James Donleavy

Venetia Aldridge QC is a distinguished barrister. When she agrees to defend Garry Ashe, accused of the brutal murder of his aunt, it is one more opportunity to triumph in her career as a criminal lawyer. But just four weeks later, Miss Aldridge is found dead. Commander Adam Dalgliesh, called in to investigate, finds motives for murder among the clients Venetia has defended, her professional colleagues, her family - even her lover. As Dalgliesh narrows the field of suspects, a second brutal murder draws them into greater complexities of intrigue and evil.

Další z Donleavyho románů, v nichž nad hladinu jiskřící vtipem tu a tam vytryskne temná ponorná řeka melancholie, se odehrává během druhé světové války a těsně po ní. Balthazar B. je v jistém smyslu protipólem Sebastiana Dangerfielda z Donleavyho prvotiny Zrzoun: je to neméně inteligentní, leč tentokrát kultivovaný a plachý mladý muž, narozený v bohaté rodině v Paříži. Poté, co prožije dětský, ovšem zdaleka ne nevinný vztah se svou guvernantkou, je odeslán do anglické internátní školy, a odtud jeho osudy sledujeme na dublinskou Trinity College. Spolu se svým vznešeným, srdečným a světem protřelým kamarádem Beefym tu přes milostné vzlety a propady dotáhne svou univerzitní kariéru až k neslavnému konci. Kniha, která poprvé vyšla v roce 1968, nezapře svého autora – opět se tu setkáme s básnicky přesným jazykem, brilantními dialogy a typickou ironií, tentokrát ovšem v aristokraticky malebném balení.

As the acknowledged 'Queen of Crime', P. D. James was frequently commissioned by newspapers and magazines to write a special short story for Christmas. Four of the best of these have been drawn from the archives and published here. P. D. James' prose illuminates each of these perfectly formed stories, making them ideal reading for the darkest days of the year. While she delights in the secrets that lurk beneath the surface at family gatherings, her Christmas stories also provide tantalizing puzzles to keep the reader guessing. P. D. James embraces the challenge of the short-story form, and ingeniously weaves the strands of plot, setting, characterisation and surprise to create a satisfying whole within only a few thousand words. From the title story about a strained country-house party on Christmas Eve, to another about an illicit affair that ends in murder, and two cases for James' poet-detective Adam Dalgliesh, each treats the reader to James' masterfully atmospheric storytelling, always with the lure of a mystery to be solved.

When the notorious investigative journalist Rhoda Gradwyn booked into Mr Chandler-Powell's private clinic in Dorset for the removal of a disfiguring and long-standing facial scar, she had every prospect of a successful operation by a distinguished surgeon, a week's peaceful convalescence in one of Dorset's most beautiful manor houses and the beginning of a new life. She was never to leave Cheverell Manor alive. Adam Dalgliesh and his team are called in to investigate the murder, and later a second death, which are to raise even more complicated problems than the question of innocence or guilt. A chilling and atmospheric work of detective fiction, The Private Patient is the fourteenth novel to feature the inspector protagonist Adam Dalgliesh, from the award-winning author of Children of Men, Death Comes to Pemberley and The Murder Room.

'On the whole, it was easier than I had expected. Only once did I feel myself at risk. That was when the Inspector suddenly intervened. He said in a harsh voice: "He married your wife, didn't he? Took her away from you some people might say. Nice piece of goods, too, by the look of her. Didn't you feel any grievance?" I had been expecting this question. I knew exactly what I would say.' The late, great P. D. James takes us inside the mind of a murderer.