Somewhat of a recluse, he is, at the beginning of a series, a widower, who finds himself hesitant to commit again. Like Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, or Lord Wimsey, Adam Dalgliesh is what we called a ‘gentleman detective.’ The child of an Anglican clergyman, he is a member of the gentry who also made a name for himself as a poet. First Detective Chief Inspector, then Commander in the Metropolitan Police Service at New Scotland Yard in London, Adam Dalgliesh is an intelligent man described as being “ tall, dark and handsome” by some women. Who is Adam Dalgliesh?ĭetective Adam Dalgliesh is the main character of the mystery series written by English crime and bestselling author P. Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases from Amazon. Jamesâ€™s choices for “most riveting crime novels.” I do hope she’s working on the next novel. Happily, some of them– Inspector Kate Miskin, Sergeant Francis Benton-Smith, Emma, and Adam Dalgliesh himself- are likely to reappear in P.D. James’s characterizations, I’d like to know what happens to several of her characters after the story is over. In fact, as a good measure of the success of Ms. It’s a satisfying mystery with lots of well-developed and intriguing characters. James moves them to the brink of matrimonial commitment.Īll in all, The Lighthouse is about the setting, the victim, the suspects, and the detectives. Like Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, they need to get over all these doubts and second thoughts and get on with it. I love the Adam Dalgliesh mysteries, but I do wish that Inspector Dalgliesh and his love interest, Emma, would go ahead and tie the knot, for goodness sakes. Adam Dalgliesh, James’s Scotland Yard detective, is still struggling with his own inner demons and in The Lighthouse he encounters serious danger to his own person as he investigates murder on an isolated island far from the usual conveniences of the Yard and its myriad of technological and human assistants.

The suspects are psychologically interesting and individualistic. The murderer is the last person you’d expect to be it. The victim is a nasty old author who’s losing his touch.

James if you like her other novels, you’ll enjoy this one.

The lighthouse book pd james