James, P. D

Adam Dalgliesh and his two young assistants search for clues in the deaths of two men found in the vestry of a London church--one rich and elegant, the other an alcoholic tramp.

On the surface, Dr. Lorrimer was the picture of a bloodless, coldly efficient scientist. Only when his brutally slain body was discovered and his secret past dissected did this image begin to change.

In her latest Commander Adam Dalgliesh detective novel, James subtly deepens the complexities of his personality, making him an ever more credible protagonist. When two bodies are discovered with their throats slashed in a London church, Dalgleish is called upon to solve the case. One victim is Sir Paul Berowne, former Minister of the Crown; the other is a tramp accustomed to sleeping in the church vestibule. It seems that these deaths may be tied to those of two young women who have recently been employed in the Berowne household. Dalgleish feels an unusual empathy in this case; he had known Berowne and sensed several parallels in their lives.