P. D. James

"Four previously uncollected stories by the late Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Award-winning author include two featuring her popular detective hero, Adam Dalgliesh, in his early years."-- Provided by publisher.

The police are trying to stop a psychopathic killer from strangling any more women in remote Larksoken, where Dalgliesh is escaping the hubbub of London.

"The year is 2021, and the human race is - quite literally - coming to an end. Since 1995 no babies have been born, because in that year all males unexpectedly became infertile. Great Britain is ruled by a dictator, and the population is inexorably growing older. Theodore Faron, Oxford historian and, incidentally, cousin of the all-powerful Warden of England, watches in growing despair as society gradually crumbles around him, giving way to strange...

Commander Adam Dalgliesh is drawn into the strange closed world of the London legal community when he is called to investigate the murder of criminal lawyer Venetia Aldridge who was found stabbed to death at her desk shortly after successfully defending Garry Ashe on charges of having killed his aunt.

A subtle and powerful work of contemporary fiction. Combe Island off the Cornish coast has a bloodstained history of piracy and cruelty but now, privately owned, it offers respite to over-stressed men and women in positions of high authority who require privacy and guaranteed security. But the peace of Combe is violated when one of the distinguished visitors is bizarrely murdered. Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his team are called on to solve a sensitive...

Cordelia Gray is hired by Sir Ronald Callender to investigate the suicide of his son, Mark. Her research leads her to believe he was murdered and now she is a prime target for murder. She has encounter with Superintendent Dalgiesh in solving the murders.

In London, the managing director of a stately publishing house is found dead, a stuffed snake in his mouth. The suspects are many: a rejected author, a discarded mistress, a resentful employee, to mention just a few. Commander Adam Dalgliesh sifts through their lives and the company's finances in order to find the killer.

A detective novel about the murder of a forensic scientist at a crime laboratory. Detective Adam Dalgliesh investigates the case and discovers that many people at the lab had reasons to dislike the victim, who was arrogant and abusive. As Dalgliesh uncovers secrets, rivalries, and past crimes among the staff, he realizes the murder was carefully planned. The novel explores how power, ambition, and resentment can lead to violence.

Commander Adam Dalgliesh investigates the murder of a famous actress during a weekend gathering at a remote island castle. As he uncovers long-hidden secrets, Dalgliesh learns that old grudges and guilt from the past have led to the crime.

P. D. James--one of the most widely admired writers of detective fiction at work today--gives us a personal, lively exploration of the human appetite for mystery and mayhem, and of those writers who have satisfied it. She examines the genre from top to bottom, beginning with the mysteries at the hearts of such novels as Charles Dickens's Bleak House, and bringing us into the present with such writers as Colin Dexter and Sara Paretsky. She compares...