Commander Adam Dalgliesh is already acquainted with the Dupayne Museum in Hampstead, and with its sinister murder room celebrating notorious crimes committed in the interwar years, when he is called to investigate the killing of one of the trustees. He soon discovers that the victim was seeking to close the museum against the wishes of both staff and fellow trustees. Everyone, it seems, has something to gain from the crime.
When it becomes clear that the killer is prepared to kill again, inspired by the real-life crimes from the murder room, Dalgliesh knows that to solve this case he has to get into the mind of a ruthless killer.
The investigation is complicated for Dalgliesh by his love for Emma Lavenham, but their relationship, at a sensitive stage for them both, is continually frustrated by the demands of his job. As step by step he moves closer to the murderer, is the investigation taking him further away from commitment to the woman he loves?
Award-winning P.D. James (author of Death Comes to Pemberley, The Murder Room and A Certain Justice) plots a thrilling work of crime fiction packed with intrigue and suspense. In 2004, this novel was adapted for BBC television and starred Martin Shaw as Adam Dalgliesh and Janie Dee as Emma Lavenham.
Autorentext
P. D. James (1920-2014) was a bestselling and internationally acclaimed crime writer best known for her books starring poet-detective Adam Dalgliesh. She wrote nineteen novels as well as several short story collections and works of non-fiction. Her work has been translated into thirty-six languages, and has sold millions of copies worldwide. Among many international prizes, awards and honours, she received the highest honours in both British and American crime writing: the CWA Diamond Dagger for a lifetime contribution to the genre, and the Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Award. She was inducted into the Crime Writing Hall of Fame in 2008. Beyond her writing, she worked in the National Health Service and then in the Home Office for over thirty years, first in the Police Department and later in the Criminal Policy Department, and made use of all this experience in her novels. She served as president of the Society of Authors for sixteen years, and was a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Literature and of the Royal Society of Arts. In 1983 she was awarded an OBE, and she was made a life peer in 1991. She died in 2014.
Zusammenfassung
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 'Does everything a crime novel should - and then a whole lot more.' DAILY MAIL PERFECT FOR FANS OF VAL MCDERMID, RUTH RENDELL AND ELLY GRIFFITHS __________________________________________________________________________________ Murder, the unique crime, is a paradigm of its age. The murder room of the Dupayne Museum is full of curiosities: photographs of crime scenes, news clippings about famous murders, and even some items belonging to killers and their victims. But then, one of the museum trustees is killed - in a manner strikingly reminiscent of one of its exhibits. Commander Adam Dalgliesh soon discovers that the victim was seeking to close the museum, and everyone there has something to gain from the crime. But when a second murder is committed, again replicating one of the murder room's real-life crimes, Dalgliesh knows he must get into the mind of a ruthless killer in order to solve this case - before there are any more deaths. __________________________________________________________________________________ 'Genuinely chilling . . . a delight.' OBSERVER 'P. D. James at her best . . . The reader needs to keep their wits about them.' 5* reader review 'Ingenious puzzle with an enthralling climax. One of the best in this superior series, with an even more agonizing finale than most.' 5* reader review **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