Commander Adam Dalgliesh returns to find himself enmeshed in a terrifying story of passion and mystery--and in love. As trustees of a small, private museum argue over whether it should be closed, one of them is brutally and mysteriously murdered. When a second corpse is discovered, the murders appear to echo the notorious crimes of the past featured in one of the museum's galleries.
National Bestseller

Murders present meet murders past in P.D. James's latest harrowing, thought-provoking thriller.

Commander Adam Dalgliesh is already acquainted with the Dupayne--a museum dedicated to the interwar years, with a room celebrating the most notorious murders of that time--when he is called to investigate the killing of one of the family trustees. He soon discovers that the victim was seeking to close the museum against the wishes of the fellow trustees and the Dupayne's devoted staff. Everyone, it seems, has something to gain from the crime. When it becomes clear that the murderer has been inspired by the real-life crimes from the murder room--and is preparing to kill again--Dalgliesh knows that to solve this case he has to get into the mind of a ruthless killer.