AGE has not blunted her incisive way with a whodunit. At 85, PD James remains as devoted as ever to the fine art of murder.

Here is another elegant, thoughtful crime novel - as far removed, surely, from real-life crime as possible, and yet that does not matter. Never mind that the murder of a famous writer on a remote Cornish island attracts only Adam Dalgliesh and two colleagues, where in actuality the place would be swarming with police. It makes sense in James's world, and so it makes sense to the dedicated reader of her higher-class mysteries.

As is so often the case with this venerable writer, the location is described in lovingly complete detail, so that this imaginary place lives in the mind. It is also, as with earlier novels, an isolated place, setting the confines for a mystery which unwinds by slow, pensive turns, layering the history of the characters, so that the past and present live together in the combined moment.

Updated: 16:30 Friday, December 02, 2005