From the award-winning master of literary crime fiction, a classic work rich in tense drama and psychological insight.

On the East Anglian seacoast, a small theological college hangs precariously on an eroding shoreline and an equally precarious future. When the body of a student is found buried in the sand, the boy’s influential father demands that Scotland Yard investigate. Enter Adam Dalgliesh, a detective who loves poetry, a man who has known loss and discovery. The son of a parson, and having spent many happy boyhood summers at the school, Dalgliesh is the perfect candidate to look for the truth in this remote, rarified community of the faithful–and the frightened. And when one death leads to another, Dalgliesh finds himself steeped in a world of good and evil, of stifled passions and hidden pasts, where someone has cause not just to commit one crime but to begin an unholy order of murder. . . .

“Gracefully sculpted prose and [a] superbly executed mystery . . . Death in Holy Orders is among [James’s] most remarkable and accomplished Dalgliesh novels.”

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

“An elegant work about hope, death, and the alternately redemptive and destructive nature of love.”

– The Miami Herald

“Absorbing . . . [James’s] plotting and characterization [are] impeccable.”

– Orlando Sentinel

“P. D. James is in top form.”

– The Boston Globe

Open the exclusive dossier at the back of this book, featuring P. D. James’ essay on penning the perfect detective novel.

P. D. 詹姆斯 P. D. JAMES（1920-2014）

英国作家，在英文世界享有盛誉，被誉为“当代推理小说女王”。P. D. 詹姆斯自创作以来获奖无数，其中包括推理小说界的两大重磅奖项——“钻石匕首奖”和“大师奖”。她是为数不多的同时拿下这两项大奖的作家之一，也是继柯南•道尔、阿加莎•克里斯蒂之后，第三位入驻“世界推理小说名人堂”的作家。

她一生写了20本书，创造了亚当•达格利什这位与福尔摩斯齐名的大侦探。《神谕之死》是詹姆斯的经典代表作之一，也是达格利什探长系列中广为流传的小说。

P. D. 詹姆斯一生取得了很高的文学成就，并因此获授大英帝国勋章，被授予伦敦大学等八所高校的荣誉博士学位，曾担任英国作家协会会长、艺术委员会文学顾问团主要顾问、布克文学奖评委会会长。她的文学观深刻、独到，受到业界和读者的推崇与喜爱。

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【媒体评论】

P. D. 詹姆斯善于写作疑云丛生的故事，她是当之无愧的“推理小说女王”。

——《芝加哥太阳报》

《神谕之死》展示了P. D. 詹姆斯对复杂情节深厚的驾驭功力，重新定义了推理小说的标准与高度！

——犯罪小说家希瑟•奥多诺霍

《神谕之死》是P. D. 詹姆斯尤为出色、水准极高的推理小说之一。

——《费城问讯报》

P. D. 詹姆斯能在一本推理小说中注入惊人的内涵和睿智，使它变得无人能及。

——《泰晤士报》

《神谕之死》中的每一个嫌疑人和展开情节都被处理得生动立体、淋漓尽致，这本书是侦探小说的典范！

——美国权威书评杂志《柯克斯书评》