Product Description

A piercing scream, shattering the evening calm, brings Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh hurrying from his literary party to the nearby Steen Psychiatric Clinic, where he discovers the body of a woman sprawled on the basement floor, a chisel thrust through her heart. As Dalgliesh probes beneath the apparently unruffled calm of the clinic, he discovers that many an intrigue lies hidden behind the Georgian terrace's unassuming facade. Professionally, he has never known the taste of failure. Now, for the first time, he feels unsure of his own mastery as he battles to unmask a cool killer who is proving to be his intellectual equal, and who is poised to strike again.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5753 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 225 pages

Customer Reviews

Straight forward mystery
A Mind To Murder is a typical who-dunnit murder mystery with unusal suspects. When the administrative head of a psychiatric clinic is found dead, Inspector Dalgliesh focuses on the staff members of the clinic rather than the patients. I believe that this novel is a great improvement over the author's first, Cover Her Face. It was much more fun to read. Dalgliesh has moved more into the foreground and we get to know him better as a person. Overall, the story is a little dated, especially in regards to the uses of LSD.

Dalgliesh Becomes a Memorable Detective
In Cover Her Face, the first book in this distinguished series, Adam Dalgliesh plays second fiddle to an intricate plot. In A Mind to Murder, the book revolves around the questioning mind of A.D. and he begins to come to life as an interesting character. The plot isn't nearly as intricate as in Cover Her Face, but the twists and turns are more entertainingly told.

Even physicians have to follow the administrative rules. When the administrator of the Steen Psychiatric Clinic starts counting the patient numbers, watching the expense accounts and insisting on proper paperwork, even the physicians find themselves annoyed and wanting her gone. But no one wanted her dead. Or did they? The circumstances of the murder seem to point inside the clinic. The method of death is a particularly strange one, seemingly appropriate for a psychiatric clinic.

The story has a certain anachronistic charm as it reflects practices and circumstances that have changed since 1963. The references to LSD as an analytic tool are particularly humorous in light of the drug's later uses (or misuses).