Certain Justice - Softcover

Book 10 of 14: Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries

James, P D

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9780965084253: Certain Justice

Synopsis

A brilliant barrister's defense of a charming sociopath goes horribly wrong when the sociopath engages himself to her daughter, and the barrister herself is found dead in her chambers -- a tight little world peopled with mincing suspects whom it's Commander Adam Dalgliesh's job to unmask.—Tom Leitch

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Review

Although A Certain Justice begins with news of a murder, the victim isn't set to die for another four weeks. Publicly respected but privately loathed, Venetia Aldridge has far more enemies than a brilliant London criminal lawyer should--and at least one of them is determined to do her in. Venetia plies her superior trade in courts that harbor "the illusion that the passions of men were susceptible to order and control," but her past and private life are exceedingly unruly. Her married lover is intent on giving her up; her daughter loathes her; her fellow barristers are determined that she not become the next head of chambers. Even the cleaning women seems to have something on her.

The outline alone of this complex novel would take pages (as would the eclectic inventory of players), but P. D. James makes us admire far more than her brilliantly developed plot. James in fact creates a crowded gallery of surprisingly decent suspects, along with one suitably vile creature--who happens to be Aldridge's last client.

A superior murder mystery, A Certain Justice is also a gripping anatomy of wild justice. James's characters can be overcome by hate, but she is equally concerned with love's manifestations--human, divine, destructive, and healing.

From the Publisher

"A first-class novelist . . .with a literary flair and an eye as perceptive as her heart." - New York Times Book Review

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