Death in Holy Orders
“Death in Holy Orders” by P. D. James, published by Knopf Canada in 2001, is a mystery novel that unfolds on the rugged East Anglian coast at the theological college of St. Anselm’s. The story begins with the discovery of a young ordinand’s body, prompting a request for investigation from his influential father. Although Dalgliesh, the investigator, is initially skeptical about the case, his visit to the college quickly escalates into a complex murder investigation that reveals a web of suspicion among the college’s inhabitants.
Readers will find a narrative that intricately weaves together elements of mystery and police procedural, as Dalgliesh navigates the challenges of uncovering the truth amidst a backdrop of religious and emotional tension. The novel features a cast of memorable characters and is set against a vividly described coastal landscape, enhancing the psychological depth of the story. With 400 pages of engaging prose, this first edition invites readers to explore the intricate dynamics of faith, power, and morality within the confines of the college.
Official synopsis Publisher
On a desolate stretch of the East Anglian coast, high atop a sweep of cliffs, sits the theological college of St. Anselm’s. Down below, smothered by a fall of sand, lies the body of a young ordinand, the son of a powerful business mogul who wants Scotland Yard to investigate his death. Dalgliesh, doubting there is much to uncover in the case, agrees to go, motivated only by a desire to revisit a place where he spent several happy summers in his boyhood. Yet no sooner does he arrive than the college is torn apart by a sacrilegious murder and Dalgliesh finds himself embroiled in one of the most puzzling and horrific cases of his career: no one is above suspicion, and suspects abound.
Elevated beyond the great classic detective stories of the Golden Age by the power of the writing, “Death in Holy Orders” grips and moves us from beginning to end, blessed with extraordinary psychological and emotional richness. The memorable characters and the wonderfully evoked wild coastal setting and religious world in which the action takes place demonstrate yet again why P.D. James ranks as one of the great novelists of our time.
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