Federico DraekeDraekeitibarenKalicacing, Sidomukti, Salatiga City, Central Java, EndonezyaitibarenKalicacing, Sidomukti, Salatiga City, Central Java, Endonezya

P.D. James is hailed as the current queen of the murder mystery, and as an excellent writer as well as plotter; based on this book, the plaudits are justified. The characters are complex and intriguing; the mystery satisfyingly difficult; and the hero, Commander Adam Dalgliesh of New Scotland Yard, appealing, in his quiet way. I'd say its chief fault was leaving a bit of the motive unspoken at the end, implied but not delineated in a way that was artful but not satisfying. It is worth noting that twice, in this book, the author created body-discovery moments of such beautiful, taut horror that I shut the tape off to savor them. About the audiobook read by Charles Keating: Beautiful; good acting, marvelous accents, and very distinct characters, including believable women's voices (cross-gender reading is sometimes an issue in audiobooks.) I wish the audiobook company hadn't felt compelled to put a minute or two of cheesy soundtrack music at the beginning and end of the book, but it's only a few minutes; I can hack it.

Simply amazing.