The undisputed new queen of crime writers, P.D. James is now secure on the throne occupied by such great predecessors as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. Here, for the first time in one jumbo volume are three of her greatest novels.

*Mrs James more than many, and much more than most crime-writers succeeds in writing convincingly of people with contradictory traits and yet keeps them all of a piece. She lays bare these contradictions too, with a marvellously sure hand, a commonsensical decisiveness of moral judgement.'
HRF Keating in The Times

'Her style is literate, her plots are complicated, her clues are abundant and fair, and her solutions are intended to come as a surprise without straining credulity beyond that subtle point which is instinctively recognized and respected by addicts and practitioners alike.
Francis Wyndham in The Times Literary Supplement

In the best traditions of crime and mystery writing, she combines the ability to construct a dazzlingly complex and baffling ploy with being an exceptional writer... she conveys a thorough-going sense of horror.' Anthea Hall in the Sunday Telegraph