Shroud for a Nightingale

Book Description

The young women of Nightingale House are there to learn to nurse and comfort the suffering. But when one of the students plays patient in a demonstration of nursing skills, she is horribly, brutally killed. Another student dies equally mysteriously, and it is up to Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard to unmask a killer who has decided to prescribe murder as the cure for all ills.

The New York Times called Shroud for a Nightingale "mystery at its best."

Customer Reviews:

Another Great Whodunit.......2007-09-25

Once again PD James proves why she's one of the reigning queens of the classic mystery novel. They're fiercely intelligent, witty, and intricately plotted,not like so many of today's recent entries which mostly involve serial killers with a vendetta. Here, Dangliesh is called to a hospital where two nurses have been murdered,or was it suicide?

Aren't Hospitals Unpleasant Enough?.......2007-01-04

I discovered Ms. James with "A Certain Justice" and have set my task to reading her entire oeuvre. In Shroud she first exhibits her wonderful gift for portraying big egos, a gift that made "A Certain Justice" such a fun read. In this case, the egos are embodied in a surgeon and supervising nurses. Apparently the British nursing profession in the day had a very strict hierarchy--strange to this American reviewer who is used to encountering nurses dressed in pyjamas who are the very soul of casual. Dalgliesh has a healthy ego himself, deservedly so, and is often at war with himself to control it, which makes for excellent interactions that are handled with the skill that make these mysteries so enjoyable.

In short, nurses start ending up dead and Inspector Dalgliesh must come and sort out the mess. The resolution is appropriately cerebral and satisfying. As murder is effectively the work of a person willing to let their own ego control the lives of others, the device of writing big egos into the story makes an excellent background for such a mystery. It takes smarts to commit a crime worthy of Dalgliesh--a fact that is surprisingly lost on many crime authors who run their characters through disappointingly banal events.

This fourth book in the series represents a big leap forward--easily as good as the first and much better than the second and third. It is representative work from author now confident of her superior abilities and who is willing to exercise the effort to craft an intelligent and intricate mystery.

A cunningly written novel.......2005-03-26

This novel from the first writing era of James is a masterpiece itself. It starts quite straightforward with two deaths and continues with unceasing suspense. The writer places Dalgliesh very well among the numerous characters of the story, trying to reveal all of their secrets. Interesting substories are being uncoiled as the reader moves forward. The pages whisk fast. You can never be sure about the killer or the motives underneath. Until the very end, the killer is being skillfully hidden by James. One could say that finishing the book lets the reader think about how far human relationships can go.

The Best of James, The Worst of James.......2004-08-16

Shroud for a Nightingale is a fair book. If you take into account that it was written early in James' career, you might judge it less harshly as it seems she has learned from her mistakes.

What mistakes? James relies too much in giving her suspects prescience in anticipating Chief Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh's next question. All too frequently his interrogations are punctuated with lines like "as if reading Dalgliesh's mind, Nurse Dakers said..." or "Sister Rolfe said ... as if Dalgliesh had spoken his thoughts aloud." Once or twice would be one thing, or at least allowing Dalgliesh to keep mum to prompt the suspect to fill the awkward silence with an unintended comment, but the frequency of the "psychic" segue makes it feel like sloppy writing. Another thing James does several times is have Dalgliesh run an unspecified deduction by his sergeant to which the sergeant graciously allows that "it might've happened that way." Again, it's sloppy and perhaps even out and out cheating.

Despite these rather appalling weaknesses, James' writing at times is as strong as in her more recent masterpieces. Sergeant Masterson's interrogation a la sadistic tango is wonderful, as is Dalgliesh's attempt to interrogate the housekeeper, Martha Collins. Her pacing is spot on in both cases and in the latter case, her ear for dialect - and ability to transcribe it intelligibly - is amazing. The spooky setting and overall mood of Nightingale house, while perhaps clichéd at times (the wandering ghost, the eerie happenings in the conservatory), is nevertheless effective. James provides perhaps too many suspects, but their varied motives and concomitant red herrings give the book a rich and robust texture.

As much as I appreciated having Dalgliesh avoid the potentially trite and clichéd path at the end of the book, I'm really not satisfied with the way James wrapped up the mystery. Without spoiling the ending, let me say that while it certainly "could" have happened that way, I would have liked to see Dalgliesh find some way to resolve things differently.

Despite some significant flaws, Shroud for a Nightingale, remains a well plotted and decently constructed mystery. As a piece of fiction that presents its hero as a work in progress, the book is highly enjoyable, though not entirely satisfying.

Chilling Read.......2003-03-10

I was not able to put "Shroud for a Nightingale" down. I have ready many of PD James' books. This one tops my list. Her character portraits are superb and so is the action. The cast of characters are diverse. The setting sinister. I'd call this a must read!

Cover Her Face + A Mind to Murder + Shroud for a Nightingale (COMPLETE / UNABRIDGED, 3 Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard novels in 1 volume)

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Cover Her Face + A Mind to Murder + Shroud for a Nightingale (COMPLETE / UNABRIDGED, 3 Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard novels in 1 volume)
P. D. James
Manufacturer: Avenel Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000E1CQ0C

5 Titles in Inspector Adam Dalgiesh Series : A Mind to Murder - Shroud for a Nightingale - Death of an Expert Witness - Devices and Desires - Death in Holy Orders

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5 Titles in Inspector Adam Dalgiesh Series : A Mind to Murder - Shroud for a Nightingale - Death of an Expert Witness - Devices and Desires - Death in Holy Orders
P.D. James
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Product Description

5 massmarket paperback Titles in Inspector Adam Dalgiesh Series : A Mind to Murder - Shroud for a Nightingale - Death of an Expert Witness - Devices and Desires - Death in Holy Orders

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Shroud for a Nightingale

Manufacturer: Popular Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000CRMU8G

4 PD James Mysteries - 1) The Murder Room (An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery) - 2) An Unsuitable Job for a Woman - 3) Shroud for a Nightingale (An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery) - 4) The Children of Men (Unboxed Set of Mystery Books)

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4 PD James Mysteries - 1) The Murder Room (An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery) - 2) An Unsuitable Job for a Woman - 3) Shroud for a Nightingale (An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery) - 4) The Children of Men (Unboxed Set of Mystery Books)
PD James , P.D. James , P. D. James , and P D James
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TZ47BY

Product Description

4 PD James Mysteries - 1) The Murder Room (An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery) - 2) An Unsuitable Job for a Woman - 3) Shroud for a Nightingale (An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery) - 4) The Children of Men, in either Hard or Softcover, (See Seller Condition Comments), Shipped in one package to save on shipping costs.

P.D. James Box Set (A Taste For Death, The Skull Beneath The Skin, Cover Her Face, and Shroud For A Nightingale)

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P.D. James Box Set (A Taste For Death, The Skull Beneath The Skin, Cover Her Face, and Shroud For A Nightingale)
P.D. James
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000VNYZDE

Product Description

Four paperback books in a slipcase from 1987.

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SHROUD FOR A NIGHTINGALE
JAMES
Manufacturer: SPHERE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S66M44

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Shroud for a Nightingale
P.D. James
Manufacturer: New York Popular Library 1976.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LTQJMI

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Shroud for a Nightingale
P. D. James
Manufacturer: Warner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000QX81GQ

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Shroud For A Nightingale
P. D. JAMES
Manufacturer: Warner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GGWCH2

Customer Reviews:

A review from marvelmasterworks.freeservers.com: GREAT TPB!.......2002-07-11

This book seems to have gotten some mediocre reviews up till now. One thing people need to remember is that this is a TPB collecting issues #9-13 of Thor, but there is alot of context to this story that isn't found in these pages. Reviewers are holding writer Dan Jurgens to a standard of creative precision that this format doesn't permit.

Thor #13, the final issue reprinted in this TPB (an anticlimax to some, it appears) was thrilling to those who, through the first 8 issues were wondering who the heck this Marnot fellow really was! I thought the revelation was deftly handled and played to Thor's grounding in mythology.

Marvel's rendering of Thor, as most people should know, is not strictly from the mythological background. That's just the backdrop to his heroics. One person complained he was too much like Superman. Well...that's what he was created to be! Thor was Marvel's answer to DC's Superman- an ultimate monolith of a super being. Thor is as close to untouchable and unbeatable in Marvel's universe as Supes is in DC's universe. Marvel's Superman has a lineage in Norse mythology though, not a far distant planet he is the sole survivor of.

And here's the main reason this collection gets 5 stars from me, and it's something no other reviewer has yet touched on: the art of John Romita, Jr. Absolutely breathtaking...astounding...I was motivated to turn each page to see what next amazing artwork he would conjure up to tell the story. And tell the story he did! I am a somewhat jaded comics reader by now, but his battle scenes were gripping- I just couldn't put this book down! His visuals of the Dark Gods are stunning, and the first battle between Thor and Perrikus is some of the finest battle scenes this comics fan has ever seen on printed comics page. There is a scene where Perrikus does something to Thor that one would have never thought possible, and it is so shockingly rendered that I felt the despair and heartbreak and shock Thor and the rest of the Norse Gods must have been feeling at that moment.

I'll not go into it more, but leave the glory of reading this particular run of Thor comics to you. It's some wonderful stuff.

Not so great a graphic novel........2001-11-21

I have noticed before that Marvel doesn't do a very good job with writing fantasy-oriented comics, except maybe for the Dr.Strange mythos. They just seem to be much better suited at writing sci-fi oriented stuff such as the X-Men, SpiderMan, Daredevil, Punisher, Wolverine, Deadpool, Nick Fury, you know the drill. So when I picked up this Thor graphic novel (which is the first Thor story I have read by the way) I didn't know what to expect. And lo and behold, I was disappointed.
You see, in fantasy novels and ancient Norse myth, Thor was always portrayed as a relentless, mighty, rough, and sometimes vicious warrior-god, kind of similar to Conan from Robert E. Howard's Conan fantasy novels.
But, sadly, in this Thor graphic novel, he is portrayed almost as a cheap ripoff of Superman. And I was very shocked at this, because this book was written by one of the best writers in the Superman mythos, Dan Jurgens. So, as you can tell, I was very dissapointed in this Thor title.

An Attempt to Recapture the 60's. So-So Results........2001-02-16

It is clear to this reviewer that Dan Jurgens has attempted to revisit the earliest roots of Thor, journeying back into mystery and attempting to revive the grand and epic tales that Jack Kirby with an assist from Stan Lee wrought during Marvel's heyday. Does he succeed? Well, almost but not quite. There is an honest attempt to recall the glory that was Asgard, but ultimately it falls just short and reminds the reader of how far the mighty have fallen. Still, by attempting to recreate the essence and persona that Jack Kirby instilled into the Thor mythos and not merely rehashng the hackneyed plots that have permeated this title for the past 30 years - the story remains a worthwhile if vaguely unsatisfying effort. The art similarly tries to recapture the techno-style of Jack Kirby and manages to compliment rather than distract from the story, but it won't fool you into thinking that the King has returned to pencil the book.

Very Poor writing..........2000-07-05

I really did not care for Jurgen's Superman stories, his writing on Thor is not much better. Here he builds the story all the way up to what is supposed to be an explosive climax, and it falls flat in the last ten pages of the story. I really miss the days when Walt Simonson worked on Thor. He treated Thor like a mythological character. Something the current writer does not do.

Marvel Tales #206 : Starring Spider-Man and Thor in "Whom Gods Destroy" (Marvel Comics)

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Marvel Tales #206 : Starring Spider-Man and Thor in "Whom Gods Destroy" (Marvel Comics)
Chris Claremont
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Marvel Team-Up #70 : Featuring Spider-Man and Thor in "Whom Gods Destroy" (Marvel Comics)

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Marvel Team-Up #70 : Featuring Spider-Man and Thor in "Whom Gods Destroy" (Marvel Comics)
Chris Claremont
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

Action, mystery, and discovery........2003-08-04

Iroshi is back, in Cary Osbornes second novel of The Glaive. And fans of the first book will not be disappointed.

Iroshi, Cary Osbornes lead character, is a warrior in more than one sense of the word, with an interesting mixture of ancient Japanese sword fighting and futuristic high tech weapons. But she is also human, with weaknesses and uncertainties to overcome, which makes her all the more appealing as the heroine.

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Surprisingly Accessible Recipes

Easy to follow & true to the INN!!!

It doesn't get any better than this...

I'm waiting for a sequel

Captures the pleasure of the inn and is a practical cookbook

The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook: A Consuming Passion
Patrick O'Connell
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Patrick O'Connell's Refined American Cuisine: The Inn at Little Washington

Le Bernardin Cookbook: Four-Star Simplicity

Amuse-Bouche: Little Bites That Delight Before the Meal Begins

Bouchon Bouchon

Happy in the Kitchen: The Craft of Cooking, the Art of Eating

ASIN: 0679447369
Release Date: 1996-11-19

Book Description

This cookbook is the distillation of a life's work by a self-taught American chef who learned to cook by reading cookbooks and went on to become one of the world's most renowned chefs. O'Connell began his career with a catering business in an old farmhouse, cooking on a wood stove with an electric frying pan purchased for $1.49 at a garage sale. (The pan was used for boiling, sautéeing and deep frying for parties of up to 300 guests.) This experience sharpened his awareness of how much could be done with very little. The catering business evolved into a country restaurant and Inn which opened in 1978 in a defunct garage and which is now America's only 5 star Inn. Craig Claiborne raves, "the most magnificent inn I've ever seen, in this country or Europe, where I had the most fantastic meal of my life."

This is not a typical "Chef's Cookbook" filled with esoteric, egomanical, and impossibly complicated recipes which only a wizard with a staff of eighty would ever attempt to produce. Rather, the recipes assembled here make up a practiced, finely honed repertoire of elegant, simple and straight-forward dishes. Everyday ingredients are elevated to new heights through surprising combinations and seductive presentations. [ ]A Consuming Passion[] propels the home cook into a new world of American Haute Cuisine and provides the formulas for reproducing it at home. Careful and detailed instructions, all written by the author, assure success.

Tim Turner's luscious photographs capture the playful but elegant spirit of the food and introduce the reader to some of the charming local characters who provide products for the Inn's kitchen as well as taking the reader on a delightful and romantic culinary journey throughout the Virginia countryside surrounding the small town affectionately known as "Little" Washington and reveals an America we thought was lost forever.

Customer Reviews:

Surprisingly Accessible Recipes.......2007-03-11

This cookbook contains many of the most popular dishes served at the Inn at Little Washington. I was surprised how true the recipes are to the dishes served at the Inn. Few recipes require exotic or inaccessibly expensive ingredients. While some recipes are labor-intensive, others can be prepared rather quickly and easily with excellent results, such as the Rockfish with Mushrooms and Grapes.

The Red Pepper Soup with Sambuca Cream has become a favorite in our house, even among those who typically do not enjoy red pepper. The Medallions of Veal with Calvados Cream is also well worth the effort. The ice-cream recipes in this text are also excellent.

If you are not an avid cook, this book has lovely pictures and makes for a good coffee table book. The text is also well-written and interesting. Highly recommended.

Easy to follow & true to the INN!!!.......2004-01-15

We had the pleasure of spending a weekend at the inn and on one of our 2 dinners there actually ate at the "chef's table" in the kitchen. While there we were able to sample a large portion of the menu and obtain an autographed copy of his cookbook. Upon returning home I assumed the recipes would be convoluted and difficult to follow. THIS IS NOT THE CASE! Patrick's recipes are clear, straight-forward and enable any cook with moderate kitchen skills to wonderfully replicate the dishes he serves at his fantastic inn! If you want to produce delicious dishes, with a hint of southern US, French & Italian influences then buy this book!!! You will not be disappointed & your guests will be amazed!

It doesn't get any better than this..........2002-02-14

We have been guests at the Inn at Little Washington and enjoyed lovely repasts there. In the book, "The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook," we have taken the magnificent offerings to our own table. Especially memorable is the tomato salad, rated the best by the Washington Post reviewer, with tri-colored tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, and shaved asciago cheese - a feast for the eye and the palate. The lobster medallions with grapefruit are delicions and easy to prepare. There is practicality in the preparation and easy-to-find ingredients. The photographs are wonderful. I have given this lovely book to many friends who have shared my delight with Patrick O'Connell's gift from the heart!

I'm waiting for a sequel.......2001-11-14

This is the restaurant by which all other restaurants are measured. It is perfection in every way. Therefore, it is not surprising that I would want the cookbook. What may be surprising to some, then, is how good the book is. There are many notable restaurants and famous chefs are not rare. Chefs, however, who write well and present good cookboooks is less commonplace. The writing is excellent and the recipes turn out as anticipated. I pick up the book (together with Levin's book) sometimes just to recall the most splendid restaurant experience of my life and to look forward to dining there again soon. This should be a good book even for those who have not had my experience; it should be for any lover of good food and good dining.

Captures the pleasure of the inn and is a practical cookbook.......2001-10-17

Having eaten at the Inn twice, it's a real joy to have a cookbook that lets you experience at least part of the joy (the setting there is amazing) at home. O'Connell provides recipes for exotic dishes in a way that makes them accessible for any modestly adept cook. Nor is he pretentious at all - If you don't happen to have foie gras in the fridge for the tuna and foie gras dish, that fine he says. Leave it out.

The dishes are beautiful without being self-indulgently elaborate. The accompanying photos and narrative make it fun to read, but the real value is his practical explanations of how to make extraordinary dishes. Enjoy!

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