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Adam Dalgliesh #8
Devices and Desires
When Commander Adam Dalgliesh visits Larksoken, a remote headland community on the Norfolk coast in the shadow of a nuclear power station, he expects to be engaged only in the sad business of tying up his aunt's estate. But the peace of Larksoken is illusory. A serial killer known as the Whistler is terrorising the neighbourhood and Dalgliesh is drawn into the lives of the headlanders when it quickly becomes apparent that the Whistler isn't the only murderer at work under the sinister shadow of the power station.
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
About the author
P.D. James
159 books3,049 followersP. D. James, byname of Phyllis Dorothy James White, Baroness James of Holland Park, (born August 3, 1920, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England—died November 27, 2014, Oxford), British mystery novelist best known for her fictional detective Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard.
The daughter of a middle-grade civil servant, James grew up in the university town of Cambridge. Her formal education, however, ended at age 16 because of lack of funds, and she was thereafter self-educated. In 1941 she married Ernest C.B. White, a medical student and future physician, who returned home from wartime service mentally deranged and spent much of the rest of his life in psychiatric hospitals. To support her family (which included two children), she took work in hospital administration and, after her husband’s death in 1964, became a civil servant in the criminal section of the Department of Home Affairs. Her first mystery novel, Cover Her Face (1962), introduced Dalgliesh and was followed by six more mysteries before she retired from government service in 1979 to devote full time to writing.
Dalgliesh, James’s master detective who rises from chief inspector in the first novel to chief superintendent and then to commander, is a serious, introspective person, moralistic yet realistic. The novels in which he appears are peopled by fully rounded characters, who are civilized, genteel, and motivated. The public resonance created by James’s singular characterization and deployment of classic mystery devices led to most of the novels featuring Dalgliesh being filmed for television. James, who earned the sobriquet “Queen of Crime,” penned 14 Dalgliesh novels, with the last, The Private Patient, appearing in 2008.
James also wrote An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972) and The Skull Beneath the Skin (1982), which centre on Cordelia Gray, a young private detective. The first of these novels was the basis for both a television movie and a short-lived series. James expanded beyond the mystery genre in The Children of Men (1992; film 2006), which explores a dystopian world in which the human race has become infertile. Her final work, Death Comes to Pemberley (2011)—a sequel to Pride and Prejudice (1813)—amplifies the class and relationship tensions between Jane Austen’s characters by situating them in the midst of a murder investigation. James’s nonfiction works include The Maul and the Pear Tree (1971), a telling of the Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811 written with historian T.A. Critchley, and the insightful Talking About Detective Fiction (2009). Her memoir, Time to Be in Earnest, was published in 2000. She was made OBE in 1983 and was named a life peer in 1991.
The daughter of a middle-grade civil servant, James grew up in the university town of Cambridge. Her formal education, however, ended at age 16 because of lack of funds, and she was thereafter self-educated. In 1941 she married Ernest C.B. White, a medical student and future physician, who returned home from wartime service mentally deranged and spent much of the rest of his life in psychiatric hospitals. To support her family (which included two children), she took work in hospital administration and, after her husband’s death in 1964, became a civil servant in the criminal section of the Department of Home Affairs. Her first mystery novel, Cover Her Face (1962), introduced Dalgliesh and was followed by six more mysteries before she retired from government service in 1979 to devote full time to writing.
Dalgliesh, James’s master detective who rises from chief inspector in the first novel to chief superintendent and then to commander, is a serious, introspective person, moralistic yet realistic. The novels in which he appears are peopled by fully rounded characters, who are civilized, genteel, and motivated. The public resonance created by James’s singular characterization and deployment of classic mystery devices led to most of the novels featuring Dalgliesh being filmed for television. James, who earned the sobriquet “Queen of Crime,” penned 14 Dalgliesh novels, with the last, The Private Patient, appearing in 2008.
James also wrote An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972) and The Skull Beneath the Skin (1982), which centre on Cordelia Gray, a young private detective. The first of these novels was the basis for both a television movie and a short-lived series. James expanded beyond the mystery genre in The Children of Men (1992; film 2006), which explores a dystopian world in which the human race has become infertile. Her final work, Death Comes to Pemberley (2011)—a sequel to Pride and Prejudice (1813)—amplifies the class and relationship tensions between Jane Austen’s characters by situating them in the midst of a murder investigation. James’s nonfiction works include The Maul and the Pear Tree (1971), a telling of the Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811 written with historian T.A. Critchley, and the insightful Talking About Detective Fiction (2009). Her memoir, Time to Be in Earnest, was published in 2000. She was made OBE in 1983 and was named a life peer in 1991.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 642 reviews
August 4, 2019
Love Adam Dalgliesh and P.D. James. Read this one a considerable number of years ago and of course watched it on TV.
October 7, 2020
This eighth book of the Dalgliesh series takes us to a village in the headland of Norfolk where a nuclear power station is shadowing the community. Apart from the possible threat that the power station poses to the public, and amidst the minor protests, there is a greater danger to the community with a serial killer on the loose. And to this confusion, Adam Dalgliesh is drawn to settle his affairs arisen following his aunt's death.
With her usual intelligent writing, P.D. James paints an eerie atmosphere of the headland, creating the air of gloom and foreboding. In this sinister setup, James exposes power, ambition, and misguided idealism which leads to blackmail, deceit, and murder.
The murder-mystery is entangled with complex social and personal issues of those attached to the power station and the inhabitants of the headland. While the mystery surrounding the murders were undermined by these secondary subjects, it produced a good story overall. The characters were complex and were chosen from very different sections. I found them interesting and enjoyed the psychological penetrations into their lives.
This wasn't an Adam Dalgliesh's case. At least not in the strict sense. He was more of a watcher than an investigator. He was only thrown into the muddle by being a witness. I don't usually enjoy Dalgliesh playing the second fiddle, but here, I didn't mind it so much. Dalgleish's role in this mystery is not in the capacity of a policeman but as a human being. I truly liked the way Dalgleish was portrayed in this story. He is detached of course from the crime and the investigation, yet he is very much attached to its course through his subtle and humane handling of the possible suspects. I think this story is where Adam Dalgliesh shines his best as a person.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. It certainly revived me from the bitter disappointment of the previous book of the series. I cannot say it is a better murder-mystery in itself. There were better ones. But nonetheless, it was a good story on the whole.
With her usual intelligent writing, P.D. James paints an eerie atmosphere of the headland, creating the air of gloom and foreboding. In this sinister setup, James exposes power, ambition, and misguided idealism which leads to blackmail, deceit, and murder.
The murder-mystery is entangled with complex social and personal issues of those attached to the power station and the inhabitants of the headland. While the mystery surrounding the murders were undermined by these secondary subjects, it produced a good story overall. The characters were complex and were chosen from very different sections. I found them interesting and enjoyed the psychological penetrations into their lives.
This wasn't an Adam Dalgliesh's case. At least not in the strict sense. He was more of a watcher than an investigator. He was only thrown into the muddle by being a witness. I don't usually enjoy Dalgliesh playing the second fiddle, but here, I didn't mind it so much. Dalgleish's role in this mystery is not in the capacity of a policeman but as a human being. I truly liked the way Dalgleish was portrayed in this story. He is detached of course from the crime and the investigation, yet he is very much attached to its course through his subtle and humane handling of the possible suspects. I think this story is where Adam Dalgliesh shines his best as a person.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. It certainly revived me from the bitter disappointment of the previous book of the series. I cannot say it is a better murder-mystery in itself. There were better ones. But nonetheless, it was a good story on the whole.
January 5, 2020
Ironically amusing and tragic.
Not sure I'm suppose to find it funny, but I do. James does complicated storylines interwoven with equally complicated people in atmospherically wrought settings.
The desolate Norwich coast on the unforgiving North Sea set in the shadow of a nuclear power plant is where Dalgliesh finds himself thrust right into the middle of a murder. No rest for the wicked or diligent, even while on vacation. What unfolds is the unearthing of a Gordian knot of humanity.
Good mystery: twisted plot, steady pace, complex characters, and visceral setting.
3.5 stars, rounding up for the irony.
Can we ever break free of the devices and desires of our own hearts?
Not sure I'm suppose to find it funny, but I do. James does complicated storylines interwoven with equally complicated people in atmospherically wrought settings.
"Life has always been unsatisfactory for most people for most of the time. The world isn't designed for our satisfaction. That's no reason for trying to pull it down about our ears."
The desolate Norwich coast on the unforgiving North Sea set in the shadow of a nuclear power plant is where Dalgliesh finds himself thrust right into the middle of a murder. No rest for the wicked or diligent, even while on vacation. What unfolds is the unearthing of a Gordian knot of humanity.
Good mystery: twisted plot, steady pace, complex characters, and visceral setting.
3.5 stars, rounding up for the irony.
January 14, 2020
This twenty-year-old novel proves once again that P. D. James is truly a master of the mystery genre. In this installment of the Adam Dalgliesh mystery series, her protagonist finds himself on England's sparsely populated headlands to attend to matters of his deceased aunt's estate. Meanwhile England's latest serial killer is on the loose. And his latest victim is an employee at the nearby nuclear power plant that dominates the headland. Though Dalgliesh is off duty while out in the country, his proximity to events and his discovery of what seems like the latest victim while walking along the beach involve him in the mysterious events.
This book, like all of James's mysteries, is filled with well-developed characters that give verisimilitude to her stories, that give real humanity to the victims, to those touched by the killings, and even to the suspects. This serves both to give depth to the narrative and to heighten the tension of the mystery, as it makes suspects more interesting but also keeps you guessing as to who the real perpetrator may be. Devices and Desires also contains some great dialogue that probes deeper issues, such as the detective's relationship to death, or the possible continuing relevance of the category of sin, or the possibility of justice in a world full of twisted devices and desires that enmesh our lives.
This mystery does not disappoint. It is well written, thoughtful, and entertaining, and it comes to a satisfying conclusion. I highly recommend it.
Update: On rereading, this book held up so well. It is certainly one of her best, and honestly, one of the best novels I've read. James has a powerful way with words, and she deftly and gently handles deep and searching questions, particularly, What do we make of the devices and desires of the human heart? Outstanding.
This book, like all of James's mysteries, is filled with well-developed characters that give verisimilitude to her stories, that give real humanity to the victims, to those touched by the killings, and even to the suspects. This serves both to give depth to the narrative and to heighten the tension of the mystery, as it makes suspects more interesting but also keeps you guessing as to who the real perpetrator may be. Devices and Desires also contains some great dialogue that probes deeper issues, such as the detective's relationship to death, or the possible continuing relevance of the category of sin, or the possibility of justice in a world full of twisted devices and desires that enmesh our lives.
This mystery does not disappoint. It is well written, thoughtful, and entertaining, and it comes to a satisfying conclusion. I highly recommend it.
Update: On rereading, this book held up so well. It is certainly one of her best, and honestly, one of the best novels I've read. James has a powerful way with words, and she deftly and gently handles deep and searching questions, particularly, What do we make of the devices and desires of the human heart? Outstanding.
March 28, 2019
This was another mind blower by P.D. James. I saw the film years ago, but forgot the end. So the end was a surprise for me.
The only reason why I gave this one four instead of five stars, is because this was supposed to be a Dalgliesh book, but it seemed more like a cameo role instead of a full on Dalgliesh story.
Maybe James was trying something new with this one.
I am looking forward to reading Number 9 in this series.
The only reason why I gave this one four instead of five stars, is because this was supposed to be a Dalgliesh book, but it seemed more like a cameo role instead of a full on Dalgliesh story.
Maybe James was trying something new with this one.
I am looking forward to reading Number 9 in this series.
April 10, 2020
At 15 hours 11 minutes, the audio book version of Devices and Desires is more than double the length of a comparable Agatha Christie mystery.
Ostensibly about a Norfolk-based serial killer (‘the Whistler’) the plot takes a sharp turn into rather more obscure territory, a dysfunctional community that inhabits an isolated headland dominated by a controversial nuclear power station.
Here, it seemed to me, there were two characters for every role; twice as many names to remember; twice as many lives to dive into (for reasons at times unfathomable); twice as much superfluous waffle!
I think if I’d been taken on a guided tour of one more quaint cottage kitchen my head might just have exploded (which I could probably have explained with my newly acquired knowledge of the fine details of nuclear fission).
All too often I found myself recovering consciousness only to realise that I was now in the midst of some significant action. But whom the heck was she talking about?
I did, however, stick with it to the end, and I felt the narrator Daniel Weyman did an excellent job; so at least it made pleasant listening. But, while the original storyline was allowed to wither, the nuclear angle became rather convoluted, and the denouement complex and unconvincing.
In summary, it really could lose those untidy 5 hours and 11 minutes; meanwhile, a more informative title might have been, Descriptions and Digressions.
Ostensibly about a Norfolk-based serial killer (‘the Whistler’) the plot takes a sharp turn into rather more obscure territory, a dysfunctional community that inhabits an isolated headland dominated by a controversial nuclear power station.
Here, it seemed to me, there were two characters for every role; twice as many names to remember; twice as many lives to dive into (for reasons at times unfathomable); twice as much superfluous waffle!
I think if I’d been taken on a guided tour of one more quaint cottage kitchen my head might just have exploded (which I could probably have explained with my newly acquired knowledge of the fine details of nuclear fission).
All too often I found myself recovering consciousness only to realise that I was now in the midst of some significant action. But whom the heck was she talking about?
I did, however, stick with it to the end, and I felt the narrator Daniel Weyman did an excellent job; so at least it made pleasant listening. But, while the original storyline was allowed to wither, the nuclear angle became rather convoluted, and the denouement complex and unconvincing.
In summary, it really could lose those untidy 5 hours and 11 minutes; meanwhile, a more informative title might have been, Descriptions and Digressions.
August 8, 2020
Published in 1989, this is the eighth in the Adam Dalgliesh series. This novel sees Dalgliesh heading to Norfolk, having just published his second volume of poetry, he feels the need for some privacy and, as chance would have it, his Aunt Jane has recently died and left him a converted windmill.
The beginning of this novel is truly creepy. There is a murderer, ‘The Whistler,’ on the loose and this opens with the murder of his fourth victim, Valerie Mitchell, fifteen. Undoubtedly, James was able to conjure atmosphere and so I had great hopes for this. However, unfortunately, the middle begins to drag and this became a bit of a slog for me.
It is set near a nuclear power station and, as someone who remembers the Eighties well, it was obviously an emotive and contentious issue. The main victim of this novel is Hilary Roberts, the Administrative Office at the power station and James assembles her cast of suspects from both there and the surrounding location. We have the widowed artist, who Ms Roberts was trying to evict, with his young children, from the cottage she owned. The anti-nuclear protestor, living in a caravan. The lover who had tired of her, and many more possible suspects.
Dalgliesh does not figure as much in this particular book, as he is not the leading officer and, as such, seems even more detached than he does normally. However, it is hard not to think was that, what this novel really needed was a good editor, who shortened this by a couple of hundred pages, curbed the author’s desire to describe everything in detail – from the lock on a door, to how many chairs could fit on a balcony – and sharpen it up.
The beginning of this novel is truly creepy. There is a murderer, ‘The Whistler,’ on the loose and this opens with the murder of his fourth victim, Valerie Mitchell, fifteen. Undoubtedly, James was able to conjure atmosphere and so I had great hopes for this. However, unfortunately, the middle begins to drag and this became a bit of a slog for me.
It is set near a nuclear power station and, as someone who remembers the Eighties well, it was obviously an emotive and contentious issue. The main victim of this novel is Hilary Roberts, the Administrative Office at the power station and James assembles her cast of suspects from both there and the surrounding location. We have the widowed artist, who Ms Roberts was trying to evict, with his young children, from the cottage she owned. The anti-nuclear protestor, living in a caravan. The lover who had tired of her, and many more possible suspects.
Dalgliesh does not figure as much in this particular book, as he is not the leading officer and, as such, seems even more detached than he does normally. However, it is hard not to think was that, what this novel really needed was a good editor, who shortened this by a couple of hundred pages, curbed the author’s desire to describe everything in detail – from the lock on a door, to how many chairs could fit on a balcony – and sharpen it up.
March 30, 2012
P.D. James's characters are so uptight. It makes you cringe, how uptight they are. Dalgliesh, going through his deceased aunt's old photos, comes across some of her with her young fiance, and feels like a voyeur looking at them. Why? They have their clothes on. What normal person would feel like a voyeur? Then he burns the photos. What normal person burns old photos?
July 31, 2020
Not my favourite James novel to date, this feels like a collage of 'devices' (and 'desires') that she's used before in the earlier books: we're back in East Anglia, suspects are either from the local community or from the nuclear power station which is another of those professional institutions that James likes (the clinic in A Mind To Murder, the nursing college in Cover Her Face, the forensic lab in Death Of An Expert Witness). There's a radical politics/conspiracy sideline as there was in A Taste for Death, and a dramatic rescue as in Unnatural Death with Dalgleish, again, being an unofficial witness/detective (of course, he sees the truth of the case!)
Even the characters feel like re-runs: the brother and sister who have set up home together, and not one but two sexually-inadequate men in thrall to more confident and assured women (both dynamics having already appeared in Death of an Expert Witness).
James' first books were short and kept the pace flowing, but they've been getting longer and this one is a 500 pager that gets quite ponderous: everyone has a deep and dramatic backstory which is not relevant to the present but gets lots of page-space anyway; and descriptions of everything from landscape to interiors are over-extended. As usual, there's not a whisper of humour anywhere: people are unhappy, or caught up in their pasts.
More pressingly, there's not much mystery: I thought the murderer was clear from early on.
I'm reading these books in order with a group and so with only a month between them, perhaps the similarities are more easy to discern than they were when first published. James' writing is certainly more literate than much in the genre but this book could easily have been cut back to about 300-350 pages without losing anything. It's good switch-off reading and was an ideal companion to an exceptionally busy work week but my honest reaction is that it takes itself far more seriously than is justified, and I wasn't convinced by the murder or the motive for a second.
Even the characters feel like re-runs: the brother and sister who have set up home together, and not one but two sexually-inadequate men in thrall to more confident and assured women (both dynamics having already appeared in Death of an Expert Witness).
James' first books were short and kept the pace flowing, but they've been getting longer and this one is a 500 pager that gets quite ponderous: everyone has a deep and dramatic backstory which is not relevant to the present but gets lots of page-space anyway; and descriptions of everything from landscape to interiors are over-extended. As usual, there's not a whisper of humour anywhere: people are unhappy, or caught up in their pasts.
More pressingly, there's not much mystery: I thought the murderer was clear from early on.
I'm reading these books in order with a group and so with only a month between them, perhaps the similarities are more easy to discern than they were when first published. James' writing is certainly more literate than much in the genre but this book could easily have been cut back to about 300-350 pages without losing anything. It's good switch-off reading and was an ideal companion to an exceptionally busy work week but my honest reaction is that it takes itself far more seriously than is justified, and I wasn't convinced by the murder or the motive for a second.
August 4, 2020
Blech. I don't come to this type of book and expect to have to deal with the pros and cons of nuclear energy. Had I not been reading with a group, I might have set it aside for that reason alone. There was even a stray paragraph here and there discussing the merits of different types of reactors.
I didn't set it aside. By the time I got to the end, I was a bit sorry I hadn't spent my time on something else. What I have liked about this series is that it is well written and includes good characterizations. As in the last one, A Taste for Death, there are sections in this one that could rightly be called thrillers. I was just short of shocked at how poorly written they were and it made me see that other parts were also weak. Further, the characterizations were flat. For both the writing and characterizations, my eye-rolling ability got a good workout and the eye rolls were often accompanied by groans.
This is longish. There is a sub plot that really has nothing to do with the mystery. That isn't a spoiler. There is nothing about it that would have a reader thinking it pertains to the murder. I don't dispute, however, that it by itself might make for a good novel. Well, it would be a good novel only if she were to spend a bit more time using the writing and characterization skills displayed in others of this series.
This is longish, approaching 500 pages. The next in the series is over 500 pages and I can only hope the weaknesses of this one aren't a harbinger of things to come. It hurts me to find only 2-stars for an installment of a series I've enjoyed, but I would be a liar if I found even one more star.
I didn't set it aside. By the time I got to the end, I was a bit sorry I hadn't spent my time on something else. What I have liked about this series is that it is well written and includes good characterizations. As in the last one, A Taste for Death, there are sections in this one that could rightly be called thrillers. I was just short of shocked at how poorly written they were and it made me see that other parts were also weak. Further, the characterizations were flat. For both the writing and characterizations, my eye-rolling ability got a good workout and the eye rolls were often accompanied by groans.
This is longish. There is a sub plot that really has nothing to do with the mystery. That isn't a spoiler. There is nothing about it that would have a reader thinking it pertains to the murder. I don't dispute, however, that it by itself might make for a good novel. Well, it would be a good novel only if she were to spend a bit more time using the writing and characterization skills displayed in others of this series.
This is longish, approaching 500 pages. The next in the series is over 500 pages and I can only hope the weaknesses of this one aren't a harbinger of things to come. It hurts me to find only 2-stars for an installment of a series I've enjoyed, but I would be a liar if I found even one more star.
August 16, 2020
A good 3.5 and very readable. However, the role Adam Dalgliesh is very weak. He has taken a holiday to sort out an inheritance he has received from his Aunt. He is left a house and windmill in Norfolk near a nuclear power station.
There is also a a serial killer called the Whistler murdering young women. Then another murder takes place near where Adam lives which appears to be anther victim of the Whistler. However, it could not be him and it comes down to several people at a dinner party which Adam attended. A guest arrived late who had come across a victim of the Whistler and he describes how she was killed including information only the police know.
The subplots and cast of characters draw the reader into an entertaining read about who murdered the unlikeable Hilary Roberts. Is it the director of the Larksoken Nuclear Station, his eccentric sister he lives with in a remote cottage, the anti nuclear political activist living with an unmarried mother in a caravan, the recent widower of four children who hates Hilary as she is his landlord and wants to evict him. Throw in a widow recovering from a mental breakdown, a gorgeous PA sleeping with an unlikely engineer or the executive who came across the victim. The Inspector investigating is struggling to balance work with his dominating mother-in-law and pregnant wife.
The story covers a lot of social issues including terrorism, espionage, the power struggle between men and women in particular inequality, single parenting, loss of a loved one, modern policing, snobbery, religious faith and the dangers of technology. At the heart of the story is a motive which makes sense when revealed.
The sub plots are interesting but far fetched.
There is also a a serial killer called the Whistler murdering young women. Then another murder takes place near where Adam lives which appears to be anther victim of the Whistler. However, it could not be him and it comes down to several people at a dinner party which Adam attended. A guest arrived late who had come across a victim of the Whistler and he describes how she was killed including information only the police know.
The subplots and cast of characters draw the reader into an entertaining read about who murdered the unlikeable Hilary Roberts. Is it the director of the Larksoken Nuclear Station, his eccentric sister he lives with in a remote cottage, the anti nuclear political activist living with an unmarried mother in a caravan, the recent widower of four children who hates Hilary as she is his landlord and wants to evict him. Throw in a widow recovering from a mental breakdown, a gorgeous PA sleeping with an unlikely engineer or the executive who came across the victim. The Inspector investigating is struggling to balance work with his dominating mother-in-law and pregnant wife.
The story covers a lot of social issues including terrorism, espionage, the power struggle between men and women in particular inequality, single parenting, loss of a loved one, modern policing, snobbery, religious faith and the dangers of technology. At the heart of the story is a motive which makes sense when revealed.
The sub plots are interesting but far fetched.
July 2, 2009
This is not the best James book. It's not a bad book, but it's not the best. There is one plot development that does seem to come a bit out of left field.
Outside of that, this is still good James. She takes time with her characters, and this is really her strength as a writer. She shows people as human, and not a classic bad guy and good guy way. Even if we don't like a character, James still makes the reader feel something for the character, perhaps pity. This makes the people in the books human.
Outside of that, this is still good James. She takes time with her characters, and this is really her strength as a writer. She shows people as human, and not a classic bad guy and good guy way. Even if we don't like a character, James still makes the reader feel something for the character, perhaps pity. This makes the people in the books human.
October 28, 2020
Lengthy but well done, I enjoyed more of Dalgleish's story, but I think it will be some time before reading the next one. James' astounds me with her writing with every book I read.
June 24, 2021
לצערי גם הספר הזה היה בגדר נפילה.
אדם דלגליש נוסע לאסוף ספרים וצילומים מבית דודתו שנפטרה. היא חייה בעיירה קטנה על הים שסובלת מאירועי רצח סידרתיים בלתי מפוענחים.
הרוצח שמכונה השרקן, רוצח נשים צעירות ומשאיר סימני זיהוי מובהקים. את החקירות מנהל ריכאד.
אבל המפקח אדם דלגליש לא יכול להימלט מיעודו כחוקר מקרי רצח וכשהוא מוצא את גופתה של מנהלת אדמיניסטרטיבית מוטלת על החוף הוא נגרר בלית ברירה לחקירה שהוא לא מעוניין בביצועה.
למרות שהיה לעלילה פוטנציאל, היא די מפוספסת. ההתעקשות שאת העלילה יוביל המפקח ריכאד על בעיותיו הפרסונליות עם אישתו ההרה ללדת, היתה בחירה גרועה. אין בו את החדות והכריזמה של דלגליש.
הסיפורים האישיים מעניינים אבל הם לא מתאחדים לכדי עלילה קוהורנטית ונדמה היה שקופצים מתת עלילה אחת לתת עלילה אחרת בלי כיוון ובלי לייצר את הקו שיאפשר את הפתרון והקתרזיס.
ואכן בפרק האחרון מסתבר שאין פתרון מובהק לעלילה. אין מניעים מובהקים. אין מי שיכולים לתפוס אותו כרוצח ולא השתכנעתי מהדמות שהסופרת רצתה שנחשוב שהיא הרוצחת.
ממש התאכזבתי ככה לא בונים עלילת רצח ולכן הציון של הספר.
אדם דלגליש נוסע לאסוף ספרים וצילומים מבית דודתו שנפטרה. היא חייה בעיירה קטנה על הים שסובלת מאירועי רצח סידרתיים בלתי מפוענחים.
הרוצח שמכונה השרקן, רוצח נשים צעירות ומשאיר סימני זיהוי מובהקים. את החקירות מנהל ריכאד.
אבל המפקח אדם דלגליש לא יכול להימלט מיעודו כחוקר מקרי רצח וכשהוא מוצא את גופתה של מנהלת אדמיניסטרטיבית מוטלת על החוף הוא נגרר בלית ברירה לחקירה שהוא לא מעוניין בביצועה.
למרות שהיה לעלילה פוטנציאל, היא די מפוספסת. ההתעקשות שאת העלילה יוביל המפקח ריכאד על בעיותיו הפרסונליות עם אישתו ההרה ללדת, היתה בחירה גרועה. אין בו את החדות והכריזמה של דלגליש.
הסיפורים האישיים מעניינים אבל הם לא מתאחדים לכדי עלילה קוהורנטית ונדמה היה שקופצים מתת עלילה אחת לתת עלילה אחרת בלי כיוון ובלי לייצר את הקו שיאפשר את הפתרון והקתרזיס.
ואכן בפרק האחרון מסתבר שאין פתרון מובהק לעלילה. אין מניעים מובהקים. אין מי שיכולים לתפוס אותו כרוצח ולא השתכנעתי מהדמות שהסופרת רצתה שנחשוב שהיא הרוצחת.
ממש התאכזבתי ככה לא בונים עלילת רצח ולכן הציון של הספר.
June 27, 2022
PD James as the potential to be a really good writer, if only someone would dare to save her from herself. She desperately needs an editor to cut out about 1/4 of her material, as the story could be told just as compellingly with a lot less fat. She may have been critical of Agatha Christie, but its undeniable that AC was much better at building character and story in a more effective and succinct fashion.
Another issue I have with James is that her world building is just depressing. I have yet to meet a truly happy, content character in her books. Everyone seems in the need for some kind of support group, or looks for outlets in sex or booze to deal with their issues.
This book often meanders into tangents about nuclear power, ecopolitics, and climate concerns, which while they are a backdrop to the main murder, were certainly described in more detail than was strictly necessary. James also has a tendency to include murders which end up being completely extraneous, and seem entirely gratuitous.
At this point, having read 6 of her books, I can say that I will only be reading any more to satisfy a reading challenge, but I have no desire to ever revisit them in the future.
Another issue I have with James is that her world building is just depressing. I have yet to meet a truly happy, content character in her books. Everyone seems in the need for some kind of support group, or looks for outlets in sex or booze to deal with their issues.
This book often meanders into tangents about nuclear power, ecopolitics, and climate concerns, which while they are a backdrop to the main murder, were certainly described in more detail than was strictly necessary. James also has a tendency to include murders which end up being completely extraneous, and seem entirely gratuitous.
At this point, having read 6 of her books, I can say that I will only be reading any more to satisfy a reading challenge, but I have no desire to ever revisit them in the future.
March 14, 2008
I really need to stop reading P.D. James. My understanding is that plenty of people love her, but this is the third book I've read and finished only out of a sense of duty. In a twist, her hero Adam Dalgleish (or however you spell that) is on the outside of a case looking in. I'm not sure whether this was just to do something new, or to give us fascinating insights on what it's like to be involved in a murder case when you're not the police, but I wasn't impressed. For a sensitive poet such as Dal., I would think he'd have a little more ability to take himself out of the defensive bystander role he often played. But no, he was constantly prickly (oh wait, my impression is that's actually his standard personality), the investigating detective was sadly made to be a bit neurotic and less than brilliant (which was unfortunate and to me, seemed to stem from a desire not to make him cooler than Dal.), and the rest of the characters unlikable to my picky tastes. If only the whole cast could have been complicit in the murder so everyone could die or go to jail.
July 3, 2007
Great character development, lots of side-plots, philosophical discussions, wonderful descriptions on the land & geography. thoroughly engrossing as well as a fantastic mystery!
November 18, 2015
Perhaps of all the Adam Dalgliesh books so far, and this is the eighth in the series by PD James, this is the one with the strongest sense of place. The East Anglian coast: a bare, windswept, desolate landscape, its coastline dominated by Larksoken nuclear power station, it is a tight-knit community where there are few secrets and no hiding places.
The power station’s staff, its purpose and existence are at the centre of this murder mystery. Dalgiesh’s Aunt Jane has died and he visits her house, which he has inherited, both as a break after the Berowne murder [featured in the previous book, ‘A Taste for Death’] and as an opportunity to consider the house and decide whether to sell it or keep it. Meanwhile, the community on the remote coastal headline is being terrorized by a serial killer, The Whistler. And, of course, a few pages into the book, The Whistler kills. Or does he?
This is a magnificent mystery, I challenge anyone to work out the plot twists and turns. But it is not just James’ talent at plotting which sets this book aside from its predecessors. It is thoughtful, considered, and very moving: about death, love, and all the big human emotions.
I wonder how far ahead James planned her books. Reading ‘A Taste for Death’, I noticed that Book Four [of seven] is called ‘Devices and Desires’. Evidently James liked the title and used it for this eighth, and she repeats the phrase several times throughout the book: “Here the past and present fused and her own life, with its trivial devices and desires, seemed only an insignificant moment in the long history of the headland.”
I read this book many years ago and still have my original copy, I think I prefer this cover design.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie...
The power station’s staff, its purpose and existence are at the centre of this murder mystery. Dalgiesh’s Aunt Jane has died and he visits her house, which he has inherited, both as a break after the Berowne murder [featured in the previous book, ‘A Taste for Death’] and as an opportunity to consider the house and decide whether to sell it or keep it. Meanwhile, the community on the remote coastal headline is being terrorized by a serial killer, The Whistler. And, of course, a few pages into the book, The Whistler kills. Or does he?
This is a magnificent mystery, I challenge anyone to work out the plot twists and turns. But it is not just James’ talent at plotting which sets this book aside from its predecessors. It is thoughtful, considered, and very moving: about death, love, and all the big human emotions.
I wonder how far ahead James planned her books. Reading ‘A Taste for Death’, I noticed that Book Four [of seven] is called ‘Devices and Desires’. Evidently James liked the title and used it for this eighth, and she repeats the phrase several times throughout the book: “Here the past and present fused and her own life, with its trivial devices and desires, seemed only an insignificant moment in the long history of the headland.”
I read this book many years ago and still have my original copy, I think I prefer this cover design.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie...
Read
June 5, 2020Commander Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard goes to Larksoken, Norfolk to sort out the cottage he has inherited from his late aunt. On a walk, he finds the body of Hillary Robarth, Acting Administrative Officer of the local nuclear power plant. A serial killer known as “The Whistler” has committed several murders in the area and this one has the same m.o. Dalgliesh helps local police with the investigation.
I listened to the audio edition of Devises and Desires, published by BBC Worldwide Ltd. It is number 8 in the (Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries) series by P.D. James. We follow Commander Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard as he goes to Larksoken in Norfolk to clear out his late aunt’s cottage he has recently inherited. Acting Administrative Officer of the local nuclear power plant Hillary Robarth is found strangled on the beach close to Dalgliesh’s cottage. This is made to look like one of “The Whistler”’s works, but it’s a copycat. “The Whistler” was already dead at the time of the murder.
Devises and Desires was first published in 1989, 3 years after the Tsjernobyl nuclear disaster. The exciting and relevant plot includes nuclear and environmental issues which was very real and present in people’s minds at the time and is engagingly dealt with in the plot.
Main character is Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh is the analytical character who manages to help tie up all lose ends in this story. As a hero he comes across as slightly quiet, but seems very dependable and stable. One I could put my trust in. He is my favorite of the story.
Secondary character Dr Alex Mare is Director at the nuclear plant. He had an affair with the victim 3-4 months ago, which seems to have not quite ended. He strung the victim along ever since, while having a new affair with the wife of a local environmental activist. I find him really unsympathetic and my least favorite in this story.
My favorite part of this story was the entertaining and enjoyable way the dialogue was acted out by British actors. It felt reminiscent of a radio play where I could make out the visuals myself.
P.D. James managed to include a mix of issues like environmental extremism, blackmail, adultery, gay-lesbian and suicide among others. There were quite a few twists along the way so my suspicions went in a different direction. The ending was a complete surprise to me.
The audio edition of Devises and Desires, is the exciting #8 installment in the (Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries) series by P.D. James. The plot has a nuclear and environmental theme highly relevant today and the audio edition was expertly acted out by British actors. I enjoy P.D. James’ work so much; I am on a quest to pick up on the remaining ones I have not yet read.
Fans of P.D. James will enjoy this work, as will readers of crime fiction. Similar authors to explore might be Elizabeth George or Colin Dexter.
Thank you to Kristiansand Folkebibliotek for lending me the audio edition which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions are completely my own.
Rating: 4 stars / 5
Main reasons: Relevant plot, Interesting characters, Great dialogue
I listened to the audio edition of Devises and Desires, published by BBC Worldwide Ltd. It is number 8 in the (Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries) series by P.D. James. We follow Commander Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard as he goes to Larksoken in Norfolk to clear out his late aunt’s cottage he has recently inherited. Acting Administrative Officer of the local nuclear power plant Hillary Robarth is found strangled on the beach close to Dalgliesh’s cottage. This is made to look like one of “The Whistler”’s works, but it’s a copycat. “The Whistler” was already dead at the time of the murder.
Devises and Desires was first published in 1989, 3 years after the Tsjernobyl nuclear disaster. The exciting and relevant plot includes nuclear and environmental issues which was very real and present in people’s minds at the time and is engagingly dealt with in the plot.
Main character is Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh is the analytical character who manages to help tie up all lose ends in this story. As a hero he comes across as slightly quiet, but seems very dependable and stable. One I could put my trust in. He is my favorite of the story.
Secondary character Dr Alex Mare is Director at the nuclear plant. He had an affair with the victim 3-4 months ago, which seems to have not quite ended. He strung the victim along ever since, while having a new affair with the wife of a local environmental activist. I find him really unsympathetic and my least favorite in this story.
My favorite part of this story was the entertaining and enjoyable way the dialogue was acted out by British actors. It felt reminiscent of a radio play where I could make out the visuals myself.
P.D. James managed to include a mix of issues like environmental extremism, blackmail, adultery, gay-lesbian and suicide among others. There were quite a few twists along the way so my suspicions went in a different direction. The ending was a complete surprise to me.
The audio edition of Devises and Desires, is the exciting #8 installment in the (Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries) series by P.D. James. The plot has a nuclear and environmental theme highly relevant today and the audio edition was expertly acted out by British actors. I enjoy P.D. James’ work so much; I am on a quest to pick up on the remaining ones I have not yet read.
Fans of P.D. James will enjoy this work, as will readers of crime fiction. Similar authors to explore might be Elizabeth George or Colin Dexter.
Thank you to Kristiansand Folkebibliotek for lending me the audio edition which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions are completely my own.
Rating: 4 stars / 5
Main reasons: Relevant plot, Interesting characters, Great dialogue
December 25, 2017
A serial killer has been murdering women...but is he murdering all the women who have been murdered? It's not Dalgleish's case, but he's caught up in it anyay...
Not my favorite of her books. It feels like a lot of extra busywork and complexity has been added in order to muck up the reader's ability to solve the case. A lot of social stuff about nuclear power plants that's more legerdemain than anything else. Aaaaand most of this doesn't focus on Dalgleish, and his "replacement" isn't nearly as engaging a character.
Still lots better than a poke in the eye with a sharp book.
Not my favorite of her books. It feels like a lot of extra busywork and complexity has been added in order to muck up the reader's ability to solve the case. A lot of social stuff about nuclear power plants that's more legerdemain than anything else. Aaaaand most of this doesn't focus on Dalgleish, and his "replacement" isn't nearly as engaging a character.
Still lots better than a poke in the eye with a sharp book.
November 11, 2022
A Dalgliesh Cameo in his own Series
Review of the Penguin Canada paperback (1990) [with Notes via the Kindle eBook] of the Faber & Faber hardcover original (1989)
Adam Dalgliesh* is in Norfolk to settle the affairs of his deceased aunt Jane. He has just published his 3rd book of poetry and turns down his publisher's efforts for a publicity campaign and also takes a vacation from his duties at Scotland Yard CID. He does deliver a book proof to Alice Mair, who writes cookbooks for their mutual publisher and is invited to dinner as a result. He meets a varied cast at the dinner including Alex Mair, who runs the local Larksoken Nuclear Power Station. A last guest arrives with news that the local serial killer 'The Whistler' has struck again. All the dinner guests learn certain details of the crime which are not public knowledge.
The Norfolk CID are running 'The Whistler' investigation and although Dalgliesh is sometimes consulted by local Inspector Rickards, he plays no official role. Circumstances then lead to another murder which can only have been done as a 'Whistler' copycat killing. Complications ensue and while Rickards and his assistant latch onto an apparent false solution, Dalgliesh knows that the true criminal is yet to be discovered.
At various times Rickards reveals his resentment of Dalgliesh and there are entertaining diversions in that regard:
"Ned Kelly" (1946) painted by Sidney Nolan. From the collection of the National Gallery of Australia
So there are unsatisfactory elements to Devices and Desires, especially since Dalgliesh isn't in the central investigative role. James still provides the extensive character backgrounds and developments which she crafted in her late 500 to 700+ page works. The 'false' solution really comes out of nowhere and is barely hinted at in the early stages (some mysterious figures were sighted in the local Abbey ruins), so it does seem a bit of a cheat. I still enjoyed the book though for the variety of characters, the foreboding atmosphere and the descriptions of the Norfolk coast.
Front cover of the original Faber & Faber hardcover edition (1989). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
I read Devices and Desires as part of my continuing 2022 binge re-read of the P.D. James novels, which I am enjoying immensely. I started the re-reads when I recently discovered my 1980's P.D. James paperbacks while clearing a storage locker.
Rescued from storage and due for re-reading, my early P.D. James paperbacks, mostly published by in the 1980s.
Trivia and Links
* In Book 1, Adam Dalgliesh was a Detective Chief Inspector, in Books 2 to 4 he is a Detective Superintendent and in Books 5 to 14 he is a Detective Commander.
Devices and Desires was adapted for television in 1991 as part of the long running Dalgliesh TV-series for Anglia Television/ITV (1983-1998) starring actor Roy Marsden as Commander Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard. You can watch the 6 episodes of the 1991 adaptation starting with Episode 1 on YouTube here.
The new Acorn TV-series reboot Dalgliesh (2021-?) starring Bertie Carver as Adam Dalgliesh has not yet adapted Devices and Desires. Season 1 adapted books 4, 5 & 7. There has not been an announcement of the Season 2 and Season 3 adaptations (as of mid-November 2022).
Review of the Penguin Canada paperback (1990) [with Notes via the Kindle eBook] of the Faber & Faber hardcover original (1989)
He said: “Am I expected to talk about his poetry?”
“I imagine he’s come to Larksoken to get away from people who want to talk about his poetry. But it wouldn’t hurt you to take a look at it. I’ve got the most recent volume. And it is poetry, not prose rearranged on the page.”
“With modern verse, can one tell the difference?”
“Oh yes,” she said. “If it can be read as prose, then it is prose. It’s an infallible test.” - Alex and Alice Mair discuss the poetry of Adam Dalgliesh.
Adam Dalgliesh* is in Norfolk to settle the affairs of his deceased aunt Jane. He has just published his 3rd book of poetry and turns down his publisher's efforts for a publicity campaign and also takes a vacation from his duties at Scotland Yard CID. He does deliver a book proof to Alice Mair, who writes cookbooks for their mutual publisher and is invited to dinner as a result. He meets a varied cast at the dinner including Alex Mair, who runs the local Larksoken Nuclear Power Station. A last guest arrives with news that the local serial killer 'The Whistler' has struck again. All the dinner guests learn certain details of the crime which are not public knowledge.
The Norfolk CID are running 'The Whistler' investigation and although Dalgliesh is sometimes consulted by local Inspector Rickards, he plays no official role. Circumstances then lead to another murder which can only have been done as a 'Whistler' copycat killing. Complications ensue and while Rickards and his assistant latch onto an apparent false solution, Dalgliesh knows that the true criminal is yet to be discovered.
At various times Rickards reveals his resentment of Dalgliesh and there are entertaining diversions in that regard:
... a large oil showing a man with a rifle on a skinny horse, posed in a bleak landscape of sand and scrubland with, in the background, a range of distant mountains. But the man had no head. Instead he was wearing a huge square helmet of black metal with a slit for the eyes. Rickards found the picture disturbingly intimidating. He had a faint memory that he had seen a copy of it, or of something very like it, before, and that the artist was Australian. He was irritated to find himself thinking that Adam Dalgliesh would have known what it was and who had painted it - Inspector Rickards examines a painting in the office of Dr. Alex Mair at Larksoken Nuclear Power Station.
"Ned Kelly" (1946) painted by Sidney Nolan. From the collection of the National Gallery of Australia
So there are unsatisfactory elements to Devices and Desires, especially since Dalgliesh isn't in the central investigative role. James still provides the extensive character backgrounds and developments which she crafted in her late 500 to 700+ page works. The 'false' solution really comes out of nowhere and is barely hinted at in the early stages (some mysterious figures were sighted in the local Abbey ruins), so it does seem a bit of a cheat. I still enjoyed the book though for the variety of characters, the foreboding atmosphere and the descriptions of the Norfolk coast.
Front cover of the original Faber & Faber hardcover edition (1989). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
I read Devices and Desires as part of my continuing 2022 binge re-read of the P.D. James novels, which I am enjoying immensely. I started the re-reads when I recently discovered my 1980's P.D. James paperbacks while clearing a storage locker.
Rescued from storage and due for re-reading, my early P.D. James paperbacks, mostly published by in the 1980s.
Trivia and Links
* In Book 1, Adam Dalgliesh was a Detective Chief Inspector, in Books 2 to 4 he is a Detective Superintendent and in Books 5 to 14 he is a Detective Commander.
Devices and Desires was adapted for television in 1991 as part of the long running Dalgliesh TV-series for Anglia Television/ITV (1983-1998) starring actor Roy Marsden as Commander Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard. You can watch the 6 episodes of the 1991 adaptation starting with Episode 1 on YouTube here.
The new Acorn TV-series reboot Dalgliesh (2021-?) starring Bertie Carver as Adam Dalgliesh has not yet adapted Devices and Desires. Season 1 adapted books 4, 5 & 7. There has not been an announcement of the Season 2 and Season 3 adaptations (as of mid-November 2022).
March 21, 2014
This is the last PD James & Adam Dalgliesh I'm going to read. This was very tedious and boring, and even more so than the last one I read. In fact, I didn't even finish it.
April 5, 2022
2.5 stars, but I'm docking a start down because my edition of this book clocked in at just under 600 pages. It's a murder mystery.
Look, I know that not everyone is going to be Agatha Christie (nor should they be); not everyone is going to write with her brevity. But this suffered in comparison to the other murder mystery I read this week (An English Murder by Cyril Hare), also a a golden age mystery, and clocking in at about 200 pages. In contrast, the writing was crisp and elegant, while this just felt meandering.
I'm not saying that no mystery novel should be 600 pages - Gaudy Night is around that and I love it - but, if a mystery novel is that long, I think I'm going to expect another plot in addition to the mystery. Gaudy Night, for example, has a rather substantial character arc. This... does not. You do see bits of the characters (aka suspects) lives, but it's all in service to the central mystery plot, and I'm not sure the central mystery plot warrants that much padding out. Every individual part is fine, I just felt like there was too much of it. I kept forgetting who people were.
Also, Dalgleish is the most interesting/likeable character in this, and he's relegated to the role of observer more than anything else, since it isn't his case. This is too long a book to put your best character on the sidelines. In fact, the most interesting character moments for me where around Dalgleish dealing with his late aunt's belongings, which had no relevance to the mystery plot, other than to give him an excuse to be in the area.
Thirdly, another reviewer pointed this out and now I can't unsee it, everyone feels profoundly sad in this. Everyone I suppose, except the local pub owner and his wife, who are both minor characters.
The writing itself is beautiful, on an individual sentence level. I just wish the overal narrative had been tightened up.
Look, I know that not everyone is going to be Agatha Christie (nor should they be); not everyone is going to write with her brevity. But this suffered in comparison to the other murder mystery I read this week (An English Murder by Cyril Hare), also a a golden age mystery, and clocking in at about 200 pages. In contrast, the writing was crisp and elegant, while this just felt meandering.
I'm not saying that no mystery novel should be 600 pages - Gaudy Night is around that and I love it - but, if a mystery novel is that long, I think I'm going to expect another plot in addition to the mystery. Gaudy Night, for example, has a rather substantial character arc. This... does not. You do see bits of the characters (aka suspects) lives, but it's all in service to the central mystery plot, and I'm not sure the central mystery plot warrants that much padding out. Every individual part is fine, I just felt like there was too much of it. I kept forgetting who people were.
Also, Dalgleish is the most interesting/likeable character in this, and he's relegated to the role of observer more than anything else, since it isn't his case. This is too long a book to put your best character on the sidelines. In fact, the most interesting character moments for me where around Dalgleish dealing with his late aunt's belongings, which had no relevance to the mystery plot, other than to give him an excuse to be in the area.
Thirdly, another reviewer pointed this out and now I can't unsee it, everyone feels profoundly sad in this. Everyone I suppose, except the local pub owner and his wife, who are both minor characters.
The writing itself is beautiful, on an individual sentence level. I just wish the overal narrative had been tightened up.
September 7, 2017
Would P.D. James have chafed as a Goodreads Author? She would surely have had little time for “Ask the Author,” which sternly limits the number of characters in a response almost as severely as Twitter does. James needs time (and space and characters) to do her work as she (if not all readers) would have it. To insert a telling, anonymous line (but not the first line) from a Michael Drayton sonnet—this is “literary fiction,” after all. Or to remake a (prophetically) incinerated Protestant “martyr,” Agnes Poley, out of an Agnes Prest, similarly incinerated on the same day, in the same year, for the same reasons, but as far west of East Anglia as possible, in Cornwall. James can be terse when she chooses: in the present mystery she wastes precious little time or text on acts of killing (stopping just short of the deed or taking up shortly after). When she chooses, she does not need line upon line of text, as when she lets just a few words hint at what festered behind the “new version of an old horror” in Alice Mair’s paternal relationship (“the shorts high-cut, showing as he walked the bulge of the scrotum, the white legs, matted with black hair from the knees down”). Or when she lets a three-word title, Devices and Desires, speak for more (“We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. . . .” from the Anglican prayerbook) Indeed, that is what several “miserable offenders” in the present tale have done to create James’s latest story.
Adam Dalgleish’s vacation in East Anglia turns into a busman’s holiday, as he struggles to remain an outside observer of multiple murders, involving, not one, but two killers (one a serial killer, the other a copycat). Dalgleish is eclipsed to some extent by Rickards, the local detective inspector, who totes along his own baggage and serves as an interesting foil to his former superior. Alone or together they confront the usual crowd of witnesses and suspects, all in the ominous shadow of a nuclear power plant, which looms large throughout the story, almost as a character in its own right. Unlike other characters, however, the power plant cannot indulge in the extended internal monologues that are so much a feature of James’s style.
The plot unfolds in an individual sort of way. I cannot think of shelves of murder mysteries in which a perpetrator is killed off barely half way through. How many mysteries can you name in which a murderer plots the deed to insure that other characters will have credible alibis? I could have done without the unexpected intrusion of terrorists and MI-5, pretty much out of nowhere, but they beat it relatively quickly, allowing the remainder of the plot to untangle in very satisfying ways, as much because of the “how” and “why” as the “who.”
Adam Dalgleish’s vacation in East Anglia turns into a busman’s holiday, as he struggles to remain an outside observer of multiple murders, involving, not one, but two killers (one a serial killer, the other a copycat). Dalgleish is eclipsed to some extent by Rickards, the local detective inspector, who totes along his own baggage and serves as an interesting foil to his former superior. Alone or together they confront the usual crowd of witnesses and suspects, all in the ominous shadow of a nuclear power plant, which looms large throughout the story, almost as a character in its own right. Unlike other characters, however, the power plant cannot indulge in the extended internal monologues that are so much a feature of James’s style.
The plot unfolds in an individual sort of way. I cannot think of shelves of murder mysteries in which a perpetrator is killed off barely half way through. How many mysteries can you name in which a murderer plots the deed to insure that other characters will have credible alibis? I could have done without the unexpected intrusion of terrorists and MI-5, pretty much out of nowhere, but they beat it relatively quickly, allowing the remainder of the plot to untangle in very satisfying ways, as much because of the “how” and “why” as the “who.”
January 17, 2015
This is a delightfully complex story insofar as it involves so many plausible suspects. I enjoyed this more than the admittedly few others by P. D. James that I've read thus far. The only real disappointment for me was that for an Adam Dalgliesh mystery, he played rather a minor role and I had expected him to fill the chief inspector slot in solving the mystery. Nevertheless, I shall continue reading in this series,as I love James' rich use of language and vocabulary. A thinking man's writer indeed.
September 6, 2015
P.D. James was a gifted author who happened to create complex mysteries. I'm working my way through all of the Adam Dalgliesh series. Many of them are set in either Suffolk or Norfolk. Her characterizations are splendid. Dalgliesh is a noted poet as well as the best detective at Scotland Yard.
This one had to do with rural natives and the people from the new nuclear energy plant on the shore near them. Extremely great mystery! Dense with setting and unique characters.
This one had to do with rural natives and the people from the new nuclear energy plant on the shore near them. Extremely great mystery! Dense with setting and unique characters.
March 10, 2024
This book had been sitting on my bookshelf for years. I started reading it several years ago and just couldn't get into it. However, I tried again and this time succeeded, although the first few chapters are slow. However, it became more compelling and almost unputdownable.
The book was first published in 1989, long before the digital era. It centres around a nuclear power station in Norfolk, the local community's beliefs about which now seem very outdated- a lot has changed in the 35 years since the book was written. This is life pre-internet yet post-Chernobyl. I was in my mid-teens at this point in history.
A serial killer, The Whistler, has claimed several victims and the locals are understandably on high alert. However, a copycat killing becomes the focus of the investigation which shines a light onto the locals, their characters and their respective pasts. The book is beautifully written; the language and vocabulary are without colloquialism- it is "proper" "old-school" writing which I enjoyed. The characters have depth and believable back-stories, some of which explain the rather high body count that is unrelated to The Whistler. The overall feeling is one of melancholy bordering on good old-fashioned sadness. I enjoyed it and James had me second guessing until the end but I wouldn't read it again.
The book was first published in 1989, long before the digital era. It centres around a nuclear power station in Norfolk, the local community's beliefs about which now seem very outdated- a lot has changed in the 35 years since the book was written. This is life pre-internet yet post-Chernobyl. I was in my mid-teens at this point in history.
A serial killer, The Whistler, has claimed several victims and the locals are understandably on high alert. However, a copycat killing becomes the focus of the investigation which shines a light onto the locals, their characters and their respective pasts. The book is beautifully written; the language and vocabulary are without colloquialism- it is "proper" "old-school" writing which I enjoyed. The characters have depth and believable back-stories, some of which explain the rather high body count that is unrelated to The Whistler. The overall feeling is one of melancholy bordering on good old-fashioned sadness. I enjoyed it and James had me second guessing until the end but I wouldn't read it again.
February 15, 2019
Απολαυστικοι οι διαλογοι .
Εξαιρετικη η περιγραφη της αγγλικης υπαιθρου
Λογοτεχνια με θεμα μερικους φονους !!!
Εξαιρετικη η περιγραφη της αγγλικης υπαιθρου
Λογοτεχνια με θεμα μερικους φονους !!!
June 21, 2012
I found this book in a book-swap box in our neighborhood and thought a mystery novel would kick off the summer nicely. I don't read mysteries much (some classic Wilkie Collins and, more recently, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series) and don't know whether P.D. James is generally well-regarded or not. I enjoyed the book enough to get through it, but not more than that.
The story begins predictably enough with a serial killer on the prowl along a stretch of Norfolk coastline. The protagonist, Adam Dalgliesh, was a bit of a bore -- a mythic, fantasy Man, wading through a sea of more flawed (and, thus, more interesting) characters. These others are introduced at a rapid clip, each lavished with detail and intricate backstories. The setting is given similar attention, with plenty of text devoted to architectural features and arrangements of furniture. The story wasn't quite gripping enough to support all of this, and I found myself yawning and skimming some overwrought passages.
The style of omniscient narration was also grating. Despite the quantity of description and dialogue, the narrator often resorted to simply telling the reader how a character was feeling. This felt cheap, and I would rather have had the feelings implied through skillful description. Characters also had a bizarre penchant for wishing they would say one thing, but then saying another. This would often happen multiple times on a page, for example:
And, on the following page:
Note the identical construction; it got boring quickly. Once in a while, this might have been interesting, but as it was, it made the characters seem uncharacteristically uptight and diminished the impact of the dialogue.
With all of that said, I enjoyed the basic plot, even with some heavy-handed bits at the end. I wouldn't necessarily avoid another James novel, but won't be hunting for them either.
The story begins predictably enough with a serial killer on the prowl along a stretch of Norfolk coastline. The protagonist, Adam Dalgliesh, was a bit of a bore -- a mythic, fantasy Man, wading through a sea of more flawed (and, thus, more interesting) characters. These others are introduced at a rapid clip, each lavished with detail and intricate backstories. The setting is given similar attention, with plenty of text devoted to architectural features and arrangements of furniture. The story wasn't quite gripping enough to support all of this, and I found myself yawning and skimming some overwrought passages.
The style of omniscient narration was also grating. Despite the quantity of description and dialogue, the narrator often resorted to simply telling the reader how a character was feeling. This felt cheap, and I would rather have had the feelings implied through skillful description. Characters also had a bizarre penchant for wishing they would say one thing, but then saying another. This would often happen multiple times on a page, for example:
She wanted to cry out: "You can't be going to use it! . . . " Instead, she made herself go on, trying to keep her voice calm. . . . (408)
And, on the following page:
Meg wanted to cry out: ". . . Don't begin planning more lies." (409)
Note the identical construction; it got boring quickly. Once in a while, this might have been interesting, but as it was, it made the characters seem uncharacteristically uptight and diminished the impact of the dialogue.
With all of that said, I enjoyed the basic plot, even with some heavy-handed bits at the end. I wouldn't necessarily avoid another James novel, but won't be hunting for them either.
February 5, 2017
For a really long time, I accepted the point of view that mystery fiction was escapism that reinforced a pretty conservative perspective. No matter what crimes are committed, or why and how justified the murderer is, they end with a reaffirmation of the status quo, with a neat resolution and a return to life as normal. Considering that not only does P.D. James not follow this arbitrary pattern, but Gladys Mitchell before her did too (and I'm sure countless other authors I'm not familiar with yet), I'm really questioning how I accepted this point of view for so long. P.D. James has never confined herself to deconstructing a crime in her stories, ranging far beyond into social implications, history and poetry. Her murderers seem to go unpunished (in the technical sense) and undetected by the law as often as they're caught. This is the case here, where the murders seem to shine a spotlight onto the inner workings of a small community. Both known murderers escape the law by choosing their own deaths, and others go unsuspected entirely.
The moment that resonated with me the most was when the local police officer reflects on the moment that Dalgliesh insulted him when they worked together in London, a moment where he has the clarity to know that they were both tired, acting out of character, that Dalgliesh does not remember and that by holding onto this moment, he is harbouring resentment towards a man he would otherwise respect and be friends with--and he also acknowledges that he will never overcome a resentment he knows is meaningless. In the final pages of the book, Dalgliesh, at a loss to explain the officer's attitude to him, finally remembers the incident--but in Dalgliesh's memory, the roles are reversed. Memory is faulty. It doesn't matter whose memory of the event is correct. The fact that we can hold on to grudges based on inaccurate remembrances is worth reflection.
The moment that resonated with me the most was when the local police officer reflects on the moment that Dalgliesh insulted him when they worked together in London, a moment where he has the clarity to know that they were both tired, acting out of character, that Dalgliesh does not remember and that by holding onto this moment, he is harbouring resentment towards a man he would otherwise respect and be friends with--and he also acknowledges that he will never overcome a resentment he knows is meaningless. In the final pages of the book, Dalgliesh, at a loss to explain the officer's attitude to him, finally remembers the incident--but in Dalgliesh's memory, the roles are reversed. Memory is faulty. It doesn't matter whose memory of the event is correct. The fact that we can hold on to grudges based on inaccurate remembrances is worth reflection.
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