Preview of A Taste for Death Summary:

In A Taste for Death, James portrays the conflict of a fatherless child with an alcoholic and promiscuous mother.

Young Darren, who accompanies the elderly Miss Wharton to St. Matthew's Church, seems to have some clue to a murder. Because of this, the policeman Massingham insists upon seeing his home, which is a wretched hovel in a poor section of the city. The mother is oblivious to the problems of her son, who collects stolen objects on which he manages to survive. Once saved by welfare, he is sickly, and was spared by the murderer. The problem of juvenile crime is delicately probed by James, who has had personal experience in dealing with young people and their social difficulties.

James's preoccupation with the issue of abortion is reflected in the spurious medical practices of Dr. Lampart, who has gained his popularity by violating the...