The Black Tower is P. D. James mystery novel. This is the fourth of her mysteries that I've read and to be honest, this one left me fairly cold. If this had been the first James novel I read I probably wouldn't be all that interested in her. The story was hard to follow and the characters were all too similar. So much so that they all kind of melded together so it was hard to keep track of who was doing what and why.

Also, in an atypical fasion, the plot didn't develop in a calculated manner to reveal the villian. Normally James' books provide ample evidence along the way to allow the reader to peice together a picture of what's happening. Usually these facts are like puzzle peices that are slowly being arranged until the final picture springs into view. That was not the case with this book. Not at all. Instead, very near the end of the book Dalgliesh simply states who the murderer is and why. Nothing leading up to this statement paves the way for the revelation. It was less than surprising. Since there is no coherence in the story there is no interest in seeing how all the parts fit together.

I would not recommend this book as a first book for someone wanting to become familiar with P. D. James since it doesn't reflect her true abilities as a mystery author. Other books are much better.

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