P.D. James fittingly wears the crown as "queen of the mystery writers"! And in "Death of an Expert Witness" the title is clearly shown and deserved. Again, James brings in Chief Inspector Adam Dalgleish of Scotland Yard, and once again, this venerable, brilliant, and honorable investigator is in good form. James usually presents a model in human behavior--she's good at this--and gives Dalgleish the full run to work out the inconsistencies, the red herrings, and finally the truth of the case. Dr. Lorrimer is a cold, efficient, dislikeable scientist; now he is a cold, efficient, and dislikeable corpse. Dalgleish must find out why he was killed--and it is more than merely because he was disliked. What did he know that panicked his murderer? After all, he was cold, efficient, dislikeable, and very knowledgeable, "an expert witness," as it were. Bring along a dictionary, as James' vocabulary is challenging--but not distracting--and her works are refreshingly intelligent and worth the effort it may take!(
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