Death in Holy Orders

After years of recommendations, I finally acquainted myself first-hand with the work of PD James, courtesy of a recent birthday gift of her new book, Death in Holy Orders. After being introduced to James through this latest offering, I can’t wait to come back for more.

Death in Holy Orders follows PD James’s recent autobiography. Set in a small, beleaguered, Church of England theological college, the book is a classic whodunit with the added twist of being a commentary on the struggling Church of England and on post-modern attitudes to church and faith, and as such makes for fascinating reading on more than one count.

Commander Adam Dalgliesh is called to St Anselm’s Theological College – a childhood stomping ground that unlocks some distant and deeply hidden memories – when one of the ordinands dies in suspicious circumstances. What at first appears to be an open-and-shut case quickly turns into an intriguing and urgent search for the truth, as a series of bizarre and suspicious events takes place at St Anselm’s. As Dalgliesh digs deeper, long-held grudges emerge and the vindictive side of church politics rears its ugly head, culminating in a very satisfying conclusion.

This is a compelling novel and an easy read, and will have readers impatient to uncover the next revelation. But it is much more than just a whodunit. James’s eye for detail – her ability to convey setting, deep human emotion and even the state of the church – are so rich and evocative that it’s easy to forget you’re suppose to be looking for clues. The full impact of recurring characters may be lost on a first-timer, but the depth of human understanding that James possesses is obvious.

Herself an Anglican, James notes at the start of the book that all characters are ficticious, and asks that nobody be dissuaded from the Anglican expression of faith or ministry. But it is clear that she is portraying a Church in crisis – at least the elitist, Anglo-Catholic branch of it depicted here. The College battles to remain relevant, and ordinands and priests struggle to find their place in the world, seeming to find little or no peace and contentment in Christ.

Of course it’s just a story, but it’s a little disturbing how natural a story of murder, intrigue and backstabbing seems when set within the Church.

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