Cover Her Face

From P.D. James, one of the masters of British crime fiction, comes the debut novel that introduced Scotland Yard detective Adam Dalgliesh. Set against the English countryside, Cover Her Face is a classic murder mystery filled with James's trademark plot twists, intrigue, and suspense.
Though the Martingale manor house has hosted the annual St Cedd's Church fête for generations, this year feels different. On top of organizing stalls and presiding over luncheon, the bishop and the tea tent, Mrs Eleanor Maxie now also has to contend with the news of her son's sudden engagement to the new parlour maid, the sly and sensuous single mother, Sally Jupp.
Sally has quite a reputation as a ruthless social climber, and no one at Martingale seems too happy about the engagement. But the Maxie family barely has time to contend with her wily ways-on the following morning the whole village is shocked by the discovery of Sally Jupp's body.
Investigating the violent death at the manor house, Detective Chief Inspector Adam Dalgliesh becomes embroiled in the complicated passions beneath the calm surface of English village life.
In Cover Her Face, award-winning P.D. James (author of Death Comes to Pemberley and Children of Men) methodically plots a complex story of family secrets and suspicion. The book was later adapted into a TV miniseries starring Roy Marsden as the inspector protagonist.
Meet the dark and brooding Dalgliesh-a gentleman, a poet, and a gifted detective-and read the novel that launched P.D. James's career as the world's pre-eminent crime writer.

P. D. James was a bestselling and internationally acclaimed crime writer. She was the creator of Adam Dalgliesh and Cordelia Gray, and their long and successful series of mysteries. Her works include Cover Her Face (1962), An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972), Innocent Blood (1980), Children of Men (1992), and the Jane Austen-inspired Death Comes to Pemberley (2011).James was born in Oxford in 1920. She won awards for crime writing in Britain, America, Italy and Scandinavia, including the Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Award. She received honorary degrees from seven British universities, was awarded an OBE in 1983 and created a life peer in 1991. In 1997 she was elected President of the Society of Authors, and stood down from this role in 2013.