Lady James is 88 years old and apparently she hasn’t lost her skill or her acumen.

“The Private Patient” is an Adam Dagliesh mystery and is as spine tingling as her previous works. The story starts a little ahead of the tale.

Rhoda Gradwyn has been murdered and we must go back in time to find out how we got to this awful event.

Rhoda is in her late forties, a solitary person. She has been a successful investigative journalist for a number of years. She has never married and never really felt comfortable socializing because of the horrid scar on her cheek — a scar that was caused by her drunken father when she tried to defend her mother.

Rhoda was sixteen and the gash caused by a broken whiskey bottle changed her life forever. She left home soon after and made her way in the world, always burdened by the dreadful mark.

Rhoda has now made the profound decision at age 47 that it is time to have plastic surgery on the scar and render her more acceptable to the public. Maybe she will be able to look in the mirror each and every morning without cringing.

She has an appointment with Dr. George Chandler-Powell, a leading plastic surgeon, to arrange the operation. She is given a choice to have the procedure done in a large London hospital or at the doctor’s private mansion facility in the suburbs, at Cheverell Manor.

She chooses the private facility and heads there for a one-night visit to familiarize herself with what will be the location for the operation.

If she likes the arrangement, she will return in a couple of weeks for the procedure.

Rhoda is fascinated by the beautiful mansion and the people who comprise the staff for Chandler-Powell. She senses that there are mysteries that are buried in the walls or in the lives of the inhabitants.

The staff has been in place for years: Helena Crescett, a descendant of one of the original owners, still manages the estate, with the assistance of Lettie Frensham. The cooks are a married couple, Dean and Kim Bostock, and Sister Flavia Holland is the chief nurse and aide to the good doctor.

The most interesting of the permanent residents is Dr. Marcus Westhall, who lives in a small cottage on the grounds with his sister Candace.

Their father had lived there with them until his recent death.

Dr. Westhall is Dr. Chandler-Powell’s assistant on all surgeries.

However, he seems deeply troubled by personal conflicts in his life. And sister Candace is very troubled by the presence of a nosy reporter and expresses her concern to her brother.

Rhoda is relying on her reporter’s instincts that there is more below the surface of this historic mansion. She is so attracted to her situation, she decides to stay a little longer and see if there really may be a good story behind all the proper behavior of the staff.

Her prying is what will lead to her demise. And it will be up to Commander Adam Dagliesh to sort it all out and find the murderer. As usual Dagliesh is assisted by his able team, detectives, Mishkin and Benton.

P.D. James is still at the top of her game. And I and many P.D. James fans hope we can look forward to more of her fascinating English mysteries.

“The Private Patient” is available at local book stores and the Wake County Public Libraries.