4/5 The Murder Room
  by D. Georges (Texas)
Was hoping it was a movie of a play of the same name but it's not... still a good movie.

4/5 Good but not Great Dalgliesh
  by Donegal Dan (Southwest United States)
I must admit right off the bat that I am a fan of Roy Marsden's Adam Dalgliesh and do not take readily to a replacement. However, having said that, I think Martin Shaw will do perfectly well once we get used to him if they will please, please extricate him from idiotic romances with females who do not really seem to appeal to him but are apparently determined to run him to earth just because he doesn't want to be tied down. Marsden's Dalgliesh suffered the same fate from time to time in his series of mysteries but he was more resolute in adhering to his rather frigid approach to women and in many of the stories they just referred to Dalgliesh's unfortunate loss of his wife in childbirth and let it go at that. The character is presented as a cool, self-contained and introspective intellectual, not someone who is going to be blown away by some rather ditzy female he hardly knows, which is what happens in this and the previous story. Assuming that we get past this unfortunate aspect of the two most recent efforts, the stories are the usual rather convoluted but engrossing James products. This particular one, which is the second of the Martin Shaw portrayals,is set in a museum with a murder room, which gives the story its title and setting. The cast, who are uniformly good, are a motly crew of family members and employees who keep the suspense high most of the way through and represent a typically Jamsian mix of psychologically screwed up folks. All in all, a good if not great Dalgliesh outing. Keep Martin Shaw, lose the dumb romances.

5/5 Excellent mystery
  by John W. Irwin (Hays County, TX)
I watched this on PBS and just had to have a copy for myself. P,D. James is a fantastic writer and the acting is simply great.

4/5 A different Dalgleish
  by R. A. Hoerst (Pennsauken, NJ USA)
I won't recap the plot as I would just be repeating what others have said here. Just say that Martin Shaw brings a different dimension to Adam Dalgleish and I see nothing wrong with it. Those who rant that only Roy Marsden can play the role are short-sighted. Would you reject all other Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot portrayers but the very first? That would leave you with Margaret Rutherford but not Helen Hayes, Joan Hickson and others. As for Poirot, you'd miss the definitive David Suchet portrayal in lieu of Austin Trevor (who?) It's a different Dalgleish, but no less enjoyable.

4/5 My worst failure comes back to me in flames of fire
  by Baking Enthusiast (Chicago, IL USA)
The Murder Room by P. D. James is a classic whodunit featuring Lady James' franchise character, Adam Dalgliesh. Viewers of Anglia TV's 1980s and 1990s adaptations will remember actor, Roy Marsden, as the analytical, poetry-loving commander in the Metropolitan Police Service of New Scotland Yard. In the more recent BBC productions, actor Martin Shaw is the new Dalgliesh.

The story opens with a heated discussion among siblings Neville, Marc, and Caroline, all trustees of the Dupayne Museum established by their father. The deceased Max Dupayne's will stipulated that the museum would close if his children do not unanimously renew its lease. Marc and Caroline are intent on keeping the museum open. Neville, a psychiatrist, would like to see it sold and his share of the proceeds go toward funding his clinic. A portion of the museum is dedicated to a macabre exhibit of notorious murders in the interwar years thus, the title. Not long after, Neville is found burned to death in a car lock-up and the body of a young model is discovered in a tin trunk inside the museum. Adam Dalgliesh is assigned the investigation while he's attempting to rekindle a romance with Cambridge lecturer, Emma, who he met in a previous case.

I read the book years ago and I actually prefer the film version. But like the book, the initial challenge here is the sheer number of characters, most of whom are suspects, and there are flashbacks that do not make sense until later. As it progresses, though, pieces begin to fall into place and over three hours, we get to know the characters well enough to be engaged in the story. This is a lavish production as we've come to expect with BBC. The actors, especially Samantha Bond as Caroline, are excellent as always. As a long-time viewer of the Roy Marsden versions, it's taking me awhile to get used to the new face of Martin Shaw in the Dalgliesh role, but this, in no way, reflects on Shaw's superb performance. The DVD extras include an interview with P. D. James, a must-see for fans such as myself.

As I mentioned, this story has an overwhelming number of characters we're introduced to rather rapidly. For those interested, I've provided a list of the significant characters, which I hope will be helpful to future viewers.

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Dupayne Family:
Dr. Neville Dupayne - dedicated psychiatrist; at odds with siblings over museum's future
Caroline Dupayne - Neville's wealthy and snobbish sister who harbors a secret involving the rich and powerful
Marcus Dupayne - pushed out of his firm and abandoned by his wife, he`s adamant on keeping the museum and running it himself
Sara Dupayne - Neville's daughter who's desperate for her share of the museum's sale

Museum Staff:
Muriel Godby - sees to the everyday running of the museum; will lose her job if museum is sold
Tally Clutton - housekeeper; discovers Neville's body in flames; will lose her job and cottage if museum is sold
James Calder-Hale - curator; same concerns as Muriel and Tally
Marie Strickland - volunteer calligraphist; has a long history with the Dupaynes
Ryan Archer - former car thief; handyman at museum and prime suspect in the murders

Scotland Yard:
Adam Dalgliesh
Kate Miskin - DI on Dalglieh's team
Piers Tarrant - DI on Dalgliesh's team
Bruno Denholm - MI5 agent intent on covering up possible involvement of powerful people

Others:
Emma Lavenham - Dalgliesh's love interest
Clara - Emma's friend who thinks Emma deserves better than Dalgliesh
Angela Faraday - Neville's married assistant; distraught over the break-up of her affair with Neville
Lord Marthesham - married politician implicated in Neville's death
Celia Mellock - second victim; young model having an affair with Marthesham
Alfred Arthur Rouse - (only in flashback) a 1930s murderer whose modus operandi is duplicated by Neville's killer