Over the last week, I have been rereading Original Sin by PD James. The novel is set on the River Thames, with a body is pulled out of the water, so it is very good background reading for my work in progress.
PD James is a true great of crime writing, but maybe more in the style of a past era. I was captivated when I first read her Adam Dalgliesh series about fifteen years ago, and he has had a big impact on my protagonist, Tom Robertson. They both have a mature and balanced outlook, a calmness at solving crimes, and depth to their personalities. Adam writes poetry, Tom has been a successful businessman and golfer, and are both the sons of clergymen. PD James focuses far more on the religious aspect (maybe even with Adam’s name), the historical sin at the location in the book, Innocent House, and the legacy of guilt of the main characters. The title Original Sin is a clever metaphor referring to the Christian doctrine that all humans are inherently sinners,
Although in other books Dalgliesh often works alone in isolated settings, here he has three junior colleagues, DS Martin Robbins, DI Daniel Aaron and DI Kate Miskin, and we are shown glimpses of their development arcs, much like we do with Tom’s colleagues. But here the similarities end, as none of them are like DC Teddy Bearing, DC Adam Blake or Inspector Fiona Marshall…
If you are thinking of discovering PD James for the first time, expect a slower pace of crime fiction, with lots of intense detail about the interior of the places and settings and gritty descriptions of death and the murder scenes. The books I write are more aimed at today’s demand for faster action, and I can see my editor’s red marker going into overdrive if I ever try to write like PD James. But this is her style, and it is easy to appreciate that it is done for the development of complex characters and creating a world to allow the reader to make observations and guess who the killer is.
There are plenty of hooks in PD James’ work, and it is interesting to analyse how she draws her readers in and makes them keep going through the pages and pages of description. Without spoiling the plot, Original Sin starts with the following sentence: ‘For a temporary shorthand-typist to be present at the discovery of a corpse on the first day of a new assignment, if not unique, is sufficiently rare to prevent it being regarded as an occupational hazard.’
From those first words, you get an immediate feel for PD James’ style. We don’t see the typist, Mandy, discover the body for another sixteen pages, but we are given a very intense description of her life and motives.
Chapter 4 begins: ‘Ten days after Sonia Clements’ suicide and three weeks before the first murder…’
This is another tantalising hook, revealing that the first death is very much just for starters, and we need to keep reading to find out who gets murdered. It is also, thirty-two pages into the book, the first time we meet Dalgleish. He then doesn’t appear again until Chapter 20, which is one hundred and eighty-two pages into the novel. This is not a style I used for Tom, as I feel he needs to be the backbone of the story and, although other members of his team are engaging in their own way, everything should revolve around him as much as possible.
I have managed to find some of my PD James books, easing them out from piles that were balanced on top shelves like a game of Jenga, and then brushing off a thick layer of dust so they can be displayed in my bookcase below.
Cover Reveal
Thank you to all who replied about the cover options for Book 4, Body in The Thames. There were votes for all the potential covers, but the one at the top of the newsletter was the favourite. It is also the one my editor likes best; she said it had the same vibes as Murder in the Museum.
The aim of the cover is to draw readers in, so although the cover with the boat and the flats may have portrayed the story better, I hope this one will attract more new readers.
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In a fight against time and a past that won’t stay buried, Nolan must decide if he’s willing to risk everything to uncover the truth – and lose himself in the process.
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‘In thought, word and deed,’ comes from the Prayer of Confession in The Book of Common Prayer. PD James was a Patron of the Prayer Book Society in England.
Best wishes
AGW