The distinguished Adam Dalgliesh stories begin with Cover Her Face. Few will find this their favorite book in the series. I decided to read Cover Her Face again to provide perspective on P.D. James's latest, The Lighthouse. From that retrospective look, I came away even more impressed with The Lighthouse.But I do recommend that you read Cover Her Face. Although it isn't going to be a favorite of yours, it will be good reading.The book's main weakness is that the detailed development of the place and characters doesn't quite have rich enough material to work with.The plot itself has some marvelous twists and turns that build around the character of a most unusual murder victim, Sally Jupp, a marginally acceptable servant in a wealthy home. The other interesting aspect of the story relates to several interesting variations on the locked room mystery subgenre.In later stories in the series, Baroness James let her imagination run freer . . . with superb results.