3.5
Original Sin
ByPublisher Description
Adam Dalgliesh takes on a baffling murder in the rarefied world of London book publishing in this masterful mystery from one of our finest novelists. • Part of the bestselling mystery series that inspired Dalgliesh on Acorn TV
“Complex and compelling.... James is writing in full mastery of her craft.”—The New York Times Book Review
Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his team are confronted with a puzzle of impenetrable complexity. A murder has taken place in the offices of the Peverell Press, a venerable London publishing house located in a dramatic mock-Venetian palace on the Thames. The victim is Gerard Etienne, the brilliant but ruthless new managing director, who had vowed to restore the firm's fortunes. Etienne was clearly a man with enemies—a discarded mistress, a rejected and humiliated author, and rebellious colleagues, one of who apparently killed herself a short time earlier. Yet Etienne's death, which occurred under bizarre circumstances, is for Dalgliesh only the beginning of the mystery, as he desperately pursues the search for a killer prepared to strike and strike again.
“Complex and compelling.... James is writing in full mastery of her craft.”—The New York Times Book Review
Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his team are confronted with a puzzle of impenetrable complexity. A murder has taken place in the offices of the Peverell Press, a venerable London publishing house located in a dramatic mock-Venetian palace on the Thames. The victim is Gerard Etienne, the brilliant but ruthless new managing director, who had vowed to restore the firm's fortunes. Etienne was clearly a man with enemies—a discarded mistress, a rejected and humiliated author, and rebellious colleagues, one of who apparently killed herself a short time earlier. Yet Etienne's death, which occurred under bizarre circumstances, is for Dalgliesh only the beginning of the mystery, as he desperately pursues the search for a killer prepared to strike and strike again.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesOriginal Sin Reviews
3.5
“Just a phenomenal book with the signature police detective Adam Dagleish overseeing an investigation into murders at an old British publishing house. P.D. James is just a brilliant writer - perceptive about people and social issues and fantastic in putting forth a great murder mystery.”
“I’m a huge fan of Agatha Christie so when I heard this author compared to her, I was so excited. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed because it also got fair reviews so I was ready to be so invested all of the way through.
It took about 150 pages for the actual mystery to start. Before was describing the main setting, Innocent House, and the main cast of characters. So many attempts at character development, but in my opinion they fell flat and just felt like padding. There also felt like there was such low stakes, maybe this story wasn’t my cup of tea but I just didn’t feel the urgency I have when reading other mysteries. When the killer was identified, I felt indifferent because I didn’t think there were enough hints throughout suggest that they were the culprit.
Another main complaint is that this book is part of a series of books following a detective named Adam Dalgleish but much to my surprise and disappointment, he was barely in the book. The detectives that were working the case seemed to solve the case by accident and, because of one piece of evidence, just somehow knew the whole backstory of how the culprit did what they did and why and it just seemed unrealistic.
This book took me so long to read because the author is very descriptive and I know that some people appreciate setting the scene and really allowing us to get to know the characters, but this just got so dry for me.”
About P. D. James
P. D. James was the author of twenty books, many of which feature her detective hero Adam Dalgliesh and have been televised or filmed. She was the recipient of many honors, including the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award and the National Arts Club Medal of Honor for Literature, and in 1991 was created Baroness James of Holland Park. She died in 2014.
Other books by P. D. James
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