A Taste For Death

Compulsive . . . heart-pounding suspense. (Sunday Times)

Splendidly suspenseful. (Washington Post)

Superb . . . A treat for mystery lovers, and a gift to all readers. (USA Today)

The real feel of the settings, so familiar, almost cosy, forms a pointed contrast to the brutality of human behaviour observed, an effective plot in such skilled hands. This anatomy of murder is not a comfortable read, but it's oh so compelling. Enjoy. (Sunday Telegraph)

There is a richness of texture and a carefully paced quality of narration in A Taste for Death uncommon in the modern crime story . . . Splendidly suspenseful . . . A triumph and a treat. (Guardian)

A major and magisterial book. (Daily Telegraph)

There are few more delightful experiences for a reviewer than to discover his every apprehension unfounded. Miss James has written an astonishing novel or range and complexity, which is nevertheless also a simple detective story with all the traditional trappings of the genre . . . She writes like an angel. Every character is clearly drawn. Even the cameo parts are full of sympathy. Her atmosphere - whether that of a family quarrel or a deserted church - is unerringly, chillingly convincing. And she manages all this without for a moment slowing down the drive and tension of an exciting mystery. (The Times)

'Excellent . . . As soon as one has reached page 454 of A Taste for Death one yearns for the security of another volume. She is an addictive writer . . . A story as satisfying as it is complete. (Anita Brookner Spectator)

In her best and most ambitious tale to date, James has become a kind of Le Carré of crime, blending the calmer depths of mainstream fiction with the white rapids of the genre, to produce something quite different indeed. (Time)

Winner of the CWA Crime Awards Silver Dagger Two men lie in a welter of blood in the vestry of St Matthew's Church, Paddington, thier throats brutally slashed. One is Sir Paul Berowne, a baronet and recently-resigned Minister of the Crown, the other an alcoholic vagrant. Dalgliesh and his team, set up to investigate crimes of particular sensitivity, are faced with a case of extraordinary complexity as they discover the Berowne family's veneer of prosperous gentility conceals ugly and dangerous secrets.