Cover Her Face |
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Baroness P. D. James
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Pages: 224 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0571228569
Pub: Faber and Faber
Pub date: 2006-01-05
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 14432
Reader Reviews:
Old-fashioned murder mystery (0/0 people found this helpful)
I really enjoyed this book, unlike some of the other reviewers here and suspect it might have something to do with expectations. This is a much simpler plot-line than P.D. James' later books, some of which I've thought have become very unwieldy and quite flabby. This is a taut and linear plot, dealing only with the single murder of the sly and almost tantalising maid, Sally Jupp.
Published in 1962, this feels like it was written much earlier: characters reminisce about their war-time experiences, being a single mother is something shocking, and even a weekend away in a hotel with a 'lady friend' is something sordid and a bit sleazy.
The approach is classic (Agatha Christie without the sly humour and tongue-in-cheek-ness): the family and friends gather in the country house, the maid is killed, everyone is a suspect, the detective gathers everyone in the drawing-room to reveal the culprit. No real surprises, and yet while this is very 'cosy', and the characters mostly cliched, there's still something about it all that I found very compelling. There's not enough substance to keep your brain really active but is a perfect commute or holiday read.
Ponderous, pretentious, plodding... (0/0 people found this helpful)
...all too solemn and totally lacking in spark. At least it avoids the charge of being overlong, which is what most of her later novels are.
Tension at Table (0/0 people found this helpful)
The distinguished Adam Dalgliesh stories begin with Cover Her Face. Few will find this their favorite book in the series. I decided to read Cover Her Face again to provide perspective on P.D. James's latest, The Lighthouse. From that retrospective look, I came away even more impressed with The Lighthouse.
But I do recommend that you read Cover Her Face. Although it isn't going to be a favorite of yours, it will be good reading.
The book's main weakness is that the detailed development of the place and characters doesn't quite have rich enough material to work with.
The plot itself has some marvelous twists and turns that build around the character of a most unusual murder victim, Sally Jupp, a marginally acceptable servant in a wealthy home. The other interesting aspect of the story relates to several interesting variations on the locked room mystery subgenre.
In later stories in the series, Baroness James let her imagination run freer . . . with superb results.
Tension at Table (1/2 people found this helpful)
The distinguished Adam Dalgliesh stories begin with Cover Her Face. Few will find this their favorite book in the series. I decided to read Cover Her Face again to provide perspective on P.D. James's latest, The Lighthouse. From that retrospective look, I came away even more impressed with The Lighthouse.
But I do recommend that you read Cover Her Face. Although it isn't going to be a favorite of yours, it will be good reading.
The book's main weakness is that the detailed development of the place and characters doesn't quite have rich enough material to work with.
The plot itself has some marvelous twists and turns that build around the character of a most unusual murder victim, Sally Jupp, a marginally acceptable servant in a wealthy home. The other interesting aspect of the story relates to several interesting variations on the locked room mystery subgenre.
In later stories in the series, Baroness James let her imagination run freer . . . with superb results.
Tension at Table (1/1 people found this helpful)
The distinguished Adam Dalgliesh stories begin with Cover Her Face. Few will find this their favorite book in the series. I decided to read Cover Her Face again to provide perspective on P.D. James's latest, The Lighthouse. From that retrospective look, I came away even more impressed with The Lighthouse.
But I do recommend that you read Cover Her Face. Although it isn't going to be a favorite of yours, it will be good reading.
The book's main weakness is that the detailed development of the place and characters doesn't quite have rich enough material to work with.
The plot itself has some marvelous twists and turns that build around the character of a most unusual murder victim, Sally Jupp, a marginally acceptable servant in a wealthy home. The other interesting aspect of the story relates to several interesting variations on the locked room mystery subgenre.
In later stories in the series, Baroness James let her imagination run freer . . . with superb results.
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Special Features -> Custom Stores -> Fiction Complete -> Crime, Thrillers & Mystery -> Mystery
Books -> Subjects -> Crime, Thrillers & Mystery -> Mystery -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Crime, Thrillers & Mystery -> Thrillers
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> General
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> General AAS
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback
Books -> Refinements -> Font Size (format_browse-bin) -> Regular Size