One of my goals in 2020 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
Another novel by PD James, A Shroud for a Nightingale is one of Detective Dalgleish’s earlier books.
Having read several of the Adam Dalgliesh mysteries now, with no intention of stopping, I sort of wish I had read them in order. This is the 4th in the series.
When one student at the foreboding Nightingale House School for Nurses is murdered during a student practice role-play, and another is found dead of apparent suicide, only Detective Dalgliesh and his team can untangle the mysteries and complexities of this private community with it’s own rules and moral codes.
Reading these novels out of order sometimes means that you are reading books set in very similar places, or with similar plots right in a row. Having read quite a few, I think that if I had read them in the order intended I would not see such glaring re-occurences. That being said, I actively enjoy that James’ revisits themes. She seems obsessed with the idea of murders in small isolated communities. She obviously finds what someone one would do to protect that community compelling, and her readers do too. I found Shroud for a Nightingale particularly jarring as the deaths were of bright young people full of potential. Another interesting aspect of this book is that the community in question is almost entirely women. James’ victims come in all shapes and sizes and non are totally morally good or evil and the same can be said of her killers. Most of the time. To find out who the murderer is in Shroud For A Nightingale is and the motive for their crimes, you’ll have to read it for yourself! I would recommend this book for those who are interested in medical mysteries, fans strong leading detectives, those who have read any other of James’ work (this one had a few interesting differences than the other’s I have read) and of course, mystery fans everywhere!
Do you like mysteries set in hospitals or medical fields?