Death of an Expert Witness

Death of an Expert Witness
1st edition
Author(s)	P. D. James
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	Adam Dalgliesh #6
Genre(s)	Mystery novel
Publisher	Faber & Faber
Publication date	1977
Media type	Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
Pages	368 pp
ISBN	0-7432-1962-7
OCLC Number	47161698
Preceded by	The Black Tower
Followed by	A Taste for Death

Death of an Expert Witness is an Adam Dalgliesh novel by P. D. James, published in 1977. It begins with the discovery of a murder of young girl. However, this is not the focus of the novel, but rather is used as a method to introduce us to the staff of a forensic laboratory, the background of this mystery. The actual murder of Dr. Lorrimer, an experienced expert witness, is only discovered in the second section of the book. It is quickly established that only people associated with the lab would have the opportunity or the knowledge to commit the crime, which allows the detectives to focus their attention.

Plot outline

Scotland Yard’s Adam Dalgliesh investigates the murder of forensic biologist Dr. Edwin Lorrimer. With too many motives and no physical evidence, Dalgliesh is left to deduce which among the small pool of suspects is the killer, who decides to claim a second victim.

Setting

The events in the book take place in Hoggatt’s Laboratory East Anglia, which is near Cambridge in the mid to late 1970s.

Notes

This is Adam Dalgliesh’s second case with John Massingham.

Literary significance and criticism

"Despite praise by Julian Symons and others, there is less to admire in this book than in most others by this talented author. For some reason the mixture of love and lust that brings about the death of a highly disagreeable pathologist fails to attract or convince. The best thing about the book is that it brings back Supt. Dalgliesh."^[1]

Television version

A television version was produced for Britain's ITV network in 1983. It starred Roy Marsden as Adam Dalgliesh, Barry Foster as Dr Howarth, Geoffrey Palmer as Dr Lorrimer, and Ray Brooks as Dr Kerrison.

References

1. ^ Barzun, Jacques and Taylor, Wendell Hertig. A Catalogue of Crime. New York: Harper & Row. 1971, revised and enlarged edition 1989. ISBN 0-06-015796-8