From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

A Mind to Murder (Adam Dalgliesh, #2)

P.D. James

Start date: February 1, 2020

Finish date: February 29, 2020

Discussion: Group Challenges

Why we're reading this: The second book in our 2020 challenge to read the Inspector Dalgliesh mysteries.
[close] The second book in our 2020 challenge to read the Inspector Dalgliesh mysteries.

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Group Challenges

* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) by Agatha Christie
By Susan · 14 posts · 16 views

last updated Sep 02, 2025 12:08AM

* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) - SPOILER Thread
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last updated Sep 01, 2025 04:16PM

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What Members Thought

Feb 12, 2008 Nancy Oakes rated it liked it

Shelves: crime-fiction-uk, crime-fiction

not nearly as enjoyable (imho) as "Cover Her Face," but still an okay read. I've noticed in these two that while Dalgliesh gets onto a certain clue that sends him right to the murderer, there really isn't much here about investigative technique or something that he does especially to solve the crime. Oh well.

brief summary, no spoilers
The scene of the crime is the Steen psychiatric clinic, and the victim is the administrative head of the place, a miss Bolam. She is killed in the records room with ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Oct 26, 2012 Tom rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Dull. Murder wasn't very challenging or particularly original. Characters weren't interesting. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 15, 2020 Nanosynergy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, series, mysteries-thrillers-espionage, british, fiction-1960s, 2020read

Book #2 in the Adam Dalgliesh mystery series. The administrator of the Steen Psychiatric Clinic (Miss Bolam), whom no one particularly likes, is murdered in the records room with patient records strewn under her body. Suspects range from the obvious (follow the money) to the ambitious and grudge-holding. James did a fairly decent job of obscuring who done it. Psychiatric treatment at this earlier time is one with less patient privacy, the free use of LSD used to loosen up patients (apparently th ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 18, 2021 Louise Culmer rated it it was ok

Afraid I found this one dulled than the first one. Couldn’t get up any interest in the characters at all. And Dalgleish still seems quite dreary - does he ever get more interesting? Simply didn’t care who did it, or why, or who was going to get it next.

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