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| Plot Summary of Death In Holy Orders |
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Knopf, May 2001, 25.00, 415 pp.
ISBN: 0375412557
The coroner's jury concluded that St. Anselm's Theological College student Ronald Treeves died accidentally. However, his adoptive father has doubts about his son's death. He uses his political influence as a major businessman with government ties to persuade senior officials of New Scotland Yard to investigate what really happened to Ronald. His superior Harkness sends Commander Adam Dalgeish to the school located in East Anglia.
Though he expects to find it wasnothing but an accident, Adam enjoys the idea of visiting St. Anselm's, a place he once attended. However, Adam quickly revises his idea of a working vacation when someone beats to death an unpopular Archdeacon. Now Adam believes that Treeves is right when he insists his son was murdered and the law enforcement official knows he has his work cut out to catch a clever but vicious killer.
As expected in a P.D. James' who-done-it, everyone has a motive, a means, and an opportunity though in DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS some of the suspect's motives seem a bit stretched. Faced with a plethora of potential culprits, Dalgeish shows why his investigations are fun to observe. The story line is well written and the villain is a good opponent for Dalgeish. The Grand Dame of the British police procedural, Ms. James continues to provide her fans with a fresh mystery that will send new readers seeking previous Dalgeish novels (see A CERTAIN JUSTICE).
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"The body of a student from a nearby theological college is found on a remote coast in Britain. Although the local authorities rule the death an accident, the boy's father, a wealthy and powerful man, is not satisfied. Going straight to the top, he persuades Scotland Yard to get involved. Commander Adam Dalgliesh, who is set to go on a vacation in the area, offers to investigate the death further.
That same weekend, aside from dealing with the horror of the death of this student, the priests at the college are also expecting a visit by the Archdeacon who they fear will press for the imminent closure of their beloved school.
There are complications. The benefactress who set up the college left very valuable pieces of art which she willed would remain at the college as long as it remained open. But if the college were ever closed down, she intended that the ownership of the art would pass to the priests who were on staff at that time. The priests are faced with a fight with the Archdeacon both over the closure and over his desire to transfer the art out of the school for the benefit of the church as a whole.
There are more complications. The day before Dalgliesh arrives there is another death at the college. This death is probably of natural causes. Then on the evening of his arrival, another death takes place.
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Mildred Diamant, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Death In Holy Orders |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Challenging
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 70%
Murder of certain profession?
- students/teachers
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- "All in the family" murder
- Big focus on forensic evidence
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, British
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Religious overtones?
Yes
Any non-mystery subplot?
- religion
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- scholar
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
- jealousy
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 3-4
Unusual forms of death
- blunt clubbing (like seals)
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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