CLASSIC CRIME | Daily Mail Online

A Mind To Murder by P.D. James (Faber £8.99, 240 pp)

As if any excuse is needed, the P.D. James centenary has prompted the reissue of one of her finest works. A Mind To Murder is set in a psychiatric clinic catering for neuroses of the rich, where the administrator gets herself killed in a most gruesome manner.

Enter Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh, who is conveniently on hand attending a sherry party given by the publisher of his latest collection of verse.

This juxtaposition of sophistication with raw brutality, a hallmark for James, allows for a subtle exploration of characters who hide behind a mask of gracious living.

The plot, taking in lies, adultery and blackmail, is cleverly constructed to maximise the shock of revelation, although it’s almost incidental to the unravelling of conflicting emotions. When Dalgliesh triumphs, it is with more than a hint of sadness at having to expose human frailty and folly. This is literature of a high order.

The Clutter Corpse by Simon Brett (Severn House £20.99, 192pp)

How to earn a living while engaging in amateur sleuthing has long been a problem for mystery writers in search of a convincing character. Nothing if not original, Simon Brett has come up with the idea of a declutterer, who sorts out your house to make more space.

For Ellen Curtis, a woman of middling years, it is an occupation that leads to weird experiences. In sussing out a potential assignment, she stumbles on the body of a girl. She knows the victim and makes it her mission to expose the killer.

An imaginative plot with a generous quota of surprises, it’s carried along on a strong emotional undertow as Ellen grapples with her own family problems. With the promise of more decluttering mysteries, a highly enjoyable series is in the offing.

The Graves Of Whitechapel by Claire Evans (Sphere £18.99, 368pp)

This mystery melodrama has a Victorian setting almost Dickensian in its convincing portrayal of the seamier side of fog-wrapped London life.

Cage Lackmann is an unscrupulous lawyer in the pay of a criminal mastermind who uses him to save his associates from the hangman. When a murder case involving child prostitution goes badly wrong, Cage is set adrift to find the culprit while protecting his own back from those who would dearly like to hold him responsible for perverting the course of justice.

It is quite an achievement for Claire Evans to keep us on the side of her anti-hero: he has few redeeming features, apart from his dawning realisation that, in seeking the truth, he might save his own conscience.

That she manages to do this while serving up a full measure of startling yet plausible revelations is a tribute to an enthralling read.