Murder Will Out

P.D. James
author of fourteen
Adam Dagliesh mysteries

The Murder Room took its time getting to the solution of the crime or I should say crimes. But then getting to the denouement
with author P.D. James is a nice way to spend a couple of evenings. 

Ms. James likes to give detailed backstories to her characters and she does a bit of social philosophizing now and again. Well, all that takes time. 

Briefly, this murder mystery concerns the death by fire of psychiatrist Dr. Neville Dupayne. He and his brother and sister are the owners of a London museum dedicated to the decades between WWI and WWII. The museum was founded by their father and left in trust to them upon his (natural) death. Now, the lease is up on the building which houses memorabilia, paintings, and books from that period. There is also The Murder Room where weapons and photos and newspaper clippings of famous murders during that time are displayed. Dr. Dupayne doesn't want to renew the lease but his siblings do and it takes all three to agree in order for the museum to continue to remain open.

Enter murder, another murder, and then a third. Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his crew plod along interviewing suspects, discussing the case, and following false leads. It appears that the killer has been inspired by the real-life crimes from the museum's Murder Room. 

To complicate things even more, AD (as he is referred to by his team) is a bit distracted during the investigation of the case by his feelings for Emma, a professor at Cambridge. Emma is someone he met in Death in Holy Orders.

The police and even a few of the suspects figured out who the murderer was way before I did. Murder will out and, apparently for AD, so will love.

The Murder Room by P.D. James

I have tried three mysteries from the library - new authors all - and have returned them unread. Well, maybe I read three to five pages of each. Too many words, too many uninteresting words, too many words taking too long to get to the point. I was bored before I had barely begun.

The premise of one that I downloaded to my Nook had promise. It was about a librarian in a small Midwestern town. But her policeman boyfriend kept calling her "Babe" which irritated me (I don't think he ever called her by her actual name). To make matters worse, this librarian was "traditionally built" as Mma Ramatswe would say, so every time he called out "Yes, Babe" I pictured Babe the Pig.

In circumstances such as this, it is best to turn to the professionals. I turned to P.D. James. I have been remiss in recent years in keeping up with her Scotland Yard Inspector Adam Dalgliesh so was excited to see that his 12th adventure, The Murder Room, was available as an e-book from the library.

The book has to do with a private museum in London dedicated to the time between the wars. The three children and trustees of the museum's founder are at odds with one another over signing the lease which would extend the life of the museum. (Imagine siblings not agreeing.) One wants to close the place and the other two are determined to keep it open. I suspect the dissenting voter will soon become the victim.

The museum has a tidy collection of first editions and art from the 1920s and '30s. And, one of the rooms of the museum just happens to be dedicated to murderers and their victims from that time in history.  

I haven't seen a body yet, so I don't know any more than that, but with Ms. James I know the puzzle is in capable hands.