Product Description

When the notorious investigative journalist Rhoda Gradwyn booked into Mr Chandler-Powell's private clinic in Dorset for the removal of a disfiguring and long-standing facial scar, she had every prospect of a successful operation by a distinguished surgeon, a week's peaceful convalescence in one of Dorset's most beautiful manor houses and the beginning of a new life. She was never to leave Cheverell Manor alive. Dalgliesh and his team are called in to investigate the murder, and later a second death, which are to raise even more complicated problems than the question of innocence or guilt.A new detective novel by P. D. James is always keenly awaited and "The Private Patient" will undoubtedly equal the success of her worldwide bestseller "The Lighthouse". It displays the qualities which P. D. James' readers have come to expect: a masterly psychological and emotional richness of characterisation, a vivid evocation of place and a credible and exciting mystery. "The Private Patient" is a powerful work of contemporary fiction.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #76 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Given the astonishing length of the writing career of PD James (her first novel was published in 1962), it is perhaps not surprising that her work often consciously refers back to an earlier era of British crime writing -- but it's none-the worse for that. In fact, James' clever and affectionate reinventions of the devices and conventions of that era afford a particular pleasure -- as is the case with her latest, The Private Patient.

Uncompromising investigative journalist Rhoda Gradwyn has booked herself into the Chandler Powell private clinic in Dorset. She has decided to remove a disfiguring facial scar, and is looking forward to what she hopes will be a new life after the surgery. But Rhoda will not leave the clinical alive – she is killed. After her murder, Commander Adam Dalgliesh is summoned to investigate. As he begins to examine suspects, scene and motives, a second death occurs, and Dalgliesh finds himself faced with one of the most complex and challenging mysteries of his career.

In many ways, The Private Patient has the structure of a novel from the golden age of crime fiction, and James is well aware of the very best writing from that era (including Cyril Hare, who James succeeded as premier crime writer for her publisher, Faber). Needless to say, she freights in a very modern level of psychological investigation, more penetrating than that of her great predecessors. If the novel seems less initially engaging than other recent work by the author, there is perhaps a subtle agenda here: James is avoiding the more obvious reader-grabbing tactics to present a low-key investigation of character than she has chosen to deal with in recent books. If a little more patience is required than usual, the result of this understated approach pays dividends. And admirers of James (and her doughty detective Dalgliesh) will be prepared to be flexible for the pleasures of the cogently handled narrative here. --Barry Forshaw

About the Author
P. D. James was born in Oxford in 1920 and educated at Cambridge High School for Girls.From 1949 to 1968 she worked in the National Health Service and subsequently in the Home Office, first in the Police Department and later in the Criminal Policy Department.All that experience has been used in her novels.She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Royal Society of Arts and has served as a Governor of the BBC, a member of the Arts Council, where she was Chairman of the Literary Advisory Panel, on the Board of the British Council and as a magistrate in Middlesex and London.She has won awards for crime writing in Britain, America, Italy and Scandinavia, including the Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Award.She has received honorary degrees from seven British universities, was awarded an OBE in 1983 and was created a life peer in 1991.In 1997 she was elected President of the Society of Authors. She lives in London and Oxford and has two daughters, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Customer Reviews

Atmospheric mystery
Investigative journalist Rhoda Gradwyn is booked into a private clinic in Dorset to have a scar removed from her face. The scar was inflicted over 30 years before, and when Mr Chandler-Powell, the plastic surgeon, asks Rhoda why she's having the scar removed now, she says "Because I no longer have need of it." This is the intriguing opening of the new mystery by P D James. We know on the first page that Rhoda is the murder victim, but why is she murdered? Is it because of who she is, or is it what she knows? James always uses wonderfully isolated locations for her books, & the Dorset clinic is just the kind of remote place with a small group of suspects which she enjoys. The staff of the clinic are the main suspects & most of them have something to hide. The book has an air of finality about it, as Commander Adam Dalgliesh contemplates marriage & a new job when his investigative team is disbanded. Recommended for lovers of the classic English detective story.

pretentious rubbish
Why aren't people braver and say what is more than obvious: the novel is unbelievably tiresome? As a tale of crime and detection, it fails on all counts and no amount of 'fine' writing can save it.

Dated and disappointing
Like MD Smart I found 'The Private Patient' disappointing. The characters felt stuffy and stuck in a time warp and I found myself wondering how old Dalgliesh must be by now. He first appeared in 1962! Don't policemen tend to retire at around 55?! Parts of the plot were quite contrived and the ending most unsatisfactory - the final scene focussing on the lesbian couple and the conclusion of that rather odd sub-plot, rather than Dalgliesh and Emma. I have so enjoyed PD James previous AD novels - perhaps as is suggested throughout the book, this should be the last.