A Taste for Death

This is the first P. D. James mystery I ever remember watching. Not that I'm sure it was meant for kids, but I was fortunate to see it when it was first broadcast in 1988 and it stayed in my memory ever since - and no wonder! It is without doubt one of the creepiest mysteries ever filmed, full of atmosphere and foreboding - something P. D. James was especially good at in her novels. Indeed, having read the book years later it is remarkable how they have managed to adapt this. For those familiar to James' novels, they are not always conventional in their structure, and with A Taste For Death much of what happens in the first 3 episodes has already happened when the novel begins with the discovery of Sir Paul Berrowne's body. To see how they have adapted it here with so much back story to build up is remarkable and a triumph for the screenwriter Alick Rowe, who creates a masterpiece.

The story here begins with Tory MP Sir Paul Berrowne (Bosco Hogan) meeting up with Adam Dalgliesh in the park, where he shows him a series of anonymous letters written to him. They allege various things, including his involvement in his 1st wife's death in a car crash and his brother Hugo's murder, whose fiance Barbara Swayne he then married. But as Dalgliesh investigates, Berrowne begins behaving rather oddly to those who know him after having a religious conversion when visiting St Matthew's Church one day. He informs his council that he intends to resign as an MP, tells his wife Barbara that he plans to sell the family home and lets her cousin (and lover) Stephen Lampart know that he intends to withdraw all funding from his abortion clinic. More disturbing is when he is seen leaving an embankment where a young girl, Diana Travers (a brave part for London's Burning's Ona McCracken) is drowned, having been with a party of friends, including Dominic Swayne, brother of Barbara Berrowne. Barbara was also there at The Black Swan pub nearby with her lover Stephen Lampart, and later we discover that Diana worked for the Berrowne family after Sir Paul receives another anonymous letter suggesting he was responsible for Diana's death.

Bosco Hogan gives a lovely performance as Sir Paul Berrowne. He captures perfectly the man's decency as he is thrown into turmoil by his religious experience, conflicted by his wealth and his job as an MP knowing he has little power to do anything and tormented by past sins - including when he was once a solicitor and failed to acquit a man he was defending, leading to him taking on the man's mentally unstable daughter Evelyn Matlock (a memorable Gabrielle Lloyd) as a housekeeper out of guilt. Even though he only appears in one episode, Hogan leaves a memorable impression of someone you cannot help but like. When his wife Barbara informs him that she is pregnant, his first response is "Whose is it?" But he doesn't come across as callous because all of the people around him are so calculating and cold. And he has some lovely scenes with Roy Marsden as Dalgliesh, who positively radiates warmth here. When Dalgliesh is called to investigate Berrowne's murder, you cannot help but feel he is genuinely moved by the loss of a man he liked and respected.

And the actual murder is as memorable as it is bloody and bizarre. This adaptation does well in building up the events leading up to the murder, creating a feeling of foreboding right up to that fateful decision of Berrowne to ask Father Barnes if he can stay the night in the church vestry. When his body is discovered the next morning by cleaner Emily Wharton and a young boy, Darren Wilkes, they come across the bloody sight of both Sir Paul Berrowne and that of a tramp, Harry Mack, both murdered in the vestry with a razor blade. Quite why the tramp is there or why Berrowne's diary is found burnt in a grate is just two of many intriguing factors in this mystery that Dalgliesh has to pick through. But the settings of the church and the Berrowne house just adds to an unsettling feeling that pervades throughout this mystery that makes this genuinely creepy at times. And adding to this factor is the Berrowne household, dominated by Berrowne's mother Lady Ursula (Wendy Hillier). Boy, they are an unpleasant lot, with their snobbery and wealth (or the want of it) and utter selfishness in getting what they want. But they are also utterly compelling, made so by some marvellous performances.

It's hard to single out anyone, given that there are so many who are good in this, but chief amongst them is Wendy Hillier as Lady Ursula. The scenes where she hears that her son has been murdered by first Inspector Kate Miskin (Penny Downie) and then Dalgliesh are incredibly moving, and Hillier shows what a superb actress she was here. Equally impressive is Simon Ward, who is truly chilling as Stephen Lampart, a doctor who runs an abortion clinic that has very unethical practices. He creates the feeling of someone you can't trust, even when he is seemingly being nice to you, such as the somewhat unnerving scene he has with nurse Teresa Nolan (Rebecca Saire). Saire also deserves praise as the sweet Catholic nurse, who having lost her only friend in Sir Paul Berrowne, finds herself sacked from her job and tormented by guilt and of what she knows. And Gabrielle Lloyd is truly memorable as the unstable Miss Matlock, seemingly ready to lash out at anyone. And with her unpredictability and her tricorn hairstyle she makes for a unforgettable character. I also liked Derek Newark as Halliwell the chauffeur and Avril Elgar as Emily Wharton and her friendship with young Darren Wilkes (Tat Whalley), whose youthful exuberance brings colour to her empty life.

Indeed, A Taste For Death is as much a social comment on society in 1988 as it is a mystery, but one that does not bog itself down in preaching or in taking sides. There is a prevalent theme of class, politics and faith running throughout. Whereas Sir Paul Berrowne and nurse Teresa Nolan have their faith, others cannot believe such as Berrowne's mother, while Dalgliesh continues to be conflicted, having lost his faith after his wife's death. Meanwhile, while Berrowne is a Tory MP, his daughter Sarah (Kate Buffery) has rejected her upbringing to get involved with a group of left wing Marxists led by boyfriend Ivor Garrod (Rob Spendlove), who ironically works as a social worker. Yet it is pretty even handed in it's criticisms of both the Marxists and the Berrowne family, without the stereotyping that usually pervades TV dramas today. And class and wealth regularly falls under scrutiny. While the Berrowne family come from a long line of aristocracy and privilege, young Darren Wilkes lives in poverty with an alcoholic mother and later finds himself put into foster care. Barbara Berrowne and her brother Dominic Swayne grew up in hardship, but once married into the Berrowne family they are determined to keep onto their new found wealth. Meanwhile working class chauffeur Gordon Halliwell admires and respects Lady Ursula, but despises Barbara and Dominic because he hates spongers. In one telling scene Lady Ursula refuses to pay to have her hip seen to in a private hospital as she "likes to enjoy the privileges she is entitled to on the NHS." Meanwhile Kate Miskin's gran is stuck living in a block of flats on the 17th floor, unable to afford to move and later ends up in hospital after being mugged, with the hospital keen for Miskin to take her in to free up a bed. Penny Downie is wonderful as Inspector Kate Miskin, fighting to make it up the ladder in a man's world, and thoroughly aware of her lowly upbringing. She positively bristles with anger at times as she looks on how the Berrowne family look down upon others. Yet it doesn't overwhelm this adaptation either, and Dalgliesh is quick to remind her not to dismiss the Berrownes' grief out of hand because of this. Miskin is a great addition for Dalgliesh, a warm compassionate character who he bounces off wonderfully well, and it's just a shame that Downie wasn't persuaded to be brought back for the later adaptations. No one made their mark on her quite like Downie does here.

If there is one slight criticism, it is that for such a compelling and complex mystery it seemingly reveals the culprit sooner than it should. There is also a shooting in the final episode that never fully explains whether the character survives or not, but the actual scene stays long in the memory - well, it did for me as a kid! This mystery also involves another dramatic climax, though unlike The Black Tower here it seems to fit in with all the other dramatic events and revelations that occur in the final episode. Apart from these minor quibbles, A Taste For Death remains the pinnacle of the P. D. James cannon. It is packed with so many twists and turns and memorable moments, with a cast giving superb performances, plus a truly sinister and pervading atmosphere that is quite striking, especially in the church scenes which, far from emanating peace instead emits a deep sense of dread. The theme tune to this series has always been memorably eerie, but it is especially effective here. And what is even more remarkable having read the book is how they have adapted such a superb mystery with so little to work on from the book to establish it's opening episodes. It's that which makes screenwriter Alick Rowe's adaptation even more astonishing and such a shame that he never did any other P. D. James adaptations. This one is superb.