By Bob Tedder • It is a well-established fact, at least among less compulsive and more obsessed reading audiences, that books featuring recurring characters must be read in chronological order. It is equally certain that an author who can choreograph a character’s waltz through a new adventure without provoking anxiety attacks among such obsessed readers must possess a rare talent. The late P.D. James was such an author.
“The Private Patient” was James’ last incarnation of her fictional poet/police detective Adam Dalgliesh. The reader does not need to know of Commander Dalgliesh’s 13 previous appearances to relish his current effort. The skill of the author in delineating settings and characters is informative enough to establish the novel’s credibility without the wearying burdens of explanatory flashbacks. Dalgliesh and his team are thrust into a typical English whodunnit – in this case, the death of a noted cosmetic surgeon’s private patient. There is an isolated manor, an inexplicable death, a set of characters equally mixed between the probable and the improbable, and a dearth of clues requiring careful consideration by both Dalgliesh and the reader. James expertly provides such considerations in guiding reader and detective alike.
Of equal importance is the author’s skill in elevating the linguistic tone of what ostensibly is a formulaic British mystery. James always drapes her novels with a command of language which make her mysteries prance like a properly caparisoned horse across the English landscape. “The Private Patient” is no exception and the attentive reader will inevitably enrich their lexicon. To illustrate this observation, James is unapologetic in contextual use of these jewels: (1) minatory – expressing or conveying a threat; and (2) moue – a pouting expression used to convey annoyance or distaste. Not bad for a 16-year-old dropout whose literary worth earned her a 1991 life peerage as Baroness James of Holland Park. The Baroness died in 2014, making “The Private Patient” her last Dalgliesh mystery. If not familiar with her work it will be worthwhile to make this your first.