The Mystery Project

Cover Her Face
P.D. James
Randomhouse

Have you ever wondered what makes a novel a "classic"? I suppose it wouldn't surprise anyone to learn that I think about that particular question a great deal. And I'm not alone. Most of the major publishers have some kind of "best of" product line and a quick search of "classic literature" on the Internet returns thousands of hits. While I could easily find scads of "must reads," I had a much more challenging time unearthing a list of standard criteria that qualifies a novel as a classic. So, faithful readers, I have decided to ask you. In your opinion, what are the characteristics of a classic novel and why. In a future post, I'll consolidate the feedback and report back to you on what everyone has to say. Who knows, maybe we will end up with a publishable DES book list.

As for this week's selection, Cover Her Face, by British author P.D. James, would, I think, qualify as a classic. Written in 1964, the novel tells the story of Sally Jupp -- an unwed mother, social climber, and frankly, a bit of a schemer. Sally, a parlourmaid, is found murdered in her room the morning after she announces her engagement to the son of her employer. Everyone has a motive and it is left up to the famed Inspector Dalgliesh to puzzle it all out.

This book kept me guessing until the very end. Well-written and surprisingly contemporary, James' writing is spare, precise, and very engaging. Three watching the detectives out of five.