The latest and 14th Adam Dalgliesh, The Private Patient, is another stellar mystery novel by beloved P. D. James. This time the charismatic police commander is ordered by Downing Street to investigate the murder of Rhoda Gradwyn. She was a so called investigative journalist, which is another word for a gossipmonger. And very good at her job, 
The Private Patient starts with a bang: “On November 21st, the day of her forty-seventh birthday, and three weeks and two days before she was murdered, Rhoda Gradwyn went to Harley Street to keep a first appointment with her plastic surgeon …”
P.D. James knows the art of composing a crafty whodunit. And in The Private Patient she hits most of the buttons available to her. The case takes place in settings familiar from James’ other novels – the rather plush settings with the “discrete charm of the bourgeoisie” that are somewhat more familiar to the Baroness James than to the rest of us – described and brought to life in a masterful Jamesian way. This applies well to the lovely old Cheverell Manor deep in Dorset as well, the private clinic belonging to the famous plastic surgeon George Chandler-Powell.
To Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh the mystery initially seems absolute. Few things about it make sense. And as the detectives start to look under the stones, the suspects multiply rapidly. Why did Rhoda choose this particular physician? Why choose the manor clinic over a more convenient London hospital? Did one dictate the other?
When a second murder is committed, the pressure on Dalgliesh increases. And as the story itself is told from a range of perspectives, gradually the disturbing realities of the case emerge out of the fog of possibilities.
In this book we meet a Dalgliesh who is nearing retirement age, but even so getting increasingly involved in a relationship with a female companion. We are extremely pleased that James finally grants Dalgliesh a little bit of love. On the other hand, it is also a sad fact that Dalgliesh is distracted by this, and even though we love this mystery, as we love all of the Dalgliesh mysteries, Dalgliesh does not shine quite as strongly in this as in some of the earlier books in the series.
The Private Patient is not the best of the books in this series. But it is still an exceptionally good novel, written with compassion. The characters are vital and vibrant, the moody and atmospheric location and the Dorset countryside are superbly described, and the plot includes the expected unexpected and turns. Most of all it is a marvelous book because it is written by P.D. James in that delightful style which is hers – unhurried, elegant and mannered! So go read The Private Patient and find out what happens when Commander Adam Dalgliesh summons everyone to the library!
James .. aged 89 .. remains at the top of her game. — Oliver Marre, The Observer
I loved the experience of reading THE PRIVATE PATIENT. And the reason is that James’s writing is simply superb. — Fiona Walker, Eurocrime.co.uk
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