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This is James' eighteenth book, and is one of Adam Dalgliesh
series.
On the eve of a special weekend with his new love, Emma Lavenham,
Dalgliesh is summoned to handle an especially delicate case at short
notice. He and his team, D.I. Kate Miskin and Sargeant Benton-Smith, are
to fly by helicopter to remote Combe Island to investigate the suspicious
death of a prominent author, and report back immediately. The island is
needed for a secret conference and it must be shown to be secure.
The dead man, aging novelist Nathan Oliver, had been found hanging from
the rails of the lighthouse. The few residents and guests on the island
all had reason to dislike him, but no real obvious motives for murder (the
bruising on his neck does prove it to be murder).
The manager, the accountant/priest, the housekeeper, the cook, the boat
captain, the handyman, the maid, the last descendant of the family who
owned the island and her valet, the teenage maid, the two guests, and the
novelist's middle-aged daughter and his personal copy editor...who could
have hated him so much?
Another tragic death happens before the mystery can be solved; and a
SARS outbreak takes out Dalgliesh, quarantines the island, and leaves
Miskin and Benton-Smith on their own and in charge.
This book is another success for James--a wonderful location and her
usually superbly drawn and realistically motivated characters make it a
must-read this winter.
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