One of my goals in 2020 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
Death of An Expert Witness by PD James is the 6th novel in the Adam Dalgliesh series. This is also the 6th book I’ve read in the series even though I have NOT read them in order.
In one of the most important forensic labratory in England, it seems impossible that there would be a murder. Does the walled in lab hold the secret of this gruesome crime? Or could it be a random act of violence? Detective Dalgliesh must find out.
By now, avid readers might recognize the closed community, in this case a locked laboratory with a walled in campus, the jealousies and passions of a such a community, the twists and turns of such relationships. This cast had a lot of varied characters, some we’ve never seen before in this series, some more venomous or independent than many we have seen before. A relationship or variety of character that James continually examines is that of close siblings. In many of her books, brother and sister not only live together but share an unsettling bond of some kind. Although none of her books, that I have read, have explicitly taken the relationship to an extremely inappropriate place, in many cases the writing keeps you guessing if there is more going on than the reader is seeing. This creates a particular type of tension that builds the story and bleeds to other characters. What do the people in this community think or imagine is going on between these siblings? In all of James’ books, I find a character that I like and want to discover what their fate will be but in Death of an Expert Witness there was so many unlikeable people! That being said, I really enjoyed this book and although James uses many of the same plot devises, I like to find out where the subtle differences will be! I recommend this book to those on Adam Dalgliesh’s journey, as I am, those who enjoy the intrigue and affairs of closed communities, and of course, readers who love murder mysteries.
How do you read series? Always in order or do you jump around as the books come to you?