Original Sin by Phyllis Dorothy "P D" James (1920-2014) - 1995

416 pages. Royal octavo (9 1/4" x 6 1/2") bound in original publisher's quarter black cloth with gilt lettering to spine and cover over black boards in original pictorial jacket. First American edition. The literary world is shaken when a murder takes place at the Peverell Press, an old-established publishing house located in a dramatic mock-Venetian palace on the Thames. The victim is Gerard Etienne, the brilliant new managing director whose ruthless ambition has made him many enemies: a discarded mistress, a rejected and humiliated author and rebellious colleagues. Adam Dalgliesh and his team are confronted with a puzzle of extraordinary complexity and a killer who is prepared to strike again. Condition: A near fine copy in like jacket.