Reviewed by Jeanne
P.D. James was considered one of the modern grande dames of
mystery fiction, being awarded numerous honors for her writing, including being
named a Baroness. Critics lauded her
books as elevating mere mystery to Literature.
While this implied criticism of their genre annoyed mystery readers, it
gave others a good excuse to dip into the adventures of Inspector Adam
Dalgliesh or Cordelia Gray.
Besides her novels, she wrote non-fiction, including an excellent
book Talking About Detective Fiction in which she discusses classic
authors and books, and short stories. Four of the latter comprise this
collection; two feature Dalgliesh.
The description says these are “uncollected stories” which is not the
same as “unpublished.” I recall reading
at least one of the Dalgliesh stories before, probably in some anthology.
The title story is set at Christmas, 1940, when a young
widow is invited to her estranged grandmother’s estate for the holiday. Told in hindsight, the bleakness of wartime
Britain comes through strongly in the dark, forbidding house where a select
group has gathered. Of course, ere long one of the company will end up dead in
a traditional country house murder setting.
“A Commonplace Murder” involves a clerk who slips back into
his place of employment after hours and ends up becoming a voyeur. This reader found echoes of both Hitchcock
and Christie in this tale.
“The Boxdale Inheritance” is one of the Adam Dalgliesh
stories, set early in his career. Adam’s
gentle godfather is due to inherit a considerable sum of money, but the elderly
gentleman has concerns about how the wealth was acquired.
In the final story, Dalgliesh is on his way to visit his
aunt only to be waylaid by a reported suicide.
James fans should take great satisfaction in these fine
stories, and those unfamiliar with the author may find their appetites whetted for
her novels. All are excellently done
with strong plotting, well-defined characters, and vivid settings.
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