The Black Tower has been cited as one of 
Commander Adam Dalgliesh, having just recovered from a grave illness, receives an invitation to visit his old friend and mentor Father Baddely. Something is amiss and the ageing chaplain would like Dalgliesh’s advice. Dalgliesh decides that a visit to the countryside might give him time to relax and give thought to perhaps giving up his career at Scotland Yard. But when Dalgliesh arrives, he finds his old friend has died a few days earlier. And there is no rest, as there are a series of deaths at Troynton Grange, and with each death Dalgliesh is drawn inexorably back into his old life, solving murders.
In The Black Tower, Dalgliesh is more an observer of what is happening than usual. And when the solution comes to him, it is more his intuition than logical deductions that leads him to it.
The Black Tower is a strong novel, and very exciting, but also slightly different from most of the other Dalgliesh novels. The characters are not as well developed as we have become accustomed to, and the book is darker and gloomier than usual.
Splendid, macabre” – London Sunday Telegraph
“The Black Tower is a masterpiece.” – London Sunday Times
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