Reviews

The Private Patient by P.D. James

mbondlamberty's review against another edition

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4.0

PD James' reads are always fun and this one was no different.
Always nice to read how Dagliesh is doing and hope a for a little happiness in his life.
The mystery is no better or worse that previous ones, but enjoyed the developments in Dagliesh's life more.

cpascual's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No

2.0

I hate giving books 1 star, which is probably the only reason this didn’t get a lesser rating. 
All in all, I just found this book so boring. The twists were boring, the people in the book were boring (so much so that even after 380 pages, I still couldn’t remember who was who) and the setting (London to Dorset) also felt extremely placid; boring. 
Also, I just couldn’t place this in time; like the language felt so old to me but the book was set in the late 2000’s. Jarring. 

juliaem's review against another edition

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3.0

Finished this while at the beach, and then promptly forgot about it. Jacob and I started it out loud on a trip to Great Basin NP in Nevada, then finished it while drinking beer and squeezing sand between our toes in NC. I haven't read any P.D. James in a long time, but my mother (rightly) adores her as the most droll (drollest?) contemporary mystery writer. Only three stars because it's actually fairly difficult to read a mystery out loud & still keep the proper pace required to maintain suspense. Five stars for James' use of the adjective "mullioned" to describe a great many windows.

kabrobinson's review against another edition

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2.0

I have liked past PD James books better. This I one was just so coldly written - none of the characters felt like real people.

magicofthepages's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

higgbemine's review against another edition

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3.0

this was my first PD James book and i think it only solidified my disinterest in mysteries. it was an interesting read but it just felt formulaic. i can't say i was smart enough to figure it all out but i did generally enjoy this book.

katylang's review against another edition

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1.0

Dragged on. Couldn't connect with any of the characters and found I just didn't care what happened. I skipped to the end to find out who did it, and glad I avoided the intervening chapters.

polly423's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

lazygal's review against another edition

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5.0

A fitting ending to the series.

klembot's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I really didn’t care for the middle of this book—it felt like a slog to get through the interviews and other procedural parts, but I don’t really like procedurals in general, and I am not the kind of mystery reader who combs over each sentence trying to figure out the mystery before the detective does. That said, the moments we spend with the victim are quite nice, and the ending and denouement have compelling scenes that even have a touch of mysticism to them, which I enjoyed.