Welcome to our 12 Days of Holiday Gifts. As we mentioned in episode 17 of the podcast, for the 12 days leading up to Thanksgiving, we'll be giving you our picks for great gifts. Then, on Thanksgiving night, we'll have a Gift Guide available for you to download. The guide will include the 12 books featured on the blog, plus many other gift ideas, several under $20!
_____________________________________________
The Private Patient by P.D. James
If there's a mystery-lover on your holiday list, it won't take a private eye to find the perfect gift. P.D. James is arguably the finest living crime novelist, and this book does not disappoint. It's the 14th book featuring Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard, and it's a brilliant read even if you have never read any of the other Dalgliesh novels.
It's a classic "locked-room" style mystery: A murder has occurred at an exclusive plastic-surgery clinic in the Dorset countyside. The victim: an investigative journalist who made enemies at every turn. The suspects could be none but the doctors, nurses, staff, administrators, and only other patient on the premises at the time of the murder.
The beauty of a P.D. James novel is in her characterization and intricate plotting -- each person we meet in the book is real, interesting, and has a purpose; the multi-layered and interweaving stories leave us guessing to the end how it will all come together. I can think of no better book for a long winter weekend, especially if coupled with a crackling fire and a glass of good port.
The Private Patient by P.D. James
ISBN: 978-0-307-27077-1, $25.95
|