| Synopsis: |
Roy Marsden reads P. D. James' debut crime novel, introducing Detective Chief Inspector Adam Dalgliesh. St Cedd's Church fete had been held in the grounds of Martingale manor house for generations. As if organizing stalls, as well as presiding over luncheon, the bishop and the tea tent, were not enough for Mrs Maxie on that mellow July afternoon, she also had to contend with the news of her son's sudden engagement to her new parlour maid, the sly single mother, Sally Jupp. On the following morning Martingale and the whole village are shocked by the discovery of Sally Jupp's body. Investigating the violent death at the manor house, Detective Chief Inspector Adam Dalgliesh is embroiled in the complicated passions beneath the calm surface of English village life. 'The greatest contemporary writer of classic crime.' Sunday Times 'There are very few thriller writers who can compete with P. D. James at her best' Spectator |