My selection of P.D. James novels for the Spring Reading Thing was based largely on what I had sitting in my personal library. I picked up three James mysteries some time back and added them, in arbitrary order, to the seasonal reading list. Last week, I reviewed Death of an Expert Witness and noted that it was very well written, that I liked it, but that I didn't love it.Well, I loved Original Sin. I liked the setting, the flow, and even the characters. No, they weren't likable, but there was something more interesting about their overall nastiness. And the resolution -- the explanation for all of the crimes that were inevitably committed in a murder mystery -- held an intensity that made it impossible to be entirely certain who was right and who was wrong. Or maybe it was just me. But I had no trouble understanding Dalgliesh's decision or that of his subordinant who had to make a questionable choice.
Original Sin is set in Innocent House, a fantastic Italian-inspired palace along the Thames that's also home to the centuries-old publishing house Peverell Press. As the story opens, Peverell Press is undergoing some changes. Old Henry Peverell has recently died, and the son of his long-time partner has taken over. This young man, Gerard Etienne, is fully prepared to stir things up at Peverell Press. He knows that the company needs to modernize and change its traditional ways, including, as appears to be necessary, selling Innocent House and moving into a less costly building. It's not as though Peverell Press can't exist outside Innocent House. But this plan, in particular, creates distress among the other partners. For them, and honestly for most, Peverell Press is synonymous with its spectacular home. But this spectacular home will likely bankrupt the company.
So Gerard begins to move forward with his plans. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't get far. He is discovered one morning in the smaller archives room, having been poisoned with carbon monoxide and with a stuffed snake around his neck. (The snake is actually something to block drafts; I'm not sure how to describe it beyond this.) Everyone initially assumes it is an accident, since the fireplace in the smaller archives room is old, and it seems likely there was block that filled the room with the gas. But it doesn't take much effort on Dalgliesh's part to discover that the fireplace was blocked intentionally and that Gerard was locked in the room.
As the investigation proceeds, more deaths (of course) occur, and more truth comes to light. I particularly liked the insight into the publishing world, as least the publishing world as P.D. James was familiar with it. There are little jabs from time to time, as taken at authors such as herself, so it's a bit of lightness in an otherwise dark story. And as I mentioned above, the conclusion proves to be fairly shocking, although if the reader is paying attention there are small hints of what's to come. More to the point, the degree of ambiguity that the conclusion brings is such that it requires the reader to think hard about what he really believes and what he might be pushed to do.
All in all, a great read and one I'd add to my list of favorite James mysteries.
Year of publication: 1994
Number of pages: 544
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