The first true post-finals book to be devoured, Murder went down fast. I found myself wishing I’d read the books chronologically, as this, the second in the Adam Dalgliesh series, develops the melancholy, self-interrogative (some would say “human”) side of Dalgliesh which the first book merely hinted at. The story is complex, as usual, and even though I applied myself I wasn’t even near the quarry at the close. James completely threw me; the only consolation was that Dalgliesh, coincidentally, was thrown too. James has an eye for the dark commonalities of human nature, the ugly motives that could rise in almost anyone. Human darkness seemed especially evident in this book, and I put it down with mixed feelings. Depressed? Saddened? But Dalgliesh’s stern dealings with evil and his critical self-awareness imply that we can do likewise.

ok.