P.D. James' first mystery. Of all her books, this is the one that adheres most closely to the conventions of the Golden Age mysteries of the 1920s, complete with an English country house, a locked-room murder, and a final confrontation between all the suspects and the detective (Adam Dalgliesh) at the very end. Such theatrical, Christie-esque devices are certainly entertaining, though this isn't exactly serious literature, which James usually writes. Dalgliesh isn't quite fully developed yet; nor are many of the other characters. Nevertheless, this is a satisfying mystery and a remarkable debut for one of the world's finest authors.