A Mind to Murder is set in a mental health clinic. The clinic specializes in long-term therapy for the middle and upper-middle classes, treating patients who either don't belong or wouldn't feel comfortable in out-patient facilities or mental hospitals.

The doctors and nurses at the clinic have a tangled web of grudges, debts and relationships with one another, and when a murder occurs at the clinic, these all come to light. The mystery is fair, and although I didn't figure out who commited the crime, the criminal was my second choice. Furthermore, this book forced me to add a fourth requirement to my requirements of a fair mystery, as I had omitted a logical, but nonetheless fair, potential plot element from my former analysis.

The character of detective Adam Dalgliesh is fleshed out in this novel in ways that Cover Her Face glossed over. We learn of Dalgliesh's poetry writings and more about his now-dead wife and child, and we see a lot more of his inner thoughts as the story develops. This book is not only a gratifying mystery novel, but it is quite simply a well-written, interesting book.