the spiral into more horrors, more murders...
"A Certain Justice" is P.D. James at her strongest. In her first foray into the strange closed world of the Law Courts and the London legal community, she has created a fascinating tale of interwoven passion and terror. As each character leaps into unforgettable life, as each scene draws us forward into new complexities of plot, she proves yet again that no other writer can match her skill in combining the excitement of the classic detective story with the richness of a fine novel. In its subtle portrayal of morality and human behavior, "A Certain Justice" will stand alongside "Devices and Desires" and "A Taste for Death" as one of P.D. James's most important, accomplished and entertaining works. "From the Trade Paperback edition."

The Murder Room

by Matthew Thomas James and P. D. James

Published 1 January 2003

A small, private museum on the edge of Hampstead Heath has been inherited by three siblings, all of whom are required by the family trust to sign any new lease. Without the new lease the museum will have to close. One brother, Neville Dupayne, is adamant he won't sign. And then the housekeeper, Mrs Tally Clutton, discovers Neville's body in his still blazing car...

Cover Her Face

by P. D. James

Published December 1962

Specially selected by Maura Healy, this series aims to offer an innovative and adventurous collection of texts that demonstrates the best of women's writing, both black and white. Complete texts reflecting a range of genres as well as different cultures and experiences are offered and the volumes contain study material and assignments at a range of levels to deepen pupils' enjoyment and understanding of literature. A reading log is also included with ideas for group and individual assignments to help pupils find their way around the texts.

Devices and Desires

by P. D. James

Published 2 October 1989

Commander Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard is taking a brief respite from publicity on the Norfolk coast, in a converted windmill left him by his aunt. But he cannot easily escape murder - a psychopathic strangler is at large in Norfolk.

Black Tower

by P. D. James

Published 1 January 1975

Unsettled by a brush with death and disenchanted with his job in the Force, Commander Adam Dalgliesh responds to an invitation to visit an old family friend, the chaplain at a private home for the disabled in Dorset. On arrival he discovers that his host has died suddenly.

A Mind to Murder

by P. D. James

Published 28 November 1974

A hideous scream pierces the calm of the evening psychotherapy session. The body of a woman lies sprawled in the basement of the Steen Clinic, a chisel thrust through her heart. Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh, relaxing at a literary party close by, hurries over to investigate the murder.

Unnatural Causes

by P. D. James

Published September 1973

Terror strikes the hearts and minds of the bizarre friends of Maurice Seton, the famous mystery writer, when they learn that his mutilated corpse was found in a drifting dinghy.

A Taste for Death

by P. D. James

Published 9 June 1986

Two bodies, their throats cut with brutal precision, lie in a waste of blood in the dingy vestry of St Matthew's Church, Paddington. One is an alcoholic tramp; the other, Sir Paul Berowne, a recently resigned Minister of the Crown. Dalgliesh arrives to begin his investigations.

The Lighthouse

by P. D. James

Published 1 January 2005

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.

Death in Holy Orders

by P. D. James

Published 1 January 2001

With Death in Holy Orders, P. D. James makes a triumphant return to the genre for which she is best known - the classic English detective story. The story is set in an Anglican theological college on a desolate stretch of the East Anglian coast. When the body of one of the students is found on the shore, his wealthy father demands that Scotland Yard should reexamine the verdict of accidental death. Dalgliesh has visited St Anselm's in his boyhood and, as he is due for a holiday, agrees to pay a visit. As the weekend brings another murder, Dalgliesh soon finds himself embroiled in one of the most horrific and puzzling cases of his career...Death in Holy Orders is vintage P. D. James with sensitive evocation of place, a complex and credible mystery, respect for forensic detail and the tension a plot that never flags.

Original Sin

by P. D. James

Published 24 January 1995

An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery The Peverell Press, a two-hundred-year-old publishing firm housed in a dramatic mock-Venetian palace on the Thames, is certainly ripe for change. But the proposals of its ruthlessly ambitious new managing director, Gerard Etienne, have made him dangerous enemies - a discarded mistress, a neglected and humiliated author, and rebellious colleagues and staff. When Gerard's body is discovered bizarrely desecrated, there is no shortage of suspects and Dalgliesh and his team are confronted with a puzzle of extraordinary complexity and a murderer who is prepared to strike again. 'Outstanding ...These are books to escape into, delighting in the sense that you are in safe hands, no matter how unsafe the subject.' Kate Kellaway, Observer 'An elegantly written, splendidly atmospheric and immensely satisfying mystery.' Sunday Telegraph

Death of an Expert Witness

by P. D. James

Published 1 October 1977

The scientists who work at Hoggatt's laboratory are all experts in violent death, accustomed to the smell of the mortuary. Now the brutal murder of one of their own brings Adam Dalgliesh hurrying from Scotland Yard to the fens of East Anglia, where a murderer is waiting to strike again.

Shroud for a Nightingale

by P. D. James

Published 14 June 1971

**NOW A MAJOR CHANNEL 5 SERIES**

'The Queen of Crime.' New York Times

'[P.D James had] huge humanity and she really took on social issues. Had she been alive today she'd have been a huge commentator in the culture wars debate.' Bertie Carvel, on playing Dalgliesh

When secrets get out, no one is safe . . .

On a crisp January morning, a group of third year nursing students gathers early for a clinical lesson. They have no idea that they are about to witness the gruesome murder of one of their classmates.

Before the month is over, another student turns up dead, this time of an apparent suicide. But could these deaths be connected? Superintendent Adam Dalgleish thinks so. Though the motive is carefully obscured by a web of secrets, blackmail, and lies, he is determined to uncover the truth - before the killer can strike again.

'Plenty of scrupulously laid false trails, credible detectives and a totally unexpected ending.' Sunday Telegraph

'James manages a depth and intelligence that few in her trade can match.' The Times

The Private Patient

by P. D. James

Published 28 August 2008

Now a major Channel 5 series

'The Queen of Crime.' New York Times

When the notorious investigative journalist, Rhoda Gradwyn, books into a private clinic in Dorset for the removal of a disfiguring scar, she has every prospect of a successful operation and the beginning of a new life. But won't leave Cheverell Manor alive. Dalgliesh and his team are called in to investigate the murder, and later a second death, which raises far more complicated problems than merely the question of innocence or guilt . . .

'An exercise in impeccable detection.' New York Times

'James's skill as a yarn-spinner gives plenty of suspense to this intriguing mystery.' Financial Times