Original Sin

An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery

ISBN: 0-679-43889-0 Order from: Amazon.com

A depressing novel of murder with realistic but unsympathetic characters.

Reviewed by David on June 15, 1998

Synopsis: When a prestigious but struggling London publisher suffers several suspicious deaths, Commander Dalgleish of the Scotland Yard is called in to investigate. His team finds plenty of suspects, but little solid evidence, and more people die before the puzzle is finally solved.

Full Review: The book is full of genteel upper class, foundering in the modern world of cutthroat business (although I doubt business has ever been gentle), and their lower and middle class employees, "living lives of quiet desperation".

When a much-resented general manager dies, the eminent Commander Dalgleish and his two assistant detectives discover that almost everyone had a motive to wish him ill, if not dead. However, solid evidence is lacking, and soon the person who may have known the identity of the murderer dies too, in mysterious circumstances.

Eventually, the crimes are solved, less by the work of the police than by circumstances. The book is full of pain—small pain of uncertainty and fear, pain of irritation and resentment, pain of vengeance long overdue and perverted by time, pain of meaningless death. The plot is realistic: murder is rarely meaningful, it always leaves horrible holes filled with pain and fear. Human lives are often filled with doubt and mistakes, and this book portrays that with skill and commitment.

However, this skillful realism does not make for an interesting plot. Command Dalgleish is, as usual, coldly brilliant. The investigation is mostly done by his subordinates, who, despite intelligence and good intentions, are about as effective at keeping peace as the medical examiner in preserving health.

I found the book depressing, and the plot weak. Much of the book could have easily been skipped, contributing little to the plot but the general atmosphere. This novel should be filed with the small but frustrating set of books where impressive writing skill is misused.

Note: a paperback version of Original Sin is available.

Overall: 5; Plot: 4; Characters: 6; Style: 6; World-building: 5; Originality: 5;

ISBN: 0-679-43889-0 Order from: Amazon.com