Having purchased this at an op shop and not having read any of the previous books (found this one easy enough to read without it) in the series I embarked on a classic P.D. James (after enjoying Skull Beneath the Skin). It had most of the things one would want out of a detective novel, it has suspense and some seemingly good detective work. I enjoyed how P.D. James allows us into the minds of some of the characters so easily through her writing. There are also some lines in the book which were quite enjoyable.
In saying this I struggled with how simple the murder plot was. There seemed to be no legitimate red herrings and I kept thinking it must be someone else as the murderer was quite obvious. I wasn't moved to care particularly for or by any of the characters and didn't feel emotionally invested enough to care what happened to the characters. Maybe if I had read from the beginning of the series Adam Dalgliesh would mean more to me but I'm not sure.
If you're just looking for a crime fiction book, then give this a read- otherwise I'm sure there are other P.D James books out there worth reading.