Cover Her face was the first book of the Adam Dalgliesh murder mystery series by P. D. James.   For many writers this would be the premier work, but P.D. James had set high standards in her writing career and this book shows great promise, but does not engage the reader fully.    The author herself wasn’t happy with this first venture.

This mystery is in the Agatha Christie model, a cozy murder mystery set in a rural estate, with the victim behind a locked door.    Detective Chief Inspector Dalgliesh uses his deductive abilities and keen perception to piece together the clues in a methodical, calm manner.

The title Cover Her Face is a quote from the story, a plea by a member of the Maxie family to hide the horror of the murder.    In the books to follow, the author develops the characters more fully.   In this first book, the mystery moves slowly and the solution is complex so overall it is not as engaging as books like Shroud for a Nightingale or Devices and Desires.

The best of Dalgleish is found in the later books, but we get a hint of the future in this book:

“He was never conscious of pity at moments like this and not even of anger, although that might come later and would have to be resisted. He liked to fix the sight of the murdered body firmly in his mind. This had been a habit since his first big case seven years ago when he had looked down at the battered corpse of a Soho prostitute in silent resolution and had thought, “This is it. This is my job.”

Recommended, but read the later books first – 4.1 out of 5.0 stars4.1

An audio excerpt: