-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
Summary | Excerpt | Reviews | Beyond the book | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
Book Reviewed by:From the book jacket: Combe Island off the Cornish coast has a bloodstained
history of piracy and cruelty but now, privately owned, it offers respite to
over-stressed men and women in positions of high authority who require privacy
and guaranteed security. But the peace of Combe is violated when one of the
distinguished visitors is bizarrely murdered. Commander Adam Dalgliesh is called
in to solve the mystery quickly and discreetly, but at a difficult time for him
and his depleted team. Dalgliesh is uncertain about his future with Emma
Lavenham, the woman he loves; Detective Inspector Kate Miskin has her own
emotional problems; and the ambitious Sergeant Francis Benton-Smith is worried
about working under Kate. Hardly has the team begun to unravel the complicated
motives of the suspects than there is a second brutal killing, and the whole
investigation is jeopardized when Dalgliesh is faced with a danger more
insidious and as potentially fatal as murder.
Comment: Another stellar novel from P.D. James (85 years old when
The Lighthouse was published in hardcover last year). Like all of
her novels, The Lighthouse offers a solidly, well written story that
sticks closely to her proven formula but rises above the crowd on the subtleties
of motive and emotions that her characters display. A few reviewers imply
that The Lighthouse is a little below her usual standard. Having
said that, everything is relative - James's mediocre is still so far above the
best that others turn out that it is one you won't want to miss, especially if
you're a past fan of her Adam Dalgleish series; and especially as some reviewers
speculate that this, the thirteenth in the series, will be the last that she
will write. As Booklist so aptly puts it in its starred review,
"Each new Dalgleish novel should be treated as a gift by mystery fans
everywhere."
This review
first ran in the November 12, 2006
issue of BookBrowse Recommends.
If you liked The Lighthouse, try these:
by Margot L. Stedman
Published 2013
A captivating, beautiful, and stunningly accomplished debut novel that opens in 1918 Australia - the story of a lighthouse keeper and his wife who make one devastating choice that forever changes two worlds.
by Elly Griffiths
Published 2010
When she's not digging up bones or other ancient objects, quirky, tart-tongued archaeologist Ruth Galloway lives happily alone in Norfolk. But when a child's bones are found on a desolate beach nearby, and Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson calls Galloway for help, Ruth finds herself in completely new territory - and in serious danger.
by Charles Todd
Published 2008
The nineth Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery, set in Post-World War I England. Rutledge is called on to prove the innocence of a man he dislikes and distrusts. But the deadly triangle also stirs up memories of the woman he himself loved and lost when he went to France to fight.
L.A. Women by Ella Berman
Two ambitious writers in 1960s LA face betrayal when one writes a novel based on the other's life.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
