The Murder Room--the 12th Dalgliesh --my first

The Murder Room by P.D. James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although this is the 12th book in the series it is the first I have read. I've seen movies and TV programs based on earlier books and enjoyed them. If all of the books are as detailed in setting, character and methodology description, then the directors etc of these dramatizations had little to do but to cast the production. Unfortunately, because I've seen the actors chosen for the main characters in these theatrical productions, they are who I see in my imagination as I read and wish that I were able to create my own images.
Fortunately, the characters specific to this novel look like my interpretation of James' words. They are the people who wander the halls of the Dupayne Museum, its Murder Room and campus and the surrounding area of Hampstead Heath and neighborhoods of London. The book is divided into four sections called books. Book one is called The People and The Place and it is here that James lays out exactly that in great detail. She goes on the add Book Two--The First Victim--in which one of the Dupaynes is incinerated in his Jag. The investigation into this death leads to Book Three--The Second Victim--the seemingly unrelated strangulation of a young woman in the museum and the attempt to investigate this death and whether there is a connection between the two and finally Book Four--The Third Victim--in which the mysteries are solved.
Although, according to the author, Dagliesh knows who the perpetrator is and suspects that his team members have also solved the case, they do not share this common knowledge with each other or the reader. Dagliesh does not consider it good police work to reveal and arrest a suspect as guilty until the evidence is irrefutable. Of course, this is a bit demoralizing to the reader who DOESN'T HAVE A CLUE who done it! I must admit, that while it all made sense--it seemed a bit far-fetched and contrived, but James is pretty good at tying up all the loose ends and throwing in a lot of possibilities along the way. While I liked the puzzle of it all, I was a little let down by the solution.

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