A Certain Justice - Hardcover

James, P. D.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375401091 ISBN 13: 9780375401091

Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc, 1997

Synopsis

It begins, dramatically enough, with a trial for murder. The distinguished criminal lawyer Venetia Aldridge is defending Garry Ashe on charges of having brutally killed his aunt. For Aldridge the trial is mainly a test of her courtroom skills, one more opportunity to succeed--and she does. But now murder is in the air. The next victim will be Aldridge herself, stabbed to death at her desk in her Chambers in the Middle Temple, a bloodstained wig on her head. Enter Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his team, whose struggle to investigate and understand the shocking events cannot halt the spiral into more horrors, more murders...

A Certain Justice is P.D. James at her strongest.  In her first foray into the strange closed world of the Law Courts and the London legal community, she has created a fascinating tale of interwoven passion and terror. As each character leaps into unforgettable life, as each scene draws us forward into new complexities of plot, she proves yet again that no other writer can match her skill in combining the excitement of the classic detective story with the richness of a fine novel. In its subtle portrayal of morality and human behavior, A Certain Justice will stand alongside Devices and Desires and A Taste for Death as one of P.D. James's most important, accomplished and entertaining works.

About this title

Review

Although A Certain Justice begins with news of a murder, the victim isn't set to die for another four weeks. Publicly respected but privately loathed, Venetia Aldridge has far more enemies than a brilliant London criminal lawyer should--and at least one of them is determined to do her in. Venetia plies her superior trade in courts that harbour "the illusion that the passions of men were susceptible to order and control," but her past and private life are exceedingly unruly. Her married lover is intent on giving her up; her daughter loathes her; her fellow barristers are determined that she not become the next head of chambers. Even the cleaning woman seems to have something on her. The outline alone of this complex novel would take pages (as would the eclectic inventory of players), but P. D. James makes us admire far more than her brilliantly developed plot. James in fact creates a crowded gallery of surprisingly decent suspects, along with one suitably vile creature--who happens to be Aldridge's last client. A superior murder mystery, A Certain Justice is also a gripping anatomy of wild justice. James's characters can be overcome by hate, but she is equally concerned with love's manifestations--human, divine, destructive, and healing.

Review

" "A Certain Justice" has all James' hallmarks: elegance of language, a stellar sense of place, exquisitely defined characters, and a skillfully rendered tale of moral justice." -The Globe and Mail " Immensely satisfying in both its intricate plot and complexity of characters.... An emotionally powerful puzzler [and a] page-turning journey ... along the darker, twisted byways of human intentions." --"Publishers Weekly" starred review " Meticulously-crafted, original, suspenseful ... ingenious ... A whacking great whodunit by the reigning queen of mystery.... A certain great read." --"The Calgary Sun "" Irresistible.... Yet another sterling example of how [P.D. James] has been able to elevate the traditional mystery to something approaching literary art." --"Winnipeg Free Press "" Gripping reading... With virtuoso ingenuity, James weaves a wonderfully intricate whodunit." --"The Times Literary Supplement "

About this edition

• Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0375401091
• ISBN 13: 9780375401091
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 364