A Taste for Death: The classic locked-room murder mystery from the 'Queen of English crime' (Guardian) Paperback – 7 Feb. 2019

The author said that this was her best novel and I agree. It’s a huge book and took me a while to read (which is a good thing, I spend a lot on books). The plot is detailed and satisfying and the characters are well drawn. I loved it.

I have been reading the Adam Dalgliesh books alongside one of my book groups and this is the seventh, published in 1986. I was surprised to realise there was almost a decade between the previous book, “Death of an Expert Witness,” (1977) and this one. She had written a Cordelia Gray novel, but still, it is quite a gap. “A Taste for Death,” is often considered one of her best novels and received awards, as well as being nominated for others. It does come across as literary crime, with a very character driven and detailed storyline.The book begins with an elderly woman, accompanied by a young boy, who discovers the bodies of Sir Paul Berowne, a Minister of the Crown, and a tramp, named Harry Mack, in the vestry of a St Matthews Church. Berowne was an acquaintance of Dalgliesh and, although they had only met a couple of times, it makes the crime a little more personal. Dalgliesh, along with DCI John Massingham and DI Kate Miskin, begin to unravel the reasons why a respected, wealthy man, like Berowne, was found murdered, sleeping in a church.This has a good cast of characters, possible suspects, and motives. I particularly liked Mrs Wharton, who appears at the very beginning of the book, alongside the young, roguish, Darren. I also enjoyed Kate Miskin, and her changing, sometimes difficult, relationship with Massingham. At times, James gets a little bogged down in detail, and description, but, overall, this is a really excellent addition to the series and well as, in places, being truly poignant.

It is a masterpiece of the genre of mystery novel/. Though Ms James was a very conservative person and member of the establisment her books , especially this one cut through the decayed class system of the British society via the study of murder.

This one is a slow starter but revs up very well towards a dramatic conclusion. It is full of perceptive character studies.

Reading this in order with a book group and this is certainly the best of PDJ's work for me to date. While she still hangs the skeleton of her plot on a police murder investigation, the real meat of the book explores the inner souls of her characters, especially with regard to disillusion, spiritual malaise and complicated forms of guilt.There are some irritations: an excessive attention to descriptions of houses, interiors and precisely what can be seen out of every window adds a frequently unnecessary ponderousness to the writing, as does James' insistence that all her characters read only 'literature' (Elizabeth Bowen, Trollope, and Shakespeare are all name-checked, and characters correct each other on obscure quotations from Austen). They also only listen to classical music and recognise a concerto immediately as soon as they hear a chord, and hang original art on their walls which visitors also appreciate at first glance...That cultural snobbishness aside, this has moved on significantly from the first books which looked back nostalgically at the classic Golden Age crime: now the 'great house' is riddled with unease and corruption - and there's no return to any safety or stability by the end

Well written in terms of atmosphere but badly written on another level as it was over-detailed and went off on long tangents. This was disappointing as it could have been a great read of it was 50% shorter.

My 98-year old grandfather has decided that, at his age, he's allowed to find reading somewhat tiring - and so likes to supplement his previously ferocious reading habit with audiobooks. We've tried over the years to teach him to use CDs, but - and even I, at a seemingly sprightly 35 can agree with this - they're an not ideal medium for audiobooks as, unless you press "Pause" and leave the machine whirring indefinitely, you can only jump between chapters and not go back to the place where you stopped listening last time."A Taste for Death" is one of his favourite books, and I've searched high and low for a second hand copy of the unabridged version - sporadically checking Amazon. Then this once popped up in mint condition and at an excellent price. It arrived very promptly, snuggly wrapped, and looking as if had come straight from the manufacturer, untouched by human hands. I'm delighted, as is Grandpa - who is now listening to it, headphones on, while keeping an eye on the ships as they enter and leave the port at Harwich.Great seller, would use again. Thanks. You made an old, old vicar and his grand-daughter very happy.

Excellent as always. She can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned.