Books in Adam Dalgliesh Mystery series

When distinguished criminal lawyer Venetia Aldridge defends a young man for the brutal murder of his mother, she views the case as simply another opportunity to demonstrate her brilliance in the courtroom. But within weeks of the trial Aldridge is found dead at her desk, a bloodstained barrister’s wig on her head. And as Commander Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard attempts to make sense of events, the murders continue, inexorably spiraling into fresh complexities of horror.“Shocking . . . fascinating . . . A Certain Justice sucks the reader in right from the dramatic first line.”–Los Angeles Times“This is a P. D. James case to shiver through and revel in–dark page by dark page.”–Atlanta Journal-Constitution“Enthralling . . . [P. D. James’s] stories always captivate.”–Associated Press“Taut, suspenseful, and deeply penetrating.”–Baltimore Sun“Gripping.”–The Wall Street Journal“A compelling tale of pride, deceit, and revenge.”–St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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. 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 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 on of P.D. James's most important, accomplished and entertaining works.