From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

The Private Patient (Adam Dalgliesh, #14)

P.D. James

Start date: February 13, 2021

Finish date: March 9, 2021

Discussion: Archive: PD James Challenge

Why we're reading this: Last in our series of PD James/Adam Dalgliesh reads.
[close] Last in our series of PD James/Adam Dalgliesh reads.

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Archive: PD James Challenge

Mid-Feb 21 - The Private Patient by PD James
By Susan · 34 posts · 31 views

last updated May 06, 2021 12:25AM

Mid-Feb 21 - The Private Patient - SPOILER Thread
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last updated Mar 06, 2021 07:58AM

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What Members Thought

Feb 13, 2021 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Having finally come to the end of the Adam Dalgliesh series, I have mixed feelings. I never really warmed to Dalgliesh himself and his relationship with Emma in the final few books did not seem real – as he was a literary character, it was very much a literary relationship.

This final mystery, admittedly written when the author was quite elderly, features a medical background. In this case, a clinic for wealthy patients having plastic surgery, and run by George Chandler-Powell. James set many of Having finally come to the end of the Adam Dalgliesh series, I have mixed feelings. I never really warmed to Dalgliesh himself and his relationship with Emma in the final few books did not seem real – as he was a literary character, it was very much a literary relationship.

This final mystery, admittedly written when the author was quite elderly, features a medical background. In this case, a clinic for wealthy patients having plastic surgery, and run by George Chandler-Powell. James set many of her books in hospitals and clinics, so it is, perhaps, fitting that she ended her series in one. This novel features a journalist, Rhoda Gradwyn, who visits the clinic to remove a facial scar and is killed. Enter Dalgliesh, and his team, to uncover the motive among the staff of the clinic.

Although I am not a reader who dislikes description, or wants non-stop action, my major issue with these books are the over-indulgence of detail. Nobody can pass through a room without noting whether the bed is made, open a door without lifting a latch, look at a mirror without commenting what is on the mantelpiece, walk down a path without a detailed description of the trees, wind, weather, footwear, etc. etc. In the same way, we are never re-introduced to a character without hearing their background. Kate Miskin’s childhood in a high-rise flat, her unrequited love for Dalgliesh, her new apartment – detailed description to follow…

I will be re-reading some of these mysteries; particularly some of the early ones, and certainly have enjoyed them. Still, at times they annoyed me and, in particular, I was surprised to read how much PD James disliked Agatha Christie; who could, frankly, plot her books much better and create characters simply and swiftly, but so you could immediately picture them. As such, I am pleased I have read this series, but feel glad to have finished them and will revisit one now and again, so the refrains of character traits and annoyances of style are not so fresh in my mind.

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Sep 06, 2014 Ellen rated it liked it

"The Private Patient" by P.D. James..

This had all the elements of a good mystery by an excellent author in a faithfully followed series...but that evidently would have been too simple.
The murder of an innocent person who had been emotionally & physically abused in her childhood had left a severe and noticeable scar on her face. Almost halfway through the book as the patient is readied for the surgery to remove the scar she is murdered. Finally Dagleish enters the picture.
The mystery is there bu ...more

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Feb 25, 2021 Sandy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-detective-grp, rread-2021, mystery

I'm rather glad to be finished with Dalglish, as I never warmed to him. The story, as the others in the series, is good but the book drags as James describes every room, outfit, meal and building. I am glad I read the series but would only recommend it with reservations. ...more

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Feb 15, 2021 Jill rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: p-d-james

This is the final book in the Adam Dalgliesh series, and I can't say I'm sorry. I have found all the books to be overlong, as they are full of the fixtures and fittings of every location visited, and the back story of one of the main characters, which had been drawn out and included in every book. I'm not someone who doesn't appreciate a good description of a place, but these were tedious.
So, having said that and trying to disregard it throughout the books when I found it to be totally irreleva ...more

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May 28, 2015 AngryGreyCat rated it really liked it

I just read these two yesterday and this morning. I vaguely recollect reading a PD James book a long time ago but have not read any others and now I don’t know why. I loved The Private Patient. It ticks all the boxes for a great mystery read, an intelligent sleuth, a well developed sense of place, abundant red herrings, appropriate pacing for the plot, and a large cast of characters each with their own complex histories and motivations. This was well written and such an enjoyable read that I wil ...more

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