Cover Her Face is P. D. James's electric debut novel, an ingeniously
plotted mystery that immediately placed her among the masters of
suspense. The story about headstrong and beautiful, the young housemaid Sally Jupp is put rudely in her place, strangled in her bed behind a bolted door.
Coolly brilliant policeman Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard must find her killer among a houseful of suspects, most of whom had very good reason to wish her ill.
Review:
P.D. James writes the classic English mystery with as much skill as Agatha Christie. Of course Adam Dalgliesh, the protagonist, is my personal police hero. Every detail is interesting, and each clue challenges the reader to compete with Dalgliesh to solve the crime.
When you download or buy Cover Her Face (Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries Book 1), the plot: Young Sally Jupp is pregnant without a wedding ring. She is living in a home for unwed mothers when she is hired to work as a housemaid at the tony home of the Maxie family at their Martingale estate. Poison is found in the chocolate next to her bed; she has also been strangled. Her baby Jimmy is taken back to the home. Among the suspects are: Dr Stephen Maxie-the scion of the family who is a medical doctor. On the night prior to Sally's murder he announces his engagement to her. The wealthy family is stunned! Sally is not liked by anyone. Though beautiful she is headstrong and a loner.
This is one great mystery read as you might have suspected. With this famous author and well know character how could things go wrong.
James' allows the mystery to unfold slowly. Just as the reader met every character with a motive, the reader is in the same room with them as they testify to their innocence to Dalgliesh. Several characters even perform their own sleuthing, which causes the reader not to entirely know just how much of that information Dalgliesh himself as heard, or (as is more likely) if he knows more than what's been told to these amateur sleuths. "Cover Her Face" is a landmark and must-read work in the Dalgliesh serie
This is P.D. James' first published book and our first introduction to Inspector Dalgleish. It is easy to see why this book was considered a bold entry into a tough field of really terrific British crime fiction. One of the hallmarks of the writing of P.D. James is her insistence on describing every scene in excruciating detail, but then again, those details enable her to build the story to a conclusion that surprises, but we should have seen all along. This is a fairly unusual story about the murder of an enigmatic housemaid and about the depths of people we assume we know
Coolly brilliant policeman Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard must find her killer among a houseful of suspects, most of whom had very good reason to wish her ill.
Review:
P.D. James writes the classic English mystery with as much skill as Agatha Christie. Of course Adam Dalgliesh, the protagonist, is my personal police hero. Every detail is interesting, and each clue challenges the reader to compete with Dalgliesh to solve the crime.
When you download or buy Cover Her Face (Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries Book 1), the plot: Young Sally Jupp is pregnant without a wedding ring. She is living in a home for unwed mothers when she is hired to work as a housemaid at the tony home of the Maxie family at their Martingale estate. Poison is found in the chocolate next to her bed; she has also been strangled. Her baby Jimmy is taken back to the home. Among the suspects are: Dr Stephen Maxie-the scion of the family who is a medical doctor. On the night prior to Sally's murder he announces his engagement to her. The wealthy family is stunned! Sally is not liked by anyone. Though beautiful she is headstrong and a loner.
This is one great mystery read as you might have suspected. With this famous author and well know character how could things go wrong.
James' allows the mystery to unfold slowly. Just as the reader met every character with a motive, the reader is in the same room with them as they testify to their innocence to Dalgliesh. Several characters even perform their own sleuthing, which causes the reader not to entirely know just how much of that information Dalgliesh himself as heard, or (as is more likely) if he knows more than what's been told to these amateur sleuths. "Cover Her Face" is a landmark and must-read work in the Dalgliesh serie
This is P.D. James' first published book and our first introduction to Inspector Dalgleish. It is easy to see why this book was considered a bold entry into a tough field of really terrific British crime fiction. One of the hallmarks of the writing of P.D. James is her insistence on describing every scene in excruciating detail, but then again, those details enable her to build the story to a conclusion that surprises, but we should have seen all along. This is a fairly unusual story about the murder of an enigmatic housemaid and about the depths of people we assume we know
