A Taste for Death

Author: P. D. James
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307758982
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 665

Book Description
When the quiet Little Vestry of St. Matthew's Church becomes the blood-soaked scene of a double murder, Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh faces an intriguing conundrum: How did an upper-crust Minister come to lie, slit throat to slit throat, next to a neighborhood derelict of the lowest order? Challenged with the investigation of a crime that appears to have endless motives, Dalgliesh explores the sinister web spun around a half-burnt diary and a violet-eyed widow who is pregnant and full of malice--all the while hoping to fill the gap of logic that joined these two disparate men in bright red death. . . .

A Taste for Death

Author: P. D. James
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 0571248667
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 656

Book Description
Now a major Channel 5 series 'The Queen of Crime.' New York Times Two men lie in a welter of blood in the vestry of St Matthew's Church, Paddington, thier throats brutally slashed. One is Sir Paul Berowne, a baronet and recently-resigned Minister of the Crown, the other an alcoholic vagrant. Dalgliesh and his team, set up to investigate crimes of particular sensitivity, are faced with a case of extraordinary complexity as they discover the Berowne family's veneer of prosperous gentility conceals ugly and dangerous secrets. 'Compulsive . . . heart-pounding suspense.' Sunday Times 'Splendidly suspenseful . . . A triumph and a treat.' Guardian

A Taste for Poison

Author: Neil Bradbury, Ph.D.
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1250270766
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 234

Book Description
“A fascinating tale of poisons and poisonous deeds which both educates and entertains.” --Kathy Reichs A brilliant blend of science and crime, A TASTE FOR POISON reveals how eleven notorious poisons affect the body--through the murders in which they were used. As any reader of murder mysteries can tell you, poison is one of the most enduring—and popular—weapons of choice for a scheming murderer. It can be slipped into a drink, smeared onto the tip of an arrow or the handle of a door, even filtered through the air we breathe. But how exactly do these poisons work to break our bodies down, and what can we learn from the damage they inflict? In a fascinating blend of popular science, medical history, and true crime, Dr. Neil Bradbury explores this most morbidly captivating method of murder from a cellular level. Alongside real-life accounts of murderers and their crimes—some notorious, some forgotten, some still unsolved—are the equally compelling stories of the poisons involved: eleven molecules of death that work their way through the human body and, paradoxically, illuminate the way in which our bodies function. Drawn from historical records and current news headlines, A Taste for Poison weaves together the tales of spurned lovers, shady scientists, medical professionals and political assassins to show how the precise systems of the body can be impaired to lethal effect through the use of poison. From the deadly origins of the gin & tonic cocktail to the arsenic-laced wallpaper in Napoleon’s bedroom, A Taste for Poison leads readers on a riveting tour of the intricate, complex systems that keep us alive—or don’t.

Devices and Desires

Author: P. D. James
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 030776060X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 588

Book Description
National Bestseller. Featuring the famous Commander Adam Dalgliesh, Devices and Desires is a thrilling and insightfully crafted novel of fallible people caught in a net of secrets, ambitions, and schemes on a lonely stretch of Norfolk coastline. Commander Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard has just published a new book of poems and has taken a brief respite from publicity on the remote Larksoken headland on the Norfolk coast in a converted windmill left to him by his aunt. But he cannot so easily escape murder. A psychotic strangler of young women is at large in Norfolk, and getting nearer to Larksoken with every killing. And when Dalgliesh discovers the murdered body of the Acting Administrative Officer on the beach, he finds himself caught up in the passions and dangerous secrets of the headland community and in one of the most baffling murder cases of his career.

The Skull Beneath the Skin

Author: P.D. James
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 143914429X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 454

Book Description
Invited to protect an actress within the rose red walls of a fairy-tale castle, Detective Cordelia Gray finds the stage is set for death. Actress Clarissa Lisle has always been famous for her ravishing beauty—and her unscrupulous manipulations. Now on the death-shrouded island of Courcy, her schemes win her a starring role in a nightmare in which she can trust no one—not her deceived husband; her dangerously insecure stepson; her ominously genial host; her dependent, desperate cousin; or her cruelly amusing ex-lover. Soon Detective Cordelia gray finds that nothing is as it seems on Courcy—especially after the curtain goes down. Here she must delve into ancient secrets and guilt-stained pasts—and risk her life to stop a brilliantly cunning murderer who has set the stage for her death.

A Mind to Murder

Author: P.D. James
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0743219589
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
Adam Dalgluish is called to the elegant Steen Psychiatric Clinic to investigate why the head of the clinic, Enid Bolan was found with a chisel through her heart.

Original Sin

Author: P. D. James
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307822524
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 619

Book Description
Adam Dalgliesh takes on a baffling murder in the rarefied world of London book publishing in this masterful mystery from one of our finest novelists. • Part of the bestselling mystery series that inspired Dalgliesh on Acorn TV Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his team are confronted with a puzzle of impenetrable complexity. A murder has taken place in the offices of the Peverell Press, a venerable London publishing house located in a dramatic mock-Venetian palace on the Thames. The victim is Gerard Etienne, the brilliant but ruthless new managing director, who had vowed to restore the firm's fortunes. Etienne was clearly a man with enemies—a discarded mistress, a rejected and humiliated author, and rebellious colleagues, one of who apparently killed herself a short time earlier. Yet Etienne's death, which occurred under bizarre circumstances, is for Dalgliesh only the beginning of the mystery, as he desperately pursues the search for a killer prepared to strike and strike again.

The Private Patient

Author: P. D. James
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307270939
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 369

Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Part of the bestselling mystery series that inspired Dalgliesh on Acorn TV Cheverell Manor is a beautiful old house in Dorset, which its owner, the famous plastic surgeon George Chandler-Powell, uses as a private clinic. When the investigative journalist, Rhoda Gradwyn, arrives to have a disfiguring facial scar removed, she has every expectation of a successful operation and a peaceful week recuperating. But the clinic houses an implacable enemy and within hours of the operation Rhoda is murdered. Commander Dalgliesh and his team are called in to investigate a case complicated by old crimes and the dark secrets of the past. But Before Rhoda's murder is solved, a second horrific death adds to the complexities of one of Dalgliesh's most perplexing and fascinating cases.

A Taste for Murder

Author: Burl Barer
Publisher: WildBlue Press
ISBN: 1942266367
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 281

Book Description
As seen on Investigation Discovery: “A true crime murder mystery that will leave you gasping for breath.” —Steve Jackson, New York Times–bestselling author of No Stone Unturned Frank Rodriguez, a much-loved counselor of troubled teens, lies dead on the bedroom floor. His wife and stepdaughter are in shock, and so is the medical examiner when he performs the autopsy. Aside from being dead, Frank is in perfect health. Demanding to know the cause of her husband’s death, Angie Rodriguez badgers the police, insisting that Frank was murdered. The cops attribute her assertions to overwhelming grief, but soon they too believe that Frank didn’t die of natural causes. When the police enlist their number one suspect to help in the investigation, things spiral out of control until law enforcement is dealing with a daring plot to murder Angie’s best friend, and allegations of another homicide so evil and perverse that even seasoned LA County Detectives are shocked beyond belief . . . New York Times–bestselling and Edgar Award–winning author “Burl Barer, with co-author Frank Giradot, has hit yet another home run with this crime story. A smart and well-written who-dunnit tale” (Cathy Scott, Los Angeles Times–bestselling author of The Killing of Tupac Shakur). “A doozy of a murder.” —Suzy Spencer, New York Times–bestselling author of Breaking Point

The Lighthouse

Author: P. D. James
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 0571247040
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 420

Book Description
THE MULTIMILLION-COPY BESTSELLING ADAM DALGLIESH SERIES FROM THE 'QUEEN OF ENGLISH CRIME' ( Guardian) 'A legend.' VAL MCDERMID 'P. D. James took the classic crime novel and turned up the dial.' MICK HERRON 'A whodunit which takes murder seriously.' GUARDIAN PERFECT FOR FANS OF VAL MCDERMID, RUTH RENDELL AND ELLY GRIFFITHS __________________________________________________________________________________ He thought of Combe as a place of violent emotions - of danger. Combe Island, off the Cornish coast, is a restful retreat for the rich and powerful - until one of its distinguished visitors is murdered, and the peace of the island is shattered. Commander Adam Dalgliesh is called in to solve the mystery quickly and discreetly, but at a difficult time for him and his depleted team. No sooner have they begun to unravel the complicated motives of the suspects when there is a second brutal killing. But there is another danger just as insidious and potentially as fatal as murder on the island, which puts Dalgliesh at even greater risk . . . __________________________________________________________________________________ 'P. D. James on top form . . . you will love it.' Spectator 'Outstanding in characterisation and the plot is crafted with consummate skill. The setting was idyllic and chilling at the same time. . . Gripping and a rewarding read. Brilliant.' 5* reader review 'James's precision can be as deftly murderous as the weapons her killers wield.' New York Times **Now a major Channel 5 series** __________________________________________________________________________________ READERS LOVE THE ADAM DALGLEISH SERIES: 'Adam Dalgleish is one of the best characters in modern detective fiction.' 5* reader review 'If you are not already an Adam Dalgliesh fan, I urge you to become one . . . James can describe a scene or delineate a character with precision and depth, like no other writer I have read . . . I usually stay up all night to read a P. D. James novel once I start one.' 5* reader review 'I would never give less than 5 stars to any P. D. James book. She is one of a kind, always constant, always wonderful writing, always great characters, and always a good mystery that you cannot put down.' 5* reader review 'P.D. James writes mysteries for ordinary people. Her characters are relatable and her hero is dynamic. But don't expect cell phones or computers. Her stories are strictly old school, which is what I love about them.' 5* reader review 'Crime writing at its very best!' 5* reader review PRAISE FOR P. D. JAMES: 'P. D. James is the crème de la crème of crime writers. Her books are shrewd puzzles, full of wit and depth.' IAN RANKIN 'Nobody can put the reader in the eye of the storm quite like P. D. James.' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'One of the literary greats. Her sense of place was exquisite, characterisation and plotting unrivalled.' MARI HANNAH 'James manages a depth and intelligence that few in her trade can match.' THE TIMES 'There are very few thriller writers who can compete with P. D. James at her best.' SPECTATOR 'The queen of English crime.' GUARDIAN