A Mind to Murder (Inspector Adam Dalgliesh Mystery)

Product Information

The suspect pressured, coerced or controlled the victim to make the decision or did not take reasonable steps to ensure that any other person had not pressured, coerced or controlled the victim. Vulnerable victims may be more susceptible to being unduly influenced to view themselves as a burden; This section sets out the relevant public interest factors that should be considered when reviewing cases where there is evidence of a 'mercy killing' or a suicide pact in the context of 'mercy killing'. Where a woman causes the death of her biological child under the age of twelve months, but at the time the balance of her mind was disturbed because she had not fully recovered from the effect of giving birth or subsequent lactation, she may be guilty of infanticide and fall to be sentenced for manslaughter rather than murder: section 1 Infanticide Act 1938. Dalgliesh is a widower. He lost his wife in childbirth 13 years before A Mind to Murder, and was reluctant to commit himself ever since. His relationship with Deborah Riscoe ended because of this. During his time at St. Anselm's in Suffolk, he meets Cambridge lecturer Emma Lavenham and later asks her to marry him. The wedding takes place at the end of The Private Patient, published in 2008.

If I thought this book was written later in P.D. James’ Adam Dalgliesh series, I might have been disappointed in it. Knowing that it was only the second had me giving it something of the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes authors seem to take a while before they hit their stride with a series. For instance, if I had started Louise Penny's Gamache series (which I adore) with the first book rather than in the middle, I might not have continued. Initially she didn't seem to know quite what she wanted to do with her characters; that came in the third book if I recall correctly. A Mind to Murder was adapted for television in 1995 as part of the long running Dalgliesh TV-series for Anglia Television/ITV (1983-1998) starring actor Roy Marsden as Chief Detective Inspector Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard. You can watch the entire episode of the 1995 adaptation on YouTube here. NOTE: The adaptation differs considerably from the original novel. that other person was under the influence of drink or a prohibited drug at the time they went to bed The offence is not restricted to parents, and siblings aged 16 or over, but to others who join the household, including new partners, other family members, domiciliary carers or au pairs. It is unlikely to extend to care homes or nurseries. The elements of the offence involve careful fact-sensitive analysis. This includes reasonableness in the light of the suspect's circumstances, intellectual and emotional capabilities and their ability to make independent decisions and choices. Where a defendant has not given evidence, or has refused to answer certain questions, it remains important to ask what inferences may properly be drawn from this and to consider them as part of the evidence as a whole. This is so, notwithstanding that the 2004 Act provides that there may be a case to answer where inferences can be drawn from silence where otherwise there would not be. In reality, when this question arises at the close of all of the evidence, there will be other evidence available. That should not preclude significant and substantial weight being placed on the defendant's silence. However, the evidential context into which this is placed should be clearly articulated by the prosecution. Proper inferences from silence rely on the case being of a nature where difficult questions about why a defendant has not given evidence should be considered by the jury: see Quinn [2017] EWCA Crim 1071.

Young, Laurel A. (9 June 2017). P.D. James: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction. ISBN 9781476628905.

His father was the rector of a Norfolk country parish. His sole family relation was his aunt, Jane Dalgliesh, whom he held in high esteem. After her death, Dalgliesh inherits, among other bequests, a converted windmill located on the Norfolk coast. In his lengthy career, he has been quite astute and successful and now heads a squad of CID officers working on only the most sensitive cases.

Further reading

Attorney General's consent needs to be obtained (section 2(2) Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996) before initiating proceedings, if: The administrator of a posh psychiatric clinic in London has been murdered; the setting is the early 1960s, so electro-convulsive and LSD treatments are a couple of the clinic's offerings, in addition to other therapies. (Not that these had anything to do with the plot; I just had to keep reminding myself that the book is more than 50 years old.) The loss of control defence has three components – see section 54(1)(a)(b)and (c) Coroners and Justice Act 2009: For examples of where insufficient evidence of loss of control was raised, in respect of one or more of the elements required, and so the issue was not left to the jury, see R v Gurpinar (Mustafa) [2015] EWCA Crim 178, R v Dawes, Hatter and Bowyer [2013] EWCA Crim 322, and R v Christian [2018] EWCA Crim 1344.

Although Verena despised Emmeline, she leaves a cryptic message for her that is too tantalizing to ignore. However the layer upon layer of lies, jealousy and revenge touch too close to home when her brother Adam is implicated in the Raven's schemes to infiltrate the London Diamond Bourse and to murder a prominent British official.

Contribute to This Page

gives guidance on how prosecutors should approach the public interest considerations when dealing with "mercy killings" and suicide pacts. This was a better story than the first in the series. The premise was interesting and the characters were more complicated. Dalgliesh doesn't quite attain the end to his satisfaction, but even this part failure had an attraction. The story had its share of clues and some deliberate red-herrings, but since Dalglish was set on first to find the motive, it was not very difficult to guess the criminal. I'm happy to be right there. However, the plot twist which was introduced at the end was unimpressive. The author must have wanted to increase the suspense and take the readers by surprise, but it destroyed the balance so carefully maintained up to that point.