Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505200024
SECTION: BOOK PAGE: F5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: REVIEWED BY JILL BOWEN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The arrival of a new P.D.James mystery novel is always an occasion for rejoicing. James' latest, ``Original Sin,'' is no exception; more than living up to the high standards set by her previous novels. It demonstrates the qualities which P.D.James' fans expect and admire; ingenuity of plot, original setting, horror and suspense.
Commander Adam Dalgliesh of New Scotland Yard makes a welcome return along with the introduction of two new members of his special squad, Kate Miskin and Daniel Aaron. Dalgliesh and his team are confronted with a puzzle of extraordinary complexity and a murderer who is prepared to kill repeatedly. There are occasions when Miskin and Aaron seem to figure a little too largely in the narrative. Particularly when Aaron, resentful of his background, perceives a special relationship between Kate and Dalgliesh.
The latter, it must be said in all fairness, does not view Kate as anything other than a competent colleague.
The setting for this new novel is an established family- owned publishing house in East End of London, at Wapping, on the banks of the Thames. The publishing house is a relatively small one with an exclusive list of authors occupying Innocent House. It's a golden marble and stone Victorian copy of a Venetian palace built by Sir Francis Peverell, who, it is rumored, haunts the courtyard following the suicidal death of his young wife in a fall from the top floor of the building.
The story opens with the discovery in a top floor room of a suicide victim, Sonia Clements, a terminated employee of the firm. Gerard Etienne is the ambitious and ruthless managing director. He is determined to revamp the old-fashioned but prestigious Peverell Press into a modern concern with a popular list of authors. To this end, Gerard has decided to get rid of all the non-productive and older members of the publishing staff, sell the historic Peverell house, move into modern office buildings and merge with a large printing conglomerate.
It is, therefore, no great surprise when Gerard is found dead in the same room where the suicide occurred only a few days earlier.
The unraveling of the mystery is beautifully done, well written and literate. As always P.D. James evokes an atmosphere of suspense, intrigue and mystery with an unexpected ending. This is a classic detective story with a beginning, a middle and an end. It is also a proper novel in that the characters are fully fleshed out.
P.D. James does not give many interviews and does not enjoy the process. She says she shares with Dalgliesh ``The longing for privacy. Unlike many of our modern mystery writers James has never seen a murder victim or an autopsy. She consults experts and books for the details and finds that London's Metropolitan Police are extremely helpful. She once said, ``If I decided to embark on a life of crime I would have little fear of being caught, and NO FEAR at all of being convicted.''
Jill Bowen is a Blacksburg veterinarian.
by CNB