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Cover Her Face (Adam Dalgliesh, #1)

P.D. James

Start date: January 1, 2020

Finish date: January 31, 2020

Discussion: Group Challenges

Why we're reading this: The first in our 2020 Inspector Dalgliesh challenge - please join us!
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What Members Thought

May 01, 2016 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I have not read the first Adam Dalgleish novel for some time, so it was a pleasure to return to P D James and her very first book. In some ways this is a very typical mystery. The Maxie family live in the big house, in somewhat genteel poverty, with the only full time staff member the loyal Martha. As well as the housework and cooking, Mr Maxie is bedridden, so Mrs Maxie employs Sally Jupp, an unmarried mother as a house-parlourmaid. She is convinced by Miss Liddell, the Warden of St Mary’s Refu ...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Roger Pettit rated it really liked it · review of another edition

P.D. James is one of the foremost crime writers of the past 40 years or so. Along with Ruth Rendell, she has been responsible for moving the writing of the Golden Age English detective story forwards from the somewhat restricted and rarefied worlds populated by the characters created by Dame Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and others. Although crime fiction remains stubbornly ghettoised as genre fiction by bookshops, critics and many readers (and it would seem that that is unlikely to change P.D. James is one of the foremost crime writers of the past 40 years or so. Along with Ruth Rendell, she has been responsible for moving the writing of the Golden Age English detective story forwards from the somewhat restricted and rarefied worlds populated by the characters created by Dame Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and others. Although crime fiction remains stubbornly ghettoised as genre fiction by bookshops, critics and many readers (and it would seem that that is unlikely to change in the near future), Mrs James can claim considerable credit for trying to change such attitudes by attempting to write stories that aim to be regarded as serious literature. She has done so while remaining faithful to the characteristics of Golden Age detective fiction: a good story; careful plotting; light and agreeable dialogue; and a readable writing style. "Cover Her Face" is the first of her published novels. It is an enjoyable and enetertaining read.

Written and set in the early 1960s, the plot concerns the murder of Sally Jupp. Sally is a single parent who works as part of the domestic staff at Martingale, the family home of the Maxie family. She got the job there as a result of a recommendation by a local home that provides support to unmarried mothers. Sally is found strangled in her bedroom at Martingale. Needless to say, there is a long list of potential suspects. These include various members of the Maxie family, the housekeeper at Martingale and other residents of the area.

"Cover Her Face" may seem a little anachronistic to modern readers, particularly in its attitude to single parenthood. But its tone and ethos reflect the prevailing mood of the time in which it is set. It is a very readable and enjoyable book. Its plot is complex, interesting and logical. And the characterisation is very good indeed. Mrs James's most famous series detective is Adam Dalgliesh. He is introduced to readers in this entertaining story. Dalgliesh may be a somewhat romanticised version of a police detective. However, he is a likeable character. And I give nothing away when I say that he gets to the bottom of the events that take place in this page-turner of a novel. It's not hard to see, on the evidence of this story, why P. D. James went on to achieve great critical and popular success with her subsequent detective novels. "Cover Her Face" is well worth reading. 8/10. ...more

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May 03, 2020 Rachel Burke rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed-and-read

An excellent classic locked room mystery.

I have been meaning to read the Dalgliesh books for years but somehow never got around to them. I'm so happy I have now. Cover Her Face is just a great read. I'm rarely completely stumped by an ending, but I was here. Well played Ms James. ...more

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