A Certain Justice: Summary and book reviews of A Certain Justice by P.D. James, plus links to an excerpt from A Certain Justice and a biography of P.D. James.

It begins, dramatically enough, with a trial for murder. The distinguished criminal lawyer Venetia Aldridge is defending Garry Ashe on charges of having brutally killed his aunt. For Aldridge the trial is mainly a test of her courtroom skills, one more opportunity to succeed--and she does. But now murder is in the air. The next victim will be Aldridge herself, stabbed to death at her desk in her Chambers in the Middle Temple, a bloodstained wig on her head. Enter Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his team, whose struggle to investigate and understand the shocking events cannot halt the spiral into more horrors, more murders... A Certain Justice is P.D. James at her strongest. In her first foray into the strange closed world of the Law Courts and the London legal community, she has created a fascinating tale of interwoven passion and terror. As each character leaps into unforgettable life, as each scene draws us forward into new complexities of plot, she proves yet again that no other writer can match her skill in combining the excitement of the classic detective story with the richness of a fine novel. In its subtle portrayal of morality and human behavior, A Certain Justice will stand alongside Devices and Desires and A Taste for Death as one of P.D. James's most important, accomplished and entertaining works.

Media Reviews

Cosmopolitan There's nobody like P.D. James...[We are] terrified one moment, astonished the next.   New York Times Book Review - Judith Christ A first-class novelist...with a literary flair and an eye as perceptive as her heart.   New York Times Book Review - Judith Christ A first-class novelist...with a literary flair and an eye as perceptive as her heart. Robert B. Parker She is simply a wonderful writer. Anita Brookner P.D. James is an addictive writer...A superior novelist. Ruth Rendell [Dalgliesh] is certainly the most interesting of fictional detectives. Robert B. Parker She is simply a wonderful writer. Ruth Rendell [Dalgliesh] is certainly the most interesting of fictional detectives.

Recent Reader Reviews

Review (not rated) by Anonymous
Bill Hobbs
Venetia Aldridge, a brilliant, up-and-coming criminal lawyer is found murdered. And P.D. James' quintessential English policeman Superintendent Adam Dalgleish is in charge of this high-profile case. As Scotland Yard becomes...   Read More

Readalikes

If you liked A Certain Justice, try these:

---

---

These are 2 of the 6 readalike suggestions for A Certain Justice. Members have full access to all readalikes. If you are a member, please login. To find out more about membership, click here.

Books with similar themes

• Mysteries
  
• Police & Law Enforcement
  
• UK (Britain) & Ireland 
  
• 1980s & '90s