As many of you know I am at home for a few weeks with a long list of chores to be done, domestic jobs to catch up on and a feeling of virtue knowing that soon my flat will be tidy, my cupboards spotless, all ironing done and Christmas cards written (well I know the last one on the list ain't gonna happen any time soon but I throw it in for verisimilitude)...
So what did I do yesterday afternoon? I sat down and read solidly for three hours and the book which had me gripped was the latest PD James, Adam Dalgleish story, The Private Patient. I like PD James' style of writing, no fuss, no histrionics and as I had a sneaky feeling I had said this in an earlier post and did not want to repeat myself, I pulled it up and sure enough, I had made these same comments. Therefore, please read this Random post here so that I will not bore you all again.
Rhoda Gradwyn is an investigative journalist, who has booked into a private clinic for the removal of a disfiguring scar on her face, inflicted upon her by a drunken father during her unhappy childhood. She has kept this scar as a badge of her determination not to let life defeat her, but now feels it is time to rid herself of this unsightly mark and to face up to her past. She is looking forward to a successful operation and a 
convalescence at the beautiful manor house in Dorset which is the clinic's headquarters.
Her operation takes place, all is well and she settles down to sleep in her bedroom. In the middle of the night she awakes, she knows somebody is in the room and looking up she sees a dark masked figure coming towards her....
Dalgliesh and his team are called in and there follows the usual complex, beautifully plotted narrative which leads us to a denouement which is not quite the end of the story, as there is an added twist in the final chapter which is not totally cleared up, leaving the reader to wonder.
When I reviewed A Certain Justice in the post linked above, I quoted a paragraph containing a description of London which, for me anyhow, showed just how much PD James loves this city. This is demonstrated once more in a paragraph very near the beginning of the story when Rhoda comes home one evening:
"Eight years ago she had taken a lease on a house in the City, part of a narrow terrace in a small courtyard at the end of Absolution Alley near Cheapside, and knew as soon as she moved in that this was the part of London in which she would always choose to live........many generations had lived in it, born and died there leaving behind nothing but their names on browning and archaic leases.........although the lower rooms with their mullioned windows were dark, those in her study and sitting room on the top storey were open to the sky, giving a view of the towers and steeples of the City....an iron staircase led from a narrow balcony to secluded roof which held a row of terracotta pots and where on fine Sunday mornings she would sit with her books or newspapers as the Sabbath calm lengthened into midday and the early peace was broken only by the familiar peals of the City bells"
I find this quite lovely and could empathise with Rhoda revelling in her quiet Sunday mornings. I found myself liking her, probably because I too find it essential to find time to myself and to be on my own. We are given the background to Rhoda's life and how she was scarred; her friends, not many, she was essentially solitary person, her desire to finally come to terms with her disfigurement. Not necessarily an immediately lovable character but PD James tells us enough about her that we feel sadness that her life came to a sudden end and, what is worse, knowing in her last few minutes, that this was it, this was death coming towards her....
Impossible for me to convey just how much I enjoyed this book, just how much I admire PD James' writing, just how damned GOOD she is at creating a cast of characters that are all intriguing and interesting, and make it impossible to put this book down until it is finished. There is a sense of deep satisfaction when the last page is reached, as well as disappointment, but the wonderful thing about her books, all of which I keep, is that they can be revisited and re-read some time later, with huge enjoyment and satisfaction all over again. This surely is a mark of a great writer, and great is a word I do not hesitate to use in this context.
I visited my mother today and mentioned that I had the new PD James and her eyes lit up and I will be taking it over to her this weekend. My mum has always loved detective fiction and in the last few years has read all of the Dalgleish books, Susan Hill's Serrailer stories, the Donna Leon series and was also delighted when I gave her my copy of The Franchise Affair which, like me, she read years ago and cannot wait to look at again.
Last year when I loaned her my copy of The Lighthouse by PD James she read it straight through and when I asked her what she thought the reply came 'What a marvellous book'
I am pretty sure I will get the same reaction when she has read The Private Patient...
