The format follows that of some of her other Adam Dalgliesh mysteries, that is the story focuses on the people surrounding, involved in, or otherwise impacted by the murder. This sets the stage, allows us to get to know the people involved, and typically the murder victim, prior to the deed. The deed itself is not shown to us, so we must work alongside Dalgliesh and his team while they try and sort it out.
James does a good job, and its clear why she's so popular. Lots of her books have been made into movies and television shows, including one of this book, in the UK. There are a fair number of English terms that may hang up American English readers, but that's pretty typical I think and context clues certainly help in most cases, but there are some things that just don't come across; Is that a clue or lunch they're taking about?
Some of the more complicated words have to do with the law and the courts. We're all familiar with what a barrister is, and that they wear wigs in court, and what robes? A gown? Not sure what those terms are. That doesn't prevent a good read however.
