The Lighthouse - Hardcover

James, P. D.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 030726291X ISBN 13: 9780307262912

Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc, 2005

Synopsis

Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his team are called in to solve a sensitive high profile case on Combe island off the Cornish coast of England at a time when Dalgliesh is dealing with his uncertain future with Emma Lavenham, Kate Miskin struggles with her own personal turmoil, and Sergeant Francis Benton-Smith must cope with resentment over a female superior. 300,000 first printing.

About this title

Review:

While PD James’ The Lighthouse moves satisfyingly in territory that the author has made very much her own -- the classic English crime mystery -- there are several new elements added, proving that Baroness James is not content to rest on her laurels. While Commander Adam Dalgliesh is once again at work, solving a case of murder in a secluded setting, cut off from the rest of the world (James has long been pleased to introduce variations into the beloved crime situations that exercised her predecessors), and while the structure of the novel presents the reader with the usual strongly drawn cast of suspects and victims, there is a new frankness here, with the treatment of sexuality more upfront than would ever have been countenanced in the era of Dorothy Sayers and co. But long-time readers of this most accomplished of British novelists will also be pleased to learn that the things we turn to James for are all satisfyingly in place.

A secluded island off the Cornish coast, renowned for its history of bloody piracy, has become a retreat for under-pressure men and women in the upper echelons of society. But when one of their number is murdered in a grotesque fashion (his body found on the eponymous lighthouse), Adam Dalgliesh is requested to solve the case, but with maximum discretion. However, it is not a good time for Dalgliesh and his team: he himself is going through a fraught period with the woman in his life, Emma Lavenham, while DI Kate Miskin is struggling with similar upheavals in her life. And their Anglo-Indian associate, Francis Benton-Smith, has his own problems in regard to working with Kate. Nevertheless, the team make progress on the island, until a second savage murder threatens to bring chaos.

It's easy to underestimate James’ achievement with Dalgliesh and co. So often, long-time series characters betray signs of their authors’ growing disinterest, but James has always managed to find new nuances to ensure that we never tire of her cultivated copper. And there's pleasure here in seeing familiar themes orchestrated with such finesse: the difficult, combative figure who alienates a host of people (and thereby set themselves up as a candidate for murder) and, best of all, the cloistered setting -- often a cliché of the genre -- but here, treated with freshness and imagination. --Barry Forshaw

Review:

"With her trademark blend of subtle characterization, vivid sense of place and deceptively simple plot, James pulls off another triumph. A beautifully written page-turner from the queen of the genre."
--"Toronto Sun"
"An elegant and perceptive writer - rich drifts of prose pile up on the page, descriptive passages are Dickensian in length, ornament and power. . . James's many fans will relish The Lighthouse, for all its poise and narrative familiarity."
--"The Globe and Mail"
"James's gifts animate and transform the armature into something exceptional. Her disciplined conventions, her observation of social and class niceties, renew the traditional Franco-British drama of domestic crime. She is a very superior writer of detection."
--"Times Literary Supplement"
"James has proven that she deserves her reputation as our leading 'literary' crime writer. The Lighthouse confirms that she is also the most enjoyable."
--"Daily Express"
Praise for P.D. James:
"A first-rate writer without any qualifying genre tag."
--"Newsweek"
"[James] ought never to be confused with such practitioners of the murder-in-the-vicarage genre as Agatha Christie. She is subtler, more sophisticated, much more adept at creating character and her social conservatism gives her a much darker view of human nature."
--Martin Levin, "The Globe and Mail"
"James's novels are an escape like no other. . . . Masterful writing."
--"The Vancouver Sun"
"She writes like an angel. Every character is closely drawn. Her atmosphere is unerringly, chillingly convincing. And she manages all this without for a moment slowing down the drive and tension of an excitingmystery."
--"The Times" (UK)
"[James] suffuses The Murder Room with an intelligence and a perceptivity of human nature that seems casually placed. But that's part of her genius. A grand design is there, but not readily apparent. Dalgliesh is one of the smartest, gentlest and most restrained cops to ever adorn a page. Moreover, every character, even minor characters, come across as fully realized.
--"Winnipeg Free Press"

"From the Hardcover edition."

" One of the most compelling books of her remarkable career. . . . A magisterial and subtle exploration of all-too-human emotions." - "The Seattle Times"
" Appealing. . . . Something to gladden hearts- at least among aficionados of the formally perfect murder scheme. . . . Even its murder victim is delectable. . . . The reader . . . secretly thrills to the discovery of each new corpse." - "The New York Times"
" Thrilling. . . . Tantalizing. . . . Intense. . . . The solution to the crime is satisfyingly elegant." - "The Boston Herald"
" James is at the height of her writing powers in describing this craggy bit of rock off England's coast so thoroughly that you can feel the wind against your face and the scrubland brush against your boots. Like Dalgleish and Miskin, you will wish you could return." - "The Baltimore Sun"
" With her trademark blend of subtle characterization, vivid sense of place and deceptively simple plot, James pulls off another triumph. A beautifully written page-turner from the queen of the genre."
- "Toronto Sun"
" An elegant and perceptive writer - rich drifts of prose pile up on the page, descriptive passages are Dickensian in length, ornament and power. . . James's many fans will relish The Lighthouse, for all its poise and narrative familiarity."
- "The Globe and Mail"
" James's gifts animate and transform the armature into something exceptional. Her disciplined conventions, her observation of social and class niceties, renew the traditional Franco-British drama of domestic crime. She is a very superior writerof detection."
- "Times Literary Supplement"
" James has proven that she deserves her reputation as our leading ' literary' crime writer. The Lighthouse confirms that she is also the most enjoyable."
- "Daily Express"

"One of the most compelling books of her remarkable career. . . . A magisterial and subtle exploration of all-too-human emotions."-The Seattle Times"Appealing. . . . Something to gladden hearts-at least among aficionados of the formally perfect murder scheme. . . . Even its murder victim is delectable. . . . The reader . . . secretly thrills to the discovery of each new corpse."-The New York Times"Thrilling. . . . Tantalizing. . . . Intense. . . . The solution to the crime is satisfyingly elegant."-The Boston Herald"James is at the height of her writing powers in describing this craggy bit of rock off England's coast so thoroughly that you can feel the wind against your face and the scrubland brush against your boots. Like Dalgleish and Miskin, you will wish you could return." -The Baltimore Sun"With her trademark blend of subtle characterization, vivid sense of place and deceptively simple plot, James pulls off another triumph. A beautifully written page-turner from the queen of the genre." -Toronto Sun "An elegant and perceptive writer - rich drifts of prose pile up on the page, descriptive passages are Dickensian in length, ornament and power. . . James's many fans will relish The Lighthouse, for all its poise and narrative familiarity." -The Globe and Mail"James's gifts animate and transform the armature into something exceptional. Her disciplined conventions, her observation of social and class niceties, renew the traditional Franco-British drama of domestic crime. She is a very superior writer of detection." -Times Literary Supplement"James has proven that she deserves her reputation as our leading 'literary' crime writer. The Lighthouse confirms that she is also the most enjoyable." -Daily Express

About this edition

• Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 030726291X
• ISBN 13: 9780307262912
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320