Relatively fair

Author: James
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: This is one of the representative works of P.D. James, a renowned British contemporary detective fiction writer. Young Gary Ash is accused of murdering his aunt, and the Royal Legal Advisor and senior lawyer Miss Aldrich, knowing he is the killer, successfully defends him with her exceptional skills. After his release, Gary schemes to seduce the lawyer's daughter, causing great distress to the lawyer. Four weeks later, Miss Aldrich is murdered in her office, her body desecrated. This strong-willed woman had many enemies before her death. Who killed her? Her lover? Her ex-husband? A colleague? A client? This book is an excellent British detective novel. It tells a complex case within a case. Young Gary Ash is accused of cruelly murdering his aunt, and Miss Virginia Aldrich, a Royal Legal Advisor and senior lawyer, successfully defends him. For Miss Aldrich, this is just another case she handles and another chance to win in her illustrious career as a criminal lawyer. However, this "Queen vs. Ash" trial triggers a series of unexpected and terrifying events. Four weeks after Ash is acquitted, Miss Aldrich is found dead in her chambers office chair, wearing a bloodstained long wig. Thus, Detective Chief Inspector Diver and his team are called in to investigate this very subtle and perplexing murder. Who could hate her so intensely as to kill her? Her lover? Her ex-husband? The client she wronged? A colleague in the chambers? The ambitious person in the chambers who despises and fears her? Detective Chief Inspector Diver leads his team in a thorough and tense investigation of all. Later, at a critical moment in the investigation, another key suspect, Mrs. Carpenter, is found beheaded in a pool of blood. During the investigation of this new case, the team discovers from the victim's will that, to take revenge on Miss Aldrich, Mrs. Carpenter had hired Ash to seduce the lawyer's daughter, Octavia. Overwhelmed by fear after the crime, Ash abducts Octavia and flees to the reeds by the sea. At this moment, a person who deeply understands Ash comes to rescue Octavia but is killed by Ash. Later, the police deploy a helicopter to surround Ash, who has a knife to Octavia's throat. When persuasion fails, they shoot him dead. At the end of the story, Detective Chief Inspector Diver returns to the chambers and imagines and weaves the details of the murder with someone who may have killed Miss Aldrich. However, lacking concrete evidence, the police cannot arrest and prosecute this person. Nevertheless, the author leaves us some room to reflect and ponder the case. In this book, author P.D. James shows us various aspects of contemporary British society, primarily focusing on court and extrajudicial scenes, life in the chambers, the police force, shelters, education, marriage and crime, urban and rural settings, and more. Through these vivid descriptions of social life, the author introduces us to a real modern British society, critiquing or praising the diverse individuals who live in it, analyzing their different life goals and pursuits of personal value. However, through the author's descriptions of a series of murders, we can clearly see that the author at least emphasizes the following issues. , the British legal and judicial system is based on the principle of "innocent until proven guilty." Some believe this system, though not perfect, is the best because it maximizes the protection of the accused. Whether in court or during the investigation, people act accordingly. However, this system also has significant flaws, as it sometimes allows the real to escape justice, allowing them to continue harming society afterward. Second, the quality of the detectives and officers in the London Police Department is quite high. They are well-trained, fearless, intelligent, resourceful, brave, decisive, conscientious, sleepless, and hardworking. Throughout the book, the author gives them high praise and admiration. Third, the author uses Gary Ash as a typical example to deeply analyze and point out some important causes of youth crime. The author believes that, apart from the youths themselves, factors such as broken families, parents' divorce, illegitimate births, cohabitation outside of marriage, neglect or improper education can lead to abnormal psychology in youth, pushing them toward crime or even murder. This is probably a common social phenomenon in many countries, including China, and holds significant lessons for us. Fourth, based on the specific circumstances of one of the main characters in the story, Miss Virginia Aldrich, and considering some phenomena around us, we regretfully find that, whether in the UK or China, a person with great ability and achievement, strong principles, a harsh attitude, and a sharp tongue often makes too many enemies, invites jealousy and resentment, and sometimes even faces deadly consequences. In a certain sense, this also offers people some negative lessons and inspiration.