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I cannot get enough of PD James and her lead detective, Adam Dalgliesh. A Mind to Murder is his second mystery.
The doctors at Steen Psychiatric Clinic are used to dealing more with the mind than with the body, but when the corpse of their administrative assistant is discovered, freshly murdered in the records room, they can no longer deny the physical. A young Inspector Dalgliesh, poet copper, is called away from his editor’s party to begin the investigation.
After reading the first few pages of A Mind to Murder, I thought I was in for a book very similar to many of James’ stories. I figured the writing style and plot would follow closely to many of her other novels. I’ve said before that many of her mysteries are intensely remenicent of each other. She loves to ruminate of the repercussions of murder on small isolated communities. I would never call her writing lazy, and each book, although following a surprisingly similar plot, are compelling and interesting in their own way. But with this book, I was surprised that she did not follow the same plot, plot points, or character development. I was getting used to the idea of not really knowing what was going on inside the minds of the suspects, but this book gives insight into that, which is different than her other novels. I found that in some ways this made it hard for the reader to decipher who the murderer would turn out to be. If you’re a fan of James’ books, I think you’ll like this earlier version of her style. I would also recommend this book to those interested in 1960 medical dramas and techniques, those who like mysteries set in hospitals or medical wards, and any fans of a dashing lead detective.
Do you read medical related mysteries?