COVER HER FACE (P.D. James)

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.