Inspector Derek Torry of Scotland Yard, in John Gardner's "A Complete State of Death" … is at once an engaging and troubled cop, a character sketched in much greater depth than we are accustomed from the usually lighter-hearted Mr. Gardner. Torry … has become emotionally overinvolved in his mission, his hatred of criminals impairing his judgment and jeopardizing his career. And now, when a crucial investigation of a widespread criminal operation draws him into repeated critical situations, the Catholicism he thought he'd shed rises to confront his sexual involvements and add to his burden of guilt. This is a "message" novel, only slightly pretentious, relevant but underpaced.

Allen J. Hubin, in a review of "A Complete State of Death," in The New York Times Book Review, October 5, 1969, p. 36.