P. D. James always delivers -- hers is a prose style that I personally like. She uses our English language at its optimum level.
The plot is ingenious, interlaced with questions that concern us all.
Religion is most unpopular today -- especially when it is requiring. The old liturgies and practices (with which this book deals so well) are condemned by the MTV generation. Beauty is not necessary in the "bare meeting house" services of the Non Conformists. The Arch Deacon comes off as the Arch Devil for this reader.
A great read this opus: for thought, plot, language and everything else. Let's see if we can get any college students to read it -- THOUGHTFULLY.

i love this book i just cant put it down and when im finished i go back and read more of it!!

'Death in Holy Orders' ended my virgin state regarding reading this author. She made me angry for all the right reasons. I was reading her in bed and every time that I resolved to get up and face the day, another twist in the plot delayed my ablutions. I was vocalising my irritation, and my admiration, out loud. Unfortunately, I did not find a great deal more to admire, although the skill of a writer in holding a reader's attention is pretty important. I skipped much of the description whenever I saw that it dd not interfere with following the plot. I found the style in presenting dialogue utterly unconvincing and lifeless. There was hardly so much as a whimsical smile from among so many characters, all of them a pretty glum lot. Allthough I have read in advance who dunnit, I shall follow the rest of the yarn and follow the thread. And I immediately went out and bought another paperback copy of a book by P D James from a local bookseller.
Stanwitz@aol.com

For some reason I had a hard time getting into this book.