P.D. James is, of course, one of the best known authors of the English mystery genre. It has been a long time since I read an Adam Dalgliesh mystery and I wasn't disappointed. There is nothing like a slightly crumbling British estate, a disfunctional family, and servants who flaut the system by forming unsuitable emotional attachments to their "betters" to serve as the setting to a traditional locked room mystery. Dalgliesh is amazingly subtle and cerebral, almost a background character as he works to solve the crime, the murder of maid Sally Jupp, who had received and announced a proposal of marriage from Stephen, the son of the house, just prior to her demise. Dalgliesh is quite a contrast to the romantic action heroes of many popular mysteries. If you like your detectives quiet and thoughtful, try P.D. James.
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