I did wonder, though, if there would be a next novel. P D James is 82 now and this is her sixteenth novel. Not all of them have featured Adam Dalgliesh, but he has appeared in the majority. I found the early books in the series such as "Cover her Face" and "Shroud for a Nightingale" to be eminently readable. For me her best novel was perhaps "Devices and Desires", which was complex and intriguing. The plot in "The Murder Room" is far less involved and there were occasions when I felt that the narrative was being padded out - for instance when a painting of no significance to the plot is described in minute detail. The author has an obvious love of elegant buildings and the finer points of art, but I felt she was self-indulgent. There was a time when I would have compared the concise writing of Ruth Rendell in her Wexford novels to that of P D James, but not any longer. In a true crime story, I expect the author to provide evidence. Capuzzo gives the reader dialogue I doubt happened (how many people these day use the word 'whilst?'), ascribes emotions to people, and frames it in language more suited to Victorian romance than non-fiction (baleful glares and flashing eyes). My b*llsh*t detector was pegging the needle. With writing like this, I find Capuzzo's evidence unconvincing. The stage is set, and the three heirs of the Depayne family are due to sign a new lease on the museum their father began. According to the terms of his will, his two sons and his daughter must all agree to sign or the museum will be forced to close its doors. Two of the heirs are closely involved with the work of the museum and are passionate about keeping it open. The third is adamant about its being closed. The people who work inside the museum and on the grounds outside also have their thoughts and feelings. One of the siblings has just been made the new museum director by the trustees, and he wants to cut the staff. In a few days the decision about that must be made. You may well imagine that something's got to give. I actually prefer Martin Shaw rather than Roy Marsden as Adam Dalgliesh. Martin Shaw's portrayal is arguably less faithful to the character as P D James writes it, but portrays him as a more human, likable character. I always found Roy Marsden's portrayal (and his description in P D James's books) to be stern, humourless, aloof, distant and with no likable qualities or little human failings that I could identify with. With impressive access and a powerful narrative presence, Michael Capuzzo delivers an intimate portrait of the greatest crime fighters of our time. The Murder Room is as addictive as the most inventive of thriller novels, but let us not forget that these are true stories; the monsters in this book are real, and so are the dedicated men who hunt them.

In this case, Adam Dalgliesh faces a challenging puzzle. How did an upper-crust minister and neighbourhood tramp end up together, throats slit, in the quiet Little Vestry of St. Matthew's Church?Loyal readers of the series will be astonished to read this quote. It does not mention the name of the building! That must surely be a first. But don’t worry. It gets mentioned several times in the rest of the book. On the good side, Capuzzo excels at creating character portraits. I saw a photo of Fleisher, Bender, and Walter after I had read most of the book, and they each looked almost exactly as I had imagined them based on the way he described them. The dialogue is engaging; each is an interesting figure. In some chapters, the breathless prose still succeeds at creating a suspenseful atmosphere, and some moments in the book are genuinely chilling (for me, none more so than the description of a suspected killer's drawing of a murder, but a lot of the information about the Boy in the Box case was also unsettling). A perfectly cozy read for a cold, foggy night when you feel like curling up with a cup of tea.” — Entertainment Weekly

But the setting of The Murder Room also has a deeper significance: the Duprayne is displaying something of James herself. Her invented museum contains only exhibits from the years between the two world wars: 1919-1939. This is the period which TS Eliot - whose comment on the intertwining of time present and time past provides the epigraph - describes in Four Quartets as "twenty years largely wasted, the years of l'entre deux guerres ". The closure meansSilk, publisher for the list, will leaveat the end of thismonth followinga decade in editorial roles at Orion. That's due in no part to the strong characterisation of lead policeman Commander Adam Dalgliesh, the impeccably polite and restrained policeman-poet. It's easy to imagine him working alongside Miss Marple. His stiff formality could make him a bit of a cold fish but in this volume, we see a somewhat unexpected romantic side to him which is rather endearing.This excellent thriller is brilliantly plotted with the suspense ramping up rapidly towards the chilling climax. I for one was totally unprepared for the massive twist that Billingham throws at us. It was stunning and cleverly done. The prologue and epilogue neatly bookending the novel are also superb and guaranteed to generate a gleeful laugh from the reader as poetic justice is dealt. Highly recommended for all fans of the authors and those discovering him for the first time. 4.5★ Okay, Mr. Capuzzo, how do you know about the lingering aromas? Is the ventilation in the room that poor? As for the waiters 'shouldering cups of .. blancmange,' how large were these cups? Is it possible they were shouldering trays containing the cups? Is the image in the middle of the room a Star Wars 3D image, or did they project it on a screen? If it was in the middle of the room, how did the people on the other side see it? The additional interesting aspect to the book, is a biographical profile of the three men behind the Vidoque Society. Each of them, in addition to being brilliant investigators, also have abuse and drama in their formative years, but it allowed them to grow into men who were passionately, obssessively determined to obtain justice for murder victims who had never received it. Each of them are very odd individuals, with some serious quirks, but they are each likeable in their own unique way and I enjoyed learning about each of them, and tagging along in their lives, as much - maybe even a bit more - as I was intrigued following the murders they solved. Summary: The book's far from being one of her best novels but the plot is reasonably well done and the ending is satisfyingly surprising. The characters seem confused as to which era they're living in. It's one to borrow from the library rather than buy. However, there are some really obvious issues of factual accuracy and consistency. Leisha Hamilton becomes "tall" (in the chapter where Walter visits her at work to confront her) after Capuzzo has described her several times as "petite and charming." At another point, Capuzzo describes an ancient Greek tragedy focusing on events around the Trojan War as having been written or taking place "seven centuries ago"; the Trojan War took place circa 1250 BCE and the play in question was first performed around 458 BCE. Richard Walter is described as visiting "from Pennsylvania" when the narrative strand that focuses on him has not yet covered his move to that area, and the reader should still be assuming that he's coming from Michigan. And when he's introduced, Walter is described in a way that makes him sound like he's British, so it's jarring to learn a few chapters later that he's actually originally from Washington State.

Dalgliesh's companion tells him that the structure was built by a prosperous Victorian factory owner in 1894 who copied a structure that had been built in 1636 by an eccentric architect named Indigo Jones. Dalgliesh thought it was somewhat intimidating, but his companion was eager to get inside. As always, P D James has written a very good and intriguing story. The adaptation is faithful to the book: nothing much is added or taken out. However maybe the explanation of the murderer's motives was glossed over a little. An undercurrent in PD James Adam Dalgleish novels is that most people are lonely, living their life in neat, compartmentalised boxes & only occasionally coming out to interact with their fellow man. In this final case, Dalgliesh's investigations take him to Cherwell Manor in Dorset, where an investigative journalist named Rhoda Gradwyn has been murdered. Before he can wrap up the case, a second murder adds to the complexities and urgency of the case.Another elegant tale of murder, mystery, human misery and the wonder of love. James explores the lowest of depravity . . . with the most elegant prose.” — USA Today Writing isn’t brain surgery, but it’s rare when someone adept at the latter is also so accomplished at the former. Searching for meaning and purpose in his life, Kalanithi pursued a doctorate in literature and had felt certain that he wouldn’t enter the field of medicine, in which his father and other members of his family excelled. “But I couldn’t let go of the question,” he writes, after realizing that his goals “didn’t quite fit in an English department.” “Where did biology, morality, literature and philosophy intersect?” So he decided to set aside his doctoral dissertation and belatedly prepare for medical school, which “would allow me a chance to find answers that are not in books, to find a different sort of sublime, to forge relationships with the suffering, and to keep following the question of what makes human life meaningful, even in the face of death and decay.” The author’s empathy undoubtedly made him an exceptional doctor, and the precision of his prose—as well as the moral purpose underscoring it—suggests that he could have written a good book on any subject he chose. Part of what makes this book so essential is the fact that it was written under a death sentence following the diagnosis that upended his life, just as he was preparing to end his residency and attract offers at the top of his profession. Kalanithi learned he might have 10 years to live or perhaps five. Should he return to neurosurgery (he could and did), or should he write (he also did)? Should he and his wife have a baby? They did, eight months before he died, which was less than two years after the original diagnosis. “The fact of death is unsettling,” he understates. “Yet there is no other way to live.”

I struggled to finish this book. It wasn't just that it was not to my taste (and I read a lot of crime novels). I can’t say much more because of spoilers, but Thorne will meet his nemesis, which will drag up the past for him and his colleagues and put a number of people’s lives in danger. What (David Simon's) Homicide was to that era, The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo is to modern murder solving. It's an exhilarating read with complex characters, devastating cases and breathtaking breaks and turns.Don't be surprised if it also becomes the basis of a TV show or film. Nu i-am considerat niciodata curajosi pe criminali, Ryan. Sunt mai degraba lasi. Cateodata, ai nevoie de mai mult curaj ca sa nu ucizi."

Media Reviews

Although it is a good story it left me cold. I was glued to every word at time and in other times I couldn’t wait to move on. Most reviewers have giving this story high praise I may be the exception with my feelings I am definitely less than enthusiastic than most... Superb and tantalizing...heartbreaking cold cases that have been investigated by the forensic dream team that is the legendary Vidocq Society. The once forgotten crimes are horrendous, each bigger-than-life detective more outrageous than the next, and the circuitous paths they take to find long-delayed justice are impossible to forget. As he sets off hunting the woman responsible for a series of grisly murders, Thorne has no way of knowing that he will be plunged into a nightmare from which he may never wake. A nightmare that has a name. Thorne’s past threatens to catch up with him and a ruinous secret is about to be revealed. If he wants to save himself and his friends, he will have to do the unthinkable.