Books I've read since last posting

Unnatural Causes by P D James (very good)
The Compass Rose by Ursula le Guin (very good)
Winning Can be Murder by Bill Crider (very average)
Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov
Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov
Consider Her Ways and Others by John Wyndham (brilliant)

The Lighthouse - P D James

Shroud for a Nightingale - P D James

Shroud for a Nightingale is my favourite P D James murder mystery that I've read to date. Set in a residential teaching hospital, appropriately named Nightingale House, one of the student nurses is dies horribly when she is fed corrosive poison in a teaching demonstration that goes wrong. The police and her fellow students are left to ponder the equally unlikely options of accident, suicide or murder. But then a second student dies an unnatural death and although the connection between the two is far from clear, Superintendent Dalgliesh from Scotland Yard has to discover the killer(s).

Like all of P D James' novels, this was an easy and engaging read, perfect for passing away a few dull hours on the tram. In addition to the mystery, James paints a fascinating picture of nursing as a profession in transition in the late 1960s - aided by her extensive personal knowledge and experience (P D James worked in hospital administration from 1940-early 1960s and then in the criminal section of the Department of Home Affairs). While some of the older nurses regarded nursing as a vocation and some of the students saw it as a stepping stone before marriage, others were fighting to professionalise the career and ensure the next generation received proper formal instruction as well as on-the-job training.

As always, there is a satisfying range of motives and personalities to confuse and mislead the reader, as well as the highly intelligent but ultimately human Superintendent Dalgliesh. Definitely worth reading.