Death in Holy Orders

Actor Martin Shaw takes over the role of P.D. James' renowned poet and Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh following 10 previous Dalgliesh miniseries starring Roy Marsden. Death in Holy Orders is a powerful mystery revolving around the suffocation death of a student at the theological College of St. Anselm, where Dalgliesh spent peaceful summers in his boyhood. Commencing his investigation, the intellectual sleuth finds a storm brewing: the Church of England is planning to close the school after selling its art assets, and the agent behind this move is an archdeacon (Clive Wood) who destroyed an Anselm priest's reputation by branding him a pedophile. Meanwhile, the reclusive Dalgliesh, a widower, is encouraged by an old mentor and meets an attractive woman on the faculty. An absorbing, intelligent whodunit with strong psychological underpinnings, Death in Holy Orders bows on DVD with a bonus profile of author James. Highly recommended. (T. Keogh)