- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Faber and Faber; First edition (1 Oct 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0571191649
- ISBN-13: 978-0571191642
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.8 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 124,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
A Certain Justice
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Writing at the peak of her form (which is very high indeed), P. D. James has produced her best book since Innocent Blood. The ideas, energy, and artistry on display in A Certain Justice could keep other, younger writers going for most of their careers; the seventysomething James tosses them off with apparent ease. It's billed as: "An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery," but in A Certain Justice the brooding poet detective takes a backseat to the murder victim--a wonderfully complex and basically unlikeable female lawyer named Venetia Aldridge--and to the equally fascinating Kate Miskin, Dalgliesh's able assistant. Thinking of another young police officer, Kate "suspected that he found something risible, even slightly ridiculous, in the traditions, the conventions, the hierarchy of policing. She sensed, too, that this was a view which AD [Adam Dalgliesh] with part of his mind understood, even if he didn't share it. But she couldn't live her life like that, couldn't be lighthearted about her career..." A Certain Justice would be the perfect mystery to ignite the enthusiasm of people who haven't read any P.D. James. Other examples of her high art available in paperback include The Black Tower, Death of an Expert Witness, A Shroud for a Nightingale, and An Unsuitable Job for a Woman. --Amazon.com
Book Description
Stunning paperback repackages celebrating the world's pre-eminent crime writer and over forty years of detective fiction.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
39 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Venetia Aldridge is a top notch criminal lawyer. She hardly ever looses a case and is able to find the holes in any argument. Her personal life isn't so rosy, however. She is basically estranged from her daughter and considered a problem by her co-workers. Her life really begins to unravel when her daughter announces her engagement - to a man Venetia has recently gotten off for murder. But when Venetia is found dead in her office two days later, it's up to Adam Dalgliesh and his team to figure out who killed her. And with all these motives and suspects, it won't be easy.
I'd heard much about P.D. James, but this was the first time I'd actually read one of her books. I found the writing style engaging and would have a hard time putting it down once I started. On the other hand, I'd have a hard time picking it up again. The beginning especially seems to give us too much background on our characters, stuff we don't need to learn until later if at all. This really slowed the story down for me.
The more I got into it, the better I enjoyed it, however. There were some nice twists along the way with an intriguing sub-plot. The last couple of chapters did seem a little anti-climatic considering what had gone before, but I was surprised by who the killer turned out to be. Using multiple view points greatly added to the story most of the time, although it did confuse me some as far as timeline goes.
I can understand why P.D. James has such a fine reputation. She can paint a picture with words like few other writers currently writing. While she may be a tad too slow for my normal taste, I'm certainly glad to see what all the talk is about. Her reputation is well earned.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
P.D. James purists may argue that "Devices and Desires" is her best work to date, but "A Certain Justice" is certainly a close second! Granted, while James seems to devote less time to her leading man, Adam Dalgliesh, she nevertheless succeeds in making a more complete story--concentrating more on other characters and events (almost as if she's saying "you already know enough about Adam"!). Still, Commander Dalgliesh is in command and it is through his brilliance that the case is solved (or in this case, "cases"!).
Basically, Venetia Aldridge, a brilliant, up-and-coming criminal lawyer is found murdered (there can be no other explanation). As Scotland Yard becomes more involved (after all, it is a murder investigation and the victim is quite prominent in London legal circles), facts begin to emerge that picture a not-so-ordinary past. Venetia is no angel (not yet, anyway!)--there are suspects a-plenty and the motives run rampant, from her cleaning lady to colleagues in and out of court and to her own family members. She has a past that certainly has cut some crucial corners. She is also a woman with an attitude--an attitude that seemed not to care about making enemies. she is also the mother of a teenaged daughter, and their relationship, too, has been a bit tumultuous--dicey at best.
Venetia is found stabbed to death at her desk, and a barrister's wig placed, askew, on her head. Her body is soaked in blood. A convenient suspect is hurriedly identified (a sociopath whom she'd successfully defended in a murder trial a few years back!) but, alas, he comes up with an alibi and Dalgliesh must look to others, especially some of her jealous colleagues, for his culprit. James' plot is, indeed, convoluted and for the casual reader may be hard to follow. After all, she hasn't been labeled "queen of crime" for nothing. Trying to follow the plot is more like trying to find the path in a maze, but that is also probably one of the main attractions for a James novel: it's not simple. At the same time, she painstakingly develops her characters, who, simply, are more than one dimensional. While Venetia, on the surface, reflects an organized, planned concept of justice and law and order, James shows us another side--one of justice running amok, of cruelty in the name of the law, and of fair play being something that seems not to exist. And this road to certain justice is one in a state of disrepair, confusion, and blind leads. It is not without its rewards, however, and by the chilling final-chapters' climax, it is, once again, a jury victory for James!.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
NOTE THIS REVIEW IS OF THE AUDIO BOOK ONLY.
Amazon link both book and audio reviews together which has caused problems for me in the past so dear reader bear with me.
Slow slow slow is the order of the day here with 11 long chapters full of detail before the murder is committed. We then have to wait another one before our hero Inspector Dalgleish is brought in... Now imagine if that were a Sherlock Holmes story we'd all feel short changed wouldn't we? So this is not your typical whodunit murder mystery is it?
True the details do build up to a very satisfying story but you have been warned that if you are expecting a quick murder in the first few frames you will be disappointed.
Then the story is in the solving isn't it? PD James knows her stuff that much is cerain.
The good news is we don't really feel so sorry for the murder victim do we?
She deserved it so maybe there is a lot of method to P.D. James style and no doubt that is where her readers and listeners will really get satisfaction make no mistake this is a top notch author at her very best!
Now to the reading which is what an audio book review should be about.
Michael Jayston does a really good job and I can recommend you try to dig out some of his other work to reconfirm this. I agree with my co reviewers when they say he is well paced and unlike a lot of readers he avoids that favourite pastime of other readers of using accents not to enhance the book but their ego. Jayston keeps this to a bare minimum and the story rolls along.
At 12 CDs and 15 hours and 35 minutes and in stereo to boot this is not a quickie but a real well read retelling of the story.
Now a suggestion.
It is best listened to at home sat down with a cup of whatever rather than how I listened to it in the car. I found a few times I had to go back to the track because of distractions whilst driving. It does demand a good attention to get the real beauty of the story. So I would advise you listen at home where you can really concentrate fully on the story.
Recommended?
Yes I really enjoyed it.
Amazon link both book and audio reviews together which has caused problems for me in the past so dear reader bear with me.
Slow slow slow is the order of the day here with 11 long chapters full of detail before the murder is committed. We then have to wait another one before our hero Inspector Dalgleish is brought in... Now imagine if that were a Sherlock Holmes story we'd all feel short changed wouldn't we? So this is not your typical whodunit murder mystery is it?
True the details do build up to a very satisfying story but you have been warned that if you are expecting a quick murder in the first few frames you will be disappointed.
Then the story is in the solving isn't it? PD James knows her stuff that much is cerain.
The good news is we don't really feel so sorry for the murder victim do we?
She deserved it so maybe there is a lot of method to P.D. James style and no doubt that is where her readers and listeners will really get satisfaction make no mistake this is a top notch author at her very best!
Now to the reading which is what an audio book review should be about.
Michael Jayston does a really good job and I can recommend you try to dig out some of his other work to reconfirm this. I agree with my co reviewers when they say he is well paced and unlike a lot of readers he avoids that favourite pastime of other readers of using accents not to enhance the book but their ego. Jayston keeps this to a bare minimum and the story rolls along.
At 12 CDs and 15 hours and 35 minutes and in stereo to boot this is not a quickie but a real well read retelling of the story.
Now a suggestion.
It is best listened to at home sat down with a cup of whatever rather than how I listened to it in the car. I found a few times I had to go back to the track because of distractions whilst driving. It does demand a good attention to get the real beauty of the story. So I would advise you listen at home where you can really concentrate fully on the story.
Recommended?
Yes I really enjoyed it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Middle Temple murder
This is a review of the audiobook.
Over fifteen hours, an unabridged and exemplary reading by Michael Jayston offers the best possible presentation of a classic Adam... Read more
Over fifteen hours, an unabridged and exemplary reading by Michael Jayston offers the best possible presentation of a classic Adam... Read more
Published 7 days ago by Lulu
A good read
Enjoyed this book and would reccommend it to others. I read it on my Kindle and found it very interesting
Published 27 days ago by G. M. Donald
A Certain Jusice PD James
This was as usual a brilliant read from PD James, I was given a Kindle for Christmas and it is a delight to get books of this quality virtually instantly.
Published 1 month ago by Sheila Lawrence
Slow!
I've watched PD James dramas on TV but never read any of this author's books previously. I must say I found the book very slow to get going and by the time I'd read a few chapters... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Welshlady
Slow burning
As with most of PD James' Adam Dalgliesh stories, this is an intelligent and slow burning murder mystery. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Constant Reader
P.D. James..A Certain Justice
What can I say about PD James who, in my opinion, is one of the best in the crime thriller genre. I have read and kept all her books and some I have read twice. Read more
Published 3 months ago by R. English
Vintage PD James read expertly by Michael Jayston
Abridgements can be useful where books contain excessive padding so the author can achieve the required wordcount. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. D. J. Carr
A good read
I had only read one other PDJame book before and that was 20 years ago, and to this day I remember the feeling when unfinished it of being sad, as I loved the characters in the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Moody cow
A Certain Excellence in an Audio book
Been a long time since I've listened to an audio book, the last time was with my children and it was a children's tale
I enjoyed the experience, just to lie back and listen to... Read more
I enjoyed the experience, just to lie back and listen to... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Alexander
Engaging, intelligent - but a bit unbalanced
This is classic P.D.James: an intelligent page-turner of a crime novel but with far deeper characterisation and better writing than this genre often provides. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Roman Clodia
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