A Taste for Death (James novel)
 First edition | |
| Author | P. D. James |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Adam Dalgliesh #7 |
| Genre | Crime, Mystery novel |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
Publication date | 9 June 1986 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback, Paperback) |
| Pages | 454 pp (hardback first edition) |
| ISBN | 0-571-13799-7 |
| OCLC | 15018788 |
| 823/.914 19 | |
| LC Class | PR6060.A467 T3 1986b |
| Preceded by | Death of an Expert Witness |
| Followed by | Devices and Desires |
A Taste for Death is a crime novel by British writer P. D. James, seventh in the popular Commander Adam Dalgliesh series. The novel won the Silver Dagger in 1986, losing out on the Gold to Ruth Rendell's Live Flesh. It has been adapted for television and radio.
Plot summary
In the dingy vestry of St. Matthew's Church, Paddington, two bodies have been found with their throats slashed. One is an alcoholic vagrant, whereas the other is Sir Paul Berowne, a baronet and recently resigned Minister of the Crown. Poet and Commander Adam Dalgliesh investigates one of the most convoluted cases of his career...
Title
The title is drawn from a short poem by A. E. Housman which concludes "There's this to say for blood and breath,/ they give a man a taste for death".
Reviews
A cunningly compulsive work... heart-pounding suspense - Sunday Times
Lady James, a novelist of broad gifts and great skill, here is writing in full mastery of her craft - The New York Times Book Review
Here is still, thank goodness, the world of the classic detective tale - Malcolm Bradbury