The Private Patient

P. D. James

Nov 2008 · Sold by Vintage

About this ebook

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In this gripping crime thriller a renowned plastic surgeon's private clinic becomes the chilling backdrop for murder. • Part of the bestselling mystery series that inspired Dalgliesh on Acorn TV

"[James is] a master. . . . Nothing is as it first appears." —The Boston Globe

Cheverell Manor is a beautiful old house in Dorset, which its owner, the famous plastic surgeon George Chandler-Powell, uses as a private clinic. When the investigative journalist, Rhoda Gradwyn, arrives to have a disfiguring facial scar removed, she has every expectation of a successful operation and a peaceful week recuperating. But the clinic houses an implacable enemy and within hours of the operation Rhoda is murdered. Commander Dalgliesh and his team are called in to investigate a case complicated by old crimes and the dark secrets of the past. But Before Rhoda's murder is solved, a second horrific death adds to the complexities of one of Dalgliesh's most perplexing and fascinating cases.

Ratings and reviews

I enjoyed this much more than James's previous book, The Lighthouse. The first part is particularly gripping. Later, we get a bit bogged down in the detail of an investigation. I didn't feel James made much use of the Stones theme; and the character/personality of the "private patient" herself wasn't filled in - although I know that the epithet of "private" was intended to justify this.

Always like a P D James.

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About the author

P. D. James is the author of twenty books, many of which feature her detective hero Adam Dalgliesh and have been televised or filmed. She was the recipient of many honors, including the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award and the National Arts Club Medal of Honor for Literature, and in 1991 was created Baroness James of Holland Park. She died in 2014.