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Cordelia Gray #1
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
Handsome Cambridge dropout Mark Callender died hanging by the neck with a faint trace of lipstick on his mouth. When the official verdict is suicide, his wealthy father hires fledgling private investigator Cordelia Gray to find out what led him to self-destruction. What she discovers instead is a twisting trail of secrets and sins, and the strong scent of murder. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman introduces P. D. James's courageous but vulnerable young detective, Cordelia Gray, in a top-rated puzzle of peril that holds you all the way (The New York Times).
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
About the author
P.D. James
227 books3,040 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 1,202 reviews
June 18, 2016
This book, which was first published in 1972, reads like it was written in 1947, if not earlier. It's very much in the tradition of English mysteries that were set in country houses in the years between the two world wars, and there's nothing in the book to suggest the time period in which it is supposed to actually take place. There are a number of young men and women in the book, but they don't sound remotely like the young people who were living in England in the '60s and '70s; rather they sound much more like characters who would ultimately become the parents of those young people. P. D. James was 57 at the time this book appeared, which suggests that she probably didn't have a lot of contact with the young people of that era and didn't begin to understand them.
The protagonist is a plucky female detective named Cordelia Gray, who also sounds like she just stepped out of the 1940s. She inherits the detective agency where she's worked for only a brief period, when her partner commits suicide after learning that he has cancer.
Following the partner's funeral, Cordelia is asked to investigate the suicide of a young college dropout named Mark Callender. Callender's father is a prominent scientist who didn't have much contact with his son, but he tells Cordelia that he needs to know why his son would have hanged himself. Cordelia accepts the case and promptly moves into the primitive country cottage where the boy took his life, apparently to be as close as possible to the investigation.
It will come as no surprise to anyone who's ever read a crime novel, let alone one in this particular sub-genre, that before long our intrepid heroine will begin to suspect that Mark Callender didn't actually kill himself but rather was murdered. Cordelia will question a number of the young man's friends and will go to parties and outings with them as her investigation proceeds. And before long, she will find herself in serious danger.
This is a book that could have been shorter by a good thirty percent. There are endless descriptions of landscapes, houses, clothing and characters that go on and on and on and on unnecessarily. It's also very hard to take the story seriously because it unfolds in ways that often make no sense at all.
That said, this is a pretty good example of a type of book that was once very popular in the mystery genre. Clearly the author had immersed herself in this field before writing the book and she then produced a novel that would have appealed to lots of readers "back in the day." It's hard to imagine, though, that this book would find much of an audience in the modern era. James would later abandon this character after only a few outings and turn to her much more successful and enjoyable (and believable) protagonist, Adam Dalgliesh, who makes a cameo appearance here. Readers curious to sample the work of P.D. James would be much better served by trying one of those novels.
The protagonist is a plucky female detective named Cordelia Gray, who also sounds like she just stepped out of the 1940s. She inherits the detective agency where she's worked for only a brief period, when her partner commits suicide after learning that he has cancer.
Following the partner's funeral, Cordelia is asked to investigate the suicide of a young college dropout named Mark Callender. Callender's father is a prominent scientist who didn't have much contact with his son, but he tells Cordelia that he needs to know why his son would have hanged himself. Cordelia accepts the case and promptly moves into the primitive country cottage where the boy took his life, apparently to be as close as possible to the investigation.
It will come as no surprise to anyone who's ever read a crime novel, let alone one in this particular sub-genre, that before long our intrepid heroine will begin to suspect that Mark Callender didn't actually kill himself but rather was murdered. Cordelia will question a number of the young man's friends and will go to parties and outings with them as her investigation proceeds. And before long, she will find herself in serious danger.
This is a book that could have been shorter by a good thirty percent. There are endless descriptions of landscapes, houses, clothing and characters that go on and on and on and on unnecessarily. It's also very hard to take the story seriously because it unfolds in ways that often make no sense at all.
That said, this is a pretty good example of a type of book that was once very popular in the mystery genre. Clearly the author had immersed herself in this field before writing the book and she then produced a novel that would have appealed to lots of readers "back in the day." It's hard to imagine, though, that this book would find much of an audience in the modern era. James would later abandon this character after only a few outings and turn to her much more successful and enjoyable (and believable) protagonist, Adam Dalgliesh, who makes a cameo appearance here. Readers curious to sample the work of P.D. James would be much better served by trying one of those novels.
December 29, 2021
I very much enjoy this author's Adam Dalgliesh series so I was interested that she wrote two books about Cordelia Gray, a young female Private Investigator. Definitely a job considered unsuitable for a woman when this book was written in the early 1970's and maybe still regarded as such by some people today.
When An Unsuitable Job for a Woman begins, Cordelia's partner and mentor has just died, leaving her to run the business alone. Funds are low and she jumps at the chance to investigate the suicide of a young man, to help his father understand why he did it. Cordelia quickly ascertains that it was in fact murder and pursues her investigation to a dangerous conclusion. It was a surprise ending too, at least it was for me.
I always enjoy P.D. James's writing style which is slightly old fashioned and always pays attention to good grammar, spelling and vocabulary. In other words a pleasurable read! I like her characters too and it was rather nice when Adam Dalgliesh dropped by to play a supporting role.
Very enjoyable and I have marked Cordelia's second book to read soon.
When An Unsuitable Job for a Woman begins, Cordelia's partner and mentor has just died, leaving her to run the business alone. Funds are low and she jumps at the chance to investigate the suicide of a young man, to help his father understand why he did it. Cordelia quickly ascertains that it was in fact murder and pursues her investigation to a dangerous conclusion. It was a surprise ending too, at least it was for me.
I always enjoy P.D. James's writing style which is slightly old fashioned and always pays attention to good grammar, spelling and vocabulary. In other words a pleasurable read! I like her characters too and it was rather nice when Adam Dalgliesh dropped by to play a supporting role.
Very enjoyable and I have marked Cordelia's second book to read soon.
November 25, 2015
In this case,let me say “judge a book by its memorable title.”
I’d like this book to be categorized as a good literary fiction with human drama,not just a detective.
This well-written,and austerely beautiful novel has no gadget,isn’t action-packed or sexy,but here one young female detective, who lost her mentor recently,walks the scenes,talks to people and gets
to the heart of things.I guess this simplicity will let you feel empathy for the charcters. I sometimes wonder how deceptive the word“simple”is.
P.D.James writes a good human story.
I’d like this book to be categorized as a good literary fiction with human drama,not just a detective.
This well-written,and austerely beautiful novel has no gadget,isn’t action-packed or sexy,but here one young female detective, who lost her mentor recently,walks the scenes,talks to people and gets
to the heart of things.I guess this simplicity will let you feel empathy for the charcters. I sometimes wonder how deceptive the word“simple”is.
P.D.James writes a good human story.
July 23, 2023
Review to follow if I ever catch up. Meanwhile, I'll just say that this is a fine novel written by a master of the mystery genre.
Read
December 23, 2021Picked this up to read while waiting for my flu vaccination at a walk in clinic. Really it was more of a sit in clinic as I got through fifty pages before the pharmacist dealt with me.
I vaguely remember it being on TV once and that P.D.James was in the House of Lords just like Ruth Rendell perhaps they talked shop together? But maybe not, since they sat for opposing parties.
The title of the book is a phrase repeated three times at least during the book. I noticed that Ruth Rendell did the same in the two Wexford novels of hers that I have read. Perhaps this is the custom in thrillers? In which case in the future that will have titles like "he braked abruptly", "she slammed the door", and of course "his shirt was stained with the remains of sandwiches past".
This novel read to me as though it was her first or second thriller, I frequently had the sense that James was a reader and familiar with this genre and was consciously writing with knowledge of its tropes, strengths and weaknesses, in fact she was an experienced novelist by the time this one left her typewriter. The interesting overlaps between her biography (as read on wikipeadia) and that of her hero in this book; Cordelia Gray are perhaps a sign of developing self confidence rather than an urge to write herself out. Cordelia herself I thought was most believable as an heroic version of the author rather than as a realistic portrayal of a 22 year old woman with shorthand experience, a Marxist father, and a patchy education partially administered by nuns.
The story is I am sorry to say silly, in terms of the drives and motivations, my sense is that James had a strong visualisation of a couple of scenes and the central mystery - a murder hidden as a suicide maybe the characters too and cobbled or bodged together a plot to link all these pieces into a book, if I was being generous I might say that sub-consciously the guilty parties wanted to be caught and punished which is why they do such silly things, but I warn you that is a very generous reading.
As a period piece it is more interesting with a familiar culture clash between generations and conversations between an Agnostic Anglican and an Atheist Methodist which might engage you if you could be described as one of those things.
There are some enjoyable smiling raising meta fictional asides in the beginning and the end - the bits I found fun are below in the updates.
James' life reminded me of Penelope Fitzgerald's. But Fitzgerald came from a family with a strong Liberal tradition, James was a born again Conservative and that I feel is the difference between the books of these two women. That's my theory for the day anyway.
I vaguely remember it being on TV once and that P.D.James was in the House of Lords just like Ruth Rendell perhaps they talked shop together? But maybe not, since they sat for opposing parties.
The title of the book is a phrase repeated three times at least during the book. I noticed that Ruth Rendell did the same in the two Wexford novels of hers that I have read. Perhaps this is the custom in thrillers? In which case in the future that will have titles like "he braked abruptly", "she slammed the door", and of course "his shirt was stained with the remains of sandwiches past".
This novel read to me as though it was her first or second thriller, I frequently had the sense that James was a reader and familiar with this genre and was consciously writing with knowledge of its tropes, strengths and weaknesses, in fact she was an experienced novelist by the time this one left her typewriter. The interesting overlaps between her biography (as read on wikipeadia) and that of her hero in this book; Cordelia Gray are perhaps a sign of developing self confidence rather than an urge to write herself out. Cordelia herself I thought was most believable as an heroic version of the author rather than as a realistic portrayal of a 22 year old woman with shorthand experience, a Marxist father, and a patchy education partially administered by nuns.
The story is I am sorry to say silly, in terms of the drives and motivations, my sense is that James had a strong visualisation of a couple of scenes and the central mystery - a murder hidden as a suicide maybe the characters too and cobbled or bodged together a plot to link all these pieces into a book, if I was being generous I might say that sub-consciously the guilty parties wanted to be caught and punished which is why they do such silly things, but I warn you that is a very generous reading.
As a period piece it is more interesting with a familiar culture clash between generations and conversations between an Agnostic Anglican and an Atheist Methodist which might engage you if you could be described as one of those things.
There are some enjoyable smiling raising meta fictional asides in the beginning and the end - the bits I found fun are below in the updates.
James' life reminded me of Penelope Fitzgerald's. But Fitzgerald came from a family with a strong Liberal tradition, James was a born again Conservative and that I feel is the difference between the books of these two women. That's my theory for the day anyway.
January 15, 2013
Where I got the book: my local library.
My first shock of this review is checking Wiki to see where this novel comes in P.D. James's oeuvre and discovering that P.D. stands for Phyllis Dorothy. Let me just take a moment.
*clears throat*
Now where was I? Right. The second shock was discovering I wasn't all that impressed. I thought I liked P.D James. Have I changed or is this the Death Comes to Pemberley effect?
Anyway, I find that this was James's fifth novel. And indeed the writing is that of a seasoned author, fluent and vivid, the setup is clever, and if the detective heroine is rather unremarkable she's reasonably well sketched. I did like the idea of the abandoned cottage being loved again on one side but not on the other.
Generally, though, I wasn't excited by the story. James can be a little bleak at times and I think "bleak" is definitely the word here. None of the characters really seem to give a damn about each other or anything else, really. As a reader I wanted to care more and I didn't; it was a puzzle to be solved and that was all.
And then, we get near the end. And the heroine guesses the clue to the mystery and then the other key characters start filling in the details with cheerful abandon in a "oh well if you know that much" way. I hate it when they do that, because why should they? Especially in a world where all the characters bar the students have been anything but forthcoming.
AND THEN
AND THEN
So now I'm both underimpressed AND annoyed. Not a good way to finish a detective novel.
My first shock of this review is checking Wiki to see where this novel comes in P.D. James's oeuvre and discovering that P.D. stands for Phyllis Dorothy. Let me just take a moment.
*clears throat*
Now where was I? Right. The second shock was discovering I wasn't all that impressed. I thought I liked P.D James. Have I changed or is this the Death Comes to Pemberley effect?
Anyway, I find that this was James's fifth novel. And indeed the writing is that of a seasoned author, fluent and vivid, the setup is clever, and if the detective heroine is rather unremarkable she's reasonably well sketched. I did like the idea of the abandoned cottage being loved again on one side but not on the other.
Generally, though, I wasn't excited by the story. James can be a little bleak at times and I think "bleak" is definitely the word here. None of the characters really seem to give a damn about each other or anything else, really. As a reader I wanted to care more and I didn't; it was a puzzle to be solved and that was all.
And then, we get near the end. And the heroine guesses the clue to the mystery and then the other key characters start filling in the details with cheerful abandon in a "oh well if you know that much" way. I hate it when they do that, because why should they? Especially in a world where all the characters bar the students have been anything but forthcoming.
AND THEN
AND THEN
So now I'm both underimpressed AND annoyed. Not a good way to finish a detective novel.
April 30, 2022
Cordelia starts and wins
I'll just have a word with her, and then she can leave. There is no place for women here.
And here it is not. Women, as it turned out, have quite a place here. And it seems that the heroine of "Unsuitable Occupation for Women", Cordelia Gray, is the first of a series of women running a detective agency. I'm not strong in the history of the genre, but I suspect that one of the first
A classic English detective from Phyllis Dorothy James, who, no less. than Lady Agatha, degrees. worthy of the title of queen, or at least the duchess of detective. I have already met with the writer and her through-character Adam Dalglish in "The Secret of Nightingale".
From a nightmarish story, when right at a demonstration feeding lesson through a probe at a nursing school, a girl was poured into her stomach instead of warm milk, a pipe cleaner - br-r, shudders with horror and disgust when remembering how no Scandinavian or Asian story with dismemberment could be achieved.
Commander Dalgliesh will also appear here, although at the very end, and a role. which he will happen to play, not one of the most charming. He will interrogate Cordelia about the circumstances of her client's death, clearly meaning to put her behind bars for life if the girl gives up.
Корделия начинает и выигрывает
Я только перекинусь с ней словечком, а потом она может уйти. Здесь не ��есто женщинам.
А вот и нет. Женщинам, как выяснилось, здесь вполне себе место. И кажется, героиня "Неподходящего занятия для женщин", Корделия Грей - первая из череды женщин, руководящих сыскным агентством. Я не сильна в истории жанра, но подозреваю, что одна из первых
Классический английский детектив от Филлис Дороти Джеймс, которая, не в меньшей. чем леди Агата, степени. достойна звания королевы, ну или, как минимум - герцогини детектива. Я уже встречалась с писательницей и ее сквозным героем Адамом Далглишем в "Тайне Найтингейла".
От кошмарной истории, когда прямо на показательном занятии по кормлению через зонд в школе медсестер, девушке в желудок влили вместо теплого молока средство для прочистки труб - бр-р, передергивает ужасом и омерзениеи при воспоминании, как ни одной скандинавской или азиатской истории с расчлененкой не удавалось добиться.
Здесь командер Дэлглиш тоже появится, хотя в самом конце, и роль. которую ему доведется сыграть, не из самых обаятельных. Он станет допрашивать Корделию об обстоятельствах смерти ее заказчика, явно имея в виду засадить за решетку пожизненно, если девушка даст слабину.
И в это время читатель, успевший полюбить отважную сыщицу, должен возненавидеть его. Но тут, понимаете, в чем дело, он выполняет свою работу, стоит на страже закона и порядка. Права человека по-настоящему блюдут только там, где к тому и другому относятся с уважением. А когда базовые понятия сметают в угоду чьего-то хотения, тогда начинается хаос. Но я отклонилась от темы.
Итак, задание, которое Корделии придется выполнять - разобраться в обстоятельствах смерти молодого человека по имени Марк, наследника солидного состояния и сына видного ученого. И это вдумчивое неспешное расследование. в ходе которого, как водится в классическом детективе, из шкафов извлекаются все новые скелеты, а приятные во всех отношениях люди, являют звериный оскал. Эпизод с колодцем - прямо ужас-ужас
Удивительно, но написанный в середине семидесятых, роман совершенно не воспринимается анахронизмом. История первого дела молодой энергичной женщины с шекспировским именем Корделия, вынужденной обстоятельствами встать во главе детективного агентства, которое дышит на ладан и того гляди, пойдет ко дну - эта история завораживающе интересная, страшная и трогательная.
А две особенности авторского стиля Джеймс: 1. не заканчивать повествование раскрытием преступления, но прослеживать дальнейшую судьбу героев; 2. пара: наставник в возрасте из бывших полицейских, который умирает от рака, и дело берет в свои руки его молодая напарница, пережившая серьезную психотравму - возможно вдохновили Стивена Кинга на образы сыщиков из агентства "Finders Keepers" ("Кто нашел - берет себе").
И по традиции: чтение глазами хорошо. но если вы научились воспринимать тексты в аудиоформате, то сможете читать в условиях, когда традиционное чтение невозможно. А в исполнении Игоря Князева любая книга феерически прекрасна. Эта не исключение.
I'll just have a word with her, and then she can leave. There is no place for women here.
And here it is not. Women, as it turned out, have quite a place here. And it seems that the heroine of "Unsuitable Occupation for Women", Cordelia Gray, is the first of a series of women running a detective agency. I'm not strong in the history of the genre, but I suspect that one of the first
A classic English detective from Phyllis Dorothy James, who, no less. than Lady Agatha, degrees. worthy of the title of queen, or at least the duchess of detective. I have already met with the writer and her through-character Adam Dalglish in "The Secret of Nightingale".
From a nightmarish story, when right at a demonstration feeding lesson through a probe at a nursing school, a girl was poured into her stomach instead of warm milk, a pipe cleaner - br-r, shudders with horror and disgust when remembering how no Scandinavian or Asian story with dismemberment could be achieved.
Commander Dalgliesh will also appear here, although at the very end, and a role. which he will happen to play, not one of the most charming. He will interrogate Cordelia about the circumstances of her client's death, clearly meaning to put her behind bars for life if the girl gives up.
Корделия начинает и выигрывает
Я только перекинусь с ней словечком, а потом она может уйти. Здесь не ��есто женщинам.
А вот и нет. Женщинам, как выяснилось, здесь вполне себе место. И кажется, героиня "Неподходящего занятия для женщин", Корделия Грей - первая из череды женщин, руководящих сыскным агентством. Я не сильна в истории жанра, но подозреваю, что одна из первых
Классический английский детектив от Филлис Дороти Джеймс, которая, не в меньшей. чем леди Агата, степени. достойна звания королевы, ну или, как минимум - герцогини детектива. Я уже встречалась с писательницей и ее сквозным героем Адамом Далглишем в "Тайне Найтингейла".
От кошмарной истории, когда прямо на показательном занятии по кормлению через зонд в школе медсестер, девушке в желудок влили вместо теплого молока средство для прочистки труб - бр-р, передергивает ужасом и омерзениеи при воспоминании, как ни одной скандинавской или азиатской истории с расчлененкой не удавалось добиться.
Здесь командер Дэлглиш тоже появится, хотя в самом конце, и роль. которую ему доведется сыграть, не из самых обаятельных. Он станет допрашивать Корделию об обстоятельствах смерти ее заказчика, явно имея в виду засадить за решетку пожизненно, если девушка даст слабину.
И в это время читатель, успевший полюбить отважную сыщицу, должен возненавидеть его. Но тут, понимаете, в чем дело, он выполняет свою работу, стоит на страже закона и порядка. Права человека по-настоящему блюдут только там, где к тому и другому относятся с уважением. А когда базовые понятия сметают в угоду чьего-то хотения, тогда начинается хаос. Но я отклонилась от темы.
Итак, задание, которое Корделии придется выполнять - разобраться в обстоятельствах смерти молодого человека по имени Марк, наследника солидного состояния и сына видного ученого. И это вдумчивое неспешное расследование. в ходе которого, как водится в классическом детективе, из шкафов извлекаются все новые скелеты, а приятные во всех отношениях люди, являют звериный оскал. Эпизод с колодцем - прямо ужас-ужас
Удивительно, но написанный в середине семидесятых, роман совершенно не воспринимается анахронизмом. История первого дела молодой энергичной женщины с шекспировским именем Корделия, вынужденной обстоятельствами встать во главе детективного агентства, которое дышит на ладан и того гляди, пойдет ко дну - эта история завораживающе интересная, страшная и трогательная.
А две особенности авторского стиля Джеймс: 1. не заканчивать повествование раскрытием преступления, но прослеживать дальнейшую судьбу героев; 2. пара: наставник в возрасте из бывших полицейских, который умирает от рака, и дело берет в свои руки его молодая напарница, пережившая серьезную психотравму - возможно вдохновили Стивена Кинга на образы сыщиков из агентства "Finders Keepers" ("Кто нашел - берет себе").
И по традиции: чтение глазами хорошо. но если вы научились воспринимать тексты в аудиоформате, то сможете читать в условиях, когда традиционное чтение невозможно. А в исполнении Игоря Князева любая книга феерически прекрасна. Эта не исключение.
December 12, 2017
"It's unwise to become to too personally involved with a human being. When that human being is dead, it can be dangerous as well as unwise."
This is a reread for me, and I can't think why I didn't write a review before. I adored this book in 2012, as it was probably the first literary mystery I'd read of its kind, barring Elizabeth George. I always meant to get around to the second and last book in the short series, but never did.
What entranced me were all the literary references, the Cambridge setting, and James' use to imagery and language. On a second reading, it all came back to me! I think since the time initially reading this though, I've read many other amazing literary mysteries that James' probably inspired. Was surprised that I didn't adore it as much as before. Still determined to read the next book in the series, though!
This is a reread for me, and I can't think why I didn't write a review before. I adored this book in 2012, as it was probably the first literary mystery I'd read of its kind, barring Elizabeth George. I always meant to get around to the second and last book in the short series, but never did.
What entranced me were all the literary references, the Cambridge setting, and James' use to imagery and language. On a second reading, it all came back to me! I think since the time initially reading this though, I've read many other amazing literary mysteries that James' probably inspired. Was surprised that I didn't adore it as much as before. Still determined to read the next book in the series, though!
March 24, 2022
بد نبود، ولی خیلی معمولی
April 11, 2019
The writing is more accomplished and richer than is often the case in crime fiction but so much of this book feels unconvincing. The sheer number of suicides (2, or is that 3?), murders (3) and murderers (3) become wildly improbable and I still don't understand the motive for the main killing...
The whole thing takes itself very seriously without a spark of humour in either the narrative or Cordelia. Did students in the 1970s really call people their 'lover' or describe themselves as being someone's 'mistress'? They're 20, they're young and free, wouldn't they just describe people as their boyfriend or girlfriend?
The characters are written with great clarity but I found it hard to believe that an autodidact who left school at 16 and is only 22 now is quite this well-read and able to instantly spot an original Renoir. And the undergraduate party where all the students stand around chatting with no music, no drunkenness, and mingle with their tutors is nothing like any uni parties I remember...
There's lots of procedure stuff, some wild leaps of intuition and an odd ending... quite a thin story under it all. It feels like James lost her way here: 2.5 stars rounded up.
The whole thing takes itself very seriously without a spark of humour in either the narrative or Cordelia. Did students in the 1970s really call people their 'lover' or describe themselves as being someone's 'mistress'? They're 20, they're young and free, wouldn't they just describe people as their boyfriend or girlfriend?
The characters are written with great clarity but I found it hard to believe that an autodidact who left school at 16 and is only 22 now is quite this well-read and able to instantly spot an original Renoir. And the undergraduate party where all the students stand around chatting with no music, no drunkenness, and mingle with their tutors is nothing like any uni parties I remember...
There's lots of procedure stuff, some wild leaps of intuition and an odd ending... quite a thin story under it all. It feels like James lost her way here: 2.5 stars rounded up.
June 4, 2007
I was disappointed by this. It did one of my least favorite mystery things: having the bad guy die in some accidental or self-inflicted manner so that the detective character will have less mess to deal with. And that happened three times in this book. THREE TIMES. Worse, as much as I really really wanted to like Cordelia Gray—James' female detective who's out to prove that solving crimes IS a suitable job for the ladies—I just couldn't get a sense of her. James gives her an appropriately weird background—Marxist father, educated in convents—but this origin story doesn't seem in any way connected to who Cordelia is now. There's no sense of how that background made her this person—or even who this person is. With only a moderately interesting mystery backed by a main character who remains pretty blank, there's just nothing all that memorable here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2019
3.5/5. I loved the relatively slow pacing of the mystery and the descriptions of the cozy Cambridge atmosphere. Overall, I really enjoyed accompanying Cordelia on her first investigation, but I wish we'd gotten to know more about her earlier on in the story, as I felt quite distanced from her throughout the book. The ending didn't feel entirely plausible to me either.
April 7, 2019
Every now and again I seem to re-discover P.D. James, as though I forget how much I enjoy her books every time I pick them up. This is the first Cordelia Grey mystery (although there are only two). The series, short as it is, has links to Adam Dalgliesh – Cordelia Grey is the partner in a Private Detective agency, run by former police detective, Bernie Pryde, who used to work with Dalgliesh and he also features at the end of the book.
For Bernie, who commits suicide at the beginning of this novel (so no spoiler there), Dalgliesh is a fount of wisdom; his words often repeated and his advice passed down. Cordelia views the image of Dalgliesh with slight resentment, feeling that Bernie was pushed out of the force partly because of him. However, when Bernie kills himself, he leave the detective agency to her and she is determined to run it, despite the views of some, as the title suggests, that it is not a suitable job for a woman.
Before long, Cordelia is involved in a new case – the son of Cambridge scientist, Sir Ronald Callendar, committed suicide and she is called in to discover why. She discovers that Mark Callendar gave up his university course and retreated to a job as a gardener, where he was found dead in the small cottage he slept in. Before long, she views the suicide as suspicious and her thoughts turn to murder…
Although somewhat dated, this is an interesting mystery, with a good cast of suspects and characters. Cordelia Grey is young, without family and money. This was published in 1972 and there is a real sense of that era in certain attitudes and ideas. However, Cordelia is a likeable and enjoyable leading character and it is a shame that P.D. James only wrote one more novel in the series; “The Skull Beneath the Skin,” which published ten years after the first.
I listened to this on Audible and it was read wonderfully by Katie Scarfe. P.D. James will be the challenge for one of the Goodreads Groups I help moderate – Reading the Detectives – next year (2020) and I look forward to re-acquainting myself with Adam Dalgliesh then.
For Bernie, who commits suicide at the beginning of this novel (so no spoiler there), Dalgliesh is a fount of wisdom; his words often repeated and his advice passed down. Cordelia views the image of Dalgliesh with slight resentment, feeling that Bernie was pushed out of the force partly because of him. However, when Bernie kills himself, he leave the detective agency to her and she is determined to run it, despite the views of some, as the title suggests, that it is not a suitable job for a woman.
Before long, Cordelia is involved in a new case – the son of Cambridge scientist, Sir Ronald Callendar, committed suicide and she is called in to discover why. She discovers that Mark Callendar gave up his university course and retreated to a job as a gardener, where he was found dead in the small cottage he slept in. Before long, she views the suicide as suspicious and her thoughts turn to murder…
Although somewhat dated, this is an interesting mystery, with a good cast of suspects and characters. Cordelia Grey is young, without family and money. This was published in 1972 and there is a real sense of that era in certain attitudes and ideas. However, Cordelia is a likeable and enjoyable leading character and it is a shame that P.D. James only wrote one more novel in the series; “The Skull Beneath the Skin,” which published ten years after the first.
I listened to this on Audible and it was read wonderfully by Katie Scarfe. P.D. James will be the challenge for one of the Goodreads Groups I help moderate – Reading the Detectives – next year (2020) and I look forward to re-acquainting myself with Adam Dalgliesh then.
April 30, 2010
Here we are, it's P.D. James's fifth novel, and one would hope to see writerly progress being made. More substantial plots, more fully fleshed characters. I want James to expand beyond the stale, misanthropic souls who people her books (Dalgliesh excepted). I feel a little iconoclastic saying this, because James is one of the more revered mystery writers. "...even minor P.D. James characters are fully realized, given a pedigree, a school background and an attitude toward life," says the New York Times (in a 1997 review of a different book). Yes, they are given those things, but that hardly makes them fully realized. In fact, in P.D. James a Cambridge student who punts on the River Cam usually just becomes shorthand for a snide, blasé snob. "She writes like an angel," the London Times informs us. If so, she's a very negative and ungenerous angel. Take this description of Miss Sparshott, a temporary typist at Cordelia Gray's detective agency, who is so temporary that she is gone after 13 pages:
Ouch! Is it really necessary to be so zealously mean, especially to a character given such brief exposure? Does this vivid description tell us more about Miss Sparshott, or about P.D. James, whose books are full of pitiful women like this?
Aside from the misanthropy, the mystery is too slight. A suicide that Cordelia suspects is a murder; a young man dressed in women's lingerie and lipstick; some suspicious blood types. The plot only begins to get moderately interesting when Cordelia is tossed down a well on p. 202, and the first character who seems like a real human doesn't appear until Commander Dalgliesh in the last few pages.
She was an unprepossessing woman with lips permanently taut as if to prevent the protruding teeth from springing from her mouth, a receding chin with one coarse hair which grew as quickly as it was plucked, and fair hair set in still corrugated waves. That chin and mouth seemed to Cordelia the living refutation that all men are born equal and she tried from time to time to like and sympathize with Miss Sparshott, with a life lived in bedsitting rooms, measured in the five-penny pieces fed to the gas stove and circumscribed by fell seams and hand hemming.
Ouch! Is it really necessary to be so zealously mean, especially to a character given such brief exposure? Does this vivid description tell us more about Miss Sparshott, or about P.D. James, whose books are full of pitiful women like this?
Aside from the misanthropy, the mystery is too slight. A suicide that Cordelia suspects is a murder; a young man dressed in women's lingerie and lipstick; some suspicious blood types. The plot only begins to get moderately interesting when Cordelia is tossed down a well on p. 202, and the first character who seems like a real human doesn't appear until Commander Dalgliesh in the last few pages.
March 6, 2016
Reading this book was a pleasure. However it did expose my lack of acute concentration, if not my imagining. There was one place in the book where I could do with some exactitude, that is the detective in the well part. Unlike many cozy, and English mystery books, there are quite some prurient quips lying about. Many of the physical traits of the supporting cast are confidently described. P.D. James is some writer.
This book is one of the least domestic crime books I've ever read. The heroine lives, during her investigation, in a decrepit so called cottage. But the author comes into her own element when describing Cambridge. The libraries, the churches, one graveyard, the University; all of them highly etched prosaically. The story is padded with a lot of description, but this treatment doesn't feel like butter spread too thinly on bread. It would be, had the mystery lasted 400 pages. But that's not the case. Pun unintended.
The two things P.D. James laid emphasis on were smells, and the deduction from people's eyes. Most of the characters are presented, or hinted, as intelligent. Some are not clever enough. But even the Pilbean lady who is branded as stupid had the voice of an oracle herself. The richness of the prose forces admiration from me and, I'm sure, others too. Conversely, the author knows how to turn the style on and off. During passages of tangy urgency, she loses the descriptions, and action is shown rather than told.
The main victim, Mark Callender, is a character that can be liked by some and disliked by others. I still don't know how generous, forgiving, or intelligent he was. The fact that he left his study sealed in fate. His death is pitiable, more so in its dressing and undressing. Even death here is seen differently from the characters at various points in the narrative.
I have come to new words here, like "censorious"(3 times), "prurient", "theurgy", and "deletrious". I was interested to know how the author would hide her hand. Since we are seeing the plot unravel from Cordelia's view, the solution to the problem must occur at once and not in stages. I'm glad to say that almost nothing is held from the reader. That is more admirable considering the paucity of witnesses and suspects. The truth of the case was as startling as reading this book proved to be. My first P.D. James novel; excellent.
This book is one of the least domestic crime books I've ever read. The heroine lives, during her investigation, in a decrepit so called cottage. But the author comes into her own element when describing Cambridge. The libraries, the churches, one graveyard, the University; all of them highly etched prosaically. The story is padded with a lot of description, but this treatment doesn't feel like butter spread too thinly on bread. It would be, had the mystery lasted 400 pages. But that's not the case. Pun unintended.
The two things P.D. James laid emphasis on were smells, and the deduction from people's eyes. Most of the characters are presented, or hinted, as intelligent. Some are not clever enough. But even the Pilbean lady who is branded as stupid had the voice of an oracle herself. The richness of the prose forces admiration from me and, I'm sure, others too. Conversely, the author knows how to turn the style on and off. During passages of tangy urgency, she loses the descriptions, and action is shown rather than told.
The main victim, Mark Callender, is a character that can be liked by some and disliked by others. I still don't know how generous, forgiving, or intelligent he was. The fact that he left his study sealed in fate. His death is pitiable, more so in its dressing and undressing. Even death here is seen differently from the characters at various points in the narrative.
I have come to new words here, like "censorious"(3 times), "prurient", "theurgy", and "deletrious". I was interested to know how the author would hide her hand. Since we are seeing the plot unravel from Cordelia's view, the solution to the problem must occur at once and not in stages. I'm glad to say that almost nothing is held from the reader. That is more admirable considering the paucity of witnesses and suspects. The truth of the case was as startling as reading this book proved to be. My first P.D. James novel; excellent.
July 24, 2022
The First Fictional Modern Professional Female Detective
Review of the Sphere Books paperback edition (1974 orig/1986 reprint) of the Faber & Faber hardcover original (1972)
Perhaps someone in the comments will be able to come up with an example to refute my lede, but I definitely remember reading P.D. James' first Cordelia Gray book back in the day and thinking that she didn't have any contemporary rivals. There had of course been amateurs such as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Tuppence and also some pulp examples such as Erle Stanley Gardner's Bertha Cool from back in the Golden Age. But I think all the Burkholders, Millhones, Plums, Scarpettas, Warshawskis, etc. came well after 1972. I picking out the more prominent series characters here and there may be individual examples that I'm not aware of.
James however did not make Cordelia Gray a series character and instead returned to her regular Scotland Yard CID Commander Adam Dalgliesh, aside from a 10-years-later one-off Cordelia Gray sequel The Skull Beneath The Skin (1982). Possibly the limited resources of a private detective did not trigger James' imagination much further and she felt she had taken enough of a first step to allow others to follow.
Even in An Unsuitable Job..., the shadow of Dalgliesh hovers throughout the book before he makes an actual cameo appearance towards the end. Cordelia Gray has inherited the Pryde Detective Agency from her deceased partner Bernie Pryde, who had previously worked under Dalgliesh when the latter was a Detective Superintendent in the CID. Dalgliesh had been instrumental in having Pryde dismissed from the force. Pryde would regularly quote the 'Super' about investigative procedures and these lessons come back to Gray's mind throughout as she investigates an apparent suicide as her first solo case.
Gray definitely proves more than competent in her deductions and finds herself a possible murder target in a rather convoluted resolution. There is a rather bizarre coverup after that though. It becomes apparent that Dalgliesh can see through that, but he allows it to pass as 'justice having been done'.
I enjoyed this re-read of the first Cordelia Gray and the added conspiracy element of Adam Dalgliesh participating in the proceedings.
Front cover of the original Faber & Faber hardcover edition (1972). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
Actor Helen Baxendale as Cordelia Gray in the TV-series "An Unsuitable Job for a Woman" (1987-89). Image sourced from Pinterest.
Trivia and Links
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman was adapted as a theatrical film in 1982 which starred actor Pippa Guard as Cordelia Gray. You can watch the entire film on YouTube here.
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman was also adapted for a same-titled short-run TV series (1987-89) starring Helen Baxendale as Cordelia Gray and where the first episode "Sacrifice" was based on the original novel and the following 3 episodes were original scripts.
Review of the Sphere Books paperback edition (1974 orig/1986 reprint) of the Faber & Faber hardcover original (1972)
Perhaps someone in the comments will be able to come up with an example to refute my lede, but I definitely remember reading P.D. James' first Cordelia Gray book back in the day and thinking that she didn't have any contemporary rivals. There had of course been amateurs such as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Tuppence and also some pulp examples such as Erle Stanley Gardner's Bertha Cool from back in the Golden Age. But I think all the Burkholders, Millhones, Plums, Scarpettas, Warshawskis, etc. came well after 1972. I picking out the more prominent series characters here and there may be individual examples that I'm not aware of.
James however did not make Cordelia Gray a series character and instead returned to her regular Scotland Yard CID Commander Adam Dalgliesh, aside from a 10-years-later one-off Cordelia Gray sequel The Skull Beneath The Skin (1982). Possibly the limited resources of a private detective did not trigger James' imagination much further and she felt she had taken enough of a first step to allow others to follow.
Even in An Unsuitable Job..., the shadow of Dalgliesh hovers throughout the book before he makes an actual cameo appearance towards the end. Cordelia Gray has inherited the Pryde Detective Agency from her deceased partner Bernie Pryde, who had previously worked under Dalgliesh when the latter was a Detective Superintendent in the CID. Dalgliesh had been instrumental in having Pryde dismissed from the force. Pryde would regularly quote the 'Super' about investigative procedures and these lessons come back to Gray's mind throughout as she investigates an apparent suicide as her first solo case.
Gray definitely proves more than competent in her deductions and finds herself a possible murder target in a rather convoluted resolution. There is a rather bizarre coverup after that though. It becomes apparent that Dalgliesh can see through that, but he allows it to pass as 'justice having been done'.
I enjoyed this re-read of the first Cordelia Gray and the added conspiracy element of Adam Dalgliesh participating in the proceedings.
Front cover of the original Faber & Faber hardcover edition (1972). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
Actor Helen Baxendale as Cordelia Gray in the TV-series "An Unsuitable Job for a Woman" (1987-89). Image sourced from Pinterest.
Trivia and Links
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman was adapted as a theatrical film in 1982 which starred actor Pippa Guard as Cordelia Gray. You can watch the entire film on YouTube here.
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman was also adapted for a same-titled short-run TV series (1987-89) starring Helen Baxendale as Cordelia Gray and where the first episode "Sacrifice" was based on the original novel and the following 3 episodes were original scripts.
February 29, 2024
P.D. James didn't fall away on this series as I suspected would happen. The Dalgleish series is so well done, so was happy that this is just as well written, and that Adam Dalgleish is a behind the scenes mentor if you will. Great plot, great protagonist, will read on!
March 15, 2023
This is not P D James at her best. There are so many great detective books by this author but this is not one of them.
This follows a young woman, Cordelia Gray, who is asked to investigate the suicide of a young man who was a student at Cambridge. She is asked to try to find out why he killed himself by the father.
All in all I found this far-fetched and without basis. I hoped that with the appearance of trusty Dalgleish at the end all would be found out but not so.
This follows a young woman, Cordelia Gray, who is asked to investigate the suicide of a young man who was a student at Cambridge. She is asked to try to find out why he killed himself by the father.
All in all I found this far-fetched and without basis. I hoped that with the appearance of trusty Dalgleish at the end all would be found out but not so.
March 25, 2015
This was a fun, quick and suspenseful mystery set in Cambridge, England. Novice private detective, Cordelia Gray, is a very likeable character. Left to figure the business out on her own after her partner takes his own life, Cordelia is hired by the successful scientist, Ronald Callender, to determine why his son Mark committed suicide. But did Mark really commit suicide? This is what Cordelia questions and seeks to divine for herself. Plenty of twists and questionable suspects made this a page-turner for me.
I appreciated the character development provided by P.D. James as well as the atmospheric feel of the Cambridge community. Never having been anywhere near Cambridge, I was still able to really visualize my surroundings, from the college itself to the ramshackle cottage which was the scene of the suicide and also Cordelia's temporary "home" while investigating the case. In addition to the spunk and resourcefulness of Cordelia, we are introduced to a variety of secondary characters with their own unique, and not necessarily pleasant, personalities. This book was wonderfully descriptive and exciting; unfortunately, I have just learned after finishing that there is only one other Cordelia Gray mystery in the series. Seems a shame as she was a very promising and enterprising young woman!
I appreciated the character development provided by P.D. James as well as the atmospheric feel of the Cambridge community. Never having been anywhere near Cambridge, I was still able to really visualize my surroundings, from the college itself to the ramshackle cottage which was the scene of the suicide and also Cordelia's temporary "home" while investigating the case. In addition to the spunk and resourcefulness of Cordelia, we are introduced to a variety of secondary characters with their own unique, and not necessarily pleasant, personalities. This book was wonderfully descriptive and exciting; unfortunately, I have just learned after finishing that there is only one other Cordelia Gray mystery in the series. Seems a shame as she was a very promising and enterprising young woman!
January 8, 2013
I first read this novel 30 years ago and had forgotten just how good it was. After reading "Death at Pemberley" and being so bitterly disappointed, I was a little worried when my Goodreads book club selected this for this month's read. I was worried that it wouldn't be as good as I remembered. Thankfully, it was even better than the first time through. I will go back now and read the second Cordelia Gray and wonder why there arent't any more.
Cordelia is a young, innocent detective called in by a rich man to investigate the suicide of his son. He wanted to know why his son killed himself. Cordelia immerses herself in Mark's, the son, life and untangles the mystery set before her. In the last few pages Adam Dalgliesh makes an appearance which is a nice surprise.
The best part of this book is reading an interesting mystery by one of the greatest crime writers ever. What a treat. It also made me think of my friend who introduced me to PD James 30 years ago. I think I'll give her a call and thank her.
Cordelia is a young, innocent detective called in by a rich man to investigate the suicide of his son. He wanted to know why his son killed himself. Cordelia immerses herself in Mark's, the son, life and untangles the mystery set before her. In the last few pages Adam Dalgliesh makes an appearance which is a nice surprise.
The best part of this book is reading an interesting mystery by one of the greatest crime writers ever. What a treat. It also made me think of my friend who introduced me to PD James 30 years ago. I think I'll give her a call and thank her.
June 23, 2014
Once a while, I like to read a crime/mystery novel. That does not mean that I hate reading crime novels. In fact, it is otherwise. The crime novels draw me into the book to such a level that I do not do anything else till I complete the novel.
The crime novel should keep me engaged. Or else it ceases to interest me. I love to become part of the plot especially as the companion to the principal detective. It should challenge my intelligence as I tend to find out the culprit myself from the evidences presented. It should present me with some interesting facts. If a crime novel contains all these, at the end I feel happy for having read it.
This novel presented everything and specially I loved the last part where the mystery once solved went on for another chapter which was equally engaging. That is unusual for a crime thriller.
Final Verdict: An entertainer......
The crime novel should keep me engaged. Or else it ceases to interest me. I love to become part of the plot especially as the companion to the principal detective. It should challenge my intelligence as I tend to find out the culprit myself from the evidences presented. It should present me with some interesting facts. If a crime novel contains all these, at the end I feel happy for having read it.
This novel presented everything and specially I loved the last part where the mystery once solved went on for another chapter which was equally engaging. That is unusual for a crime thriller.
Final Verdict: An entertainer......
March 21, 2018
2.5 stars
A very slow start and some slow, imo unnecessary digressions (to up the word count?). No surprising ending. Therefore I can't give it a full 3 star rating. On the other hand I didn't dislike it, so I feel 2 stars would be too low. Conclusion: 2.5 stars. Wouldn't read it again, don't know if I'll read anything by P.D. James again, although... I read in a couple of reviews that some people who normally do like her writing didn't like this one either. So who knows, maybe someday I'll give another book of hers a try.
A very slow start and some slow, imo unnecessary digressions (to up the word count?). No surprising ending. Therefore I can't give it a full 3 star rating. On the other hand I didn't dislike it, so I feel 2 stars would be too low. Conclusion: 2.5 stars. Wouldn't read it again, don't know if I'll read anything by P.D. James again, although... I read in a couple of reviews that some people who normally do like her writing didn't like this one either. So who knows, maybe someday I'll give another book of hers a try.
October 4, 2022
לסקירה מפורטת בעברית קישור לבלוג שלי -
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June 6, 2016
I was game to get started with Phyllis Dorothy James, when she passed away. It is difficult to describe “An Unsuitable Job For A Woman”. Suicide is a grisly introduction but many segments were slow. Interviews with informants played out languidly, instead of cutting to revealing parts. Many private musings were worth keeping because this is how we acquaint Cordelia Gray. Her unusual upbringing, having a somewhat crooked Father whilst educated at a convent school, informs her handling of life. She takes her late partner’s training to heart all the way. Bernie Pryde was an ex-police officer, who recognized sleuthing talent in Cordelia.
A risky decision at the end is a doozey, flying against the formula of the mystery. I love authors who turn from the trod thoroughfare! My obstructions to becoming emotionally involved are that I scarcely empathized with Cordelia and cared for no other characters. I don’t think anyone could connect with her, by design or not, because her personality wavered in making itself known. Most notably, she was glum; a heavy tone that will have to lift. Three stars balance some drabness with the gifted narrating voice I enjoyed. Just when I felt pages dragging, excitement would perk them up. Cordelia was always working out something.
Observational skill and intelligence inform readers of murder. Such complexities distinguish a standard mystery from the single avenue, “cozy” type. For example, why would a thorough personality quit a nearly-finished flowerbed row? Why handcraft a soup but kill oneself before partaking of it? I love that we begin in 1977, although England twisted my impressions towards historical fiction. In her twenties, Cordelia suited Cambridge University. I love her frequent remarks that “her interviews must be the strangest ever conducted”, perched upon campus lawns! Bernie could not have achieved what she did.
A risky decision at the end is a doozey, flying against the formula of the mystery. I love authors who turn from the trod thoroughfare! My obstructions to becoming emotionally involved are that I scarcely empathized with Cordelia and cared for no other characters. I don’t think anyone could connect with her, by design or not, because her personality wavered in making itself known. Most notably, she was glum; a heavy tone that will have to lift. Three stars balance some drabness with the gifted narrating voice I enjoyed. Just when I felt pages dragging, excitement would perk them up. Cordelia was always working out something.
Observational skill and intelligence inform readers of murder. Such complexities distinguish a standard mystery from the single avenue, “cozy” type. For example, why would a thorough personality quit a nearly-finished flowerbed row? Why handcraft a soup but kill oneself before partaking of it? I love that we begin in 1977, although England twisted my impressions towards historical fiction. In her twenties, Cordelia suited Cambridge University. I love her frequent remarks that “her interviews must be the strangest ever conducted”, perched upon campus lawns! Bernie could not have achieved what she did.
April 21, 2012
No spoilers.
A wonderful mystery that grabs you from the first page. James' descriptions of characters make them immediately three-dimensional, and you are pulled along with Cordelia Gray as her invisible Watson. I found Cordelia to be a very real character and although the book was published in 1972, it's still mostly timeless. The idea that everyone seems to think detective work is unsuitable for a woman shouldn't ring as true today, but it does. And every young woman (and perhaps man) finds that in their early twenties, *nobody* thinks they are quite suited to do the job they're doing. It's much more enjoyable in this case, as Cordelia is both competent, intelligent, and is very aware that she doesn't have "it" all together yet.
There's no gratuitous sex, violence, or super-detailed recounting of bugs or blood spatters or things that are much more popular in police-procedural tv shows. It's not that sex and violence don't exist in this world, but you need not slog through page after page to imagine what it's like trying to get blood out of a carpet.
This doesn't seem like an emotional novel, yet I have a fondness for the characters (even the evil ones) that comes from an interesting story that's well-told. I'm looking forward to many more P.D. James novels in my future.
A wonderful mystery that grabs you from the first page. James' descriptions of characters make them immediately three-dimensional, and you are pulled along with Cordelia Gray as her invisible Watson. I found Cordelia to be a very real character and although the book was published in 1972, it's still mostly timeless. The idea that everyone seems to think detective work is unsuitable for a woman shouldn't ring as true today, but it does. And every young woman (and perhaps man) finds that in their early twenties, *nobody* thinks they are quite suited to do the job they're doing. It's much more enjoyable in this case, as Cordelia is both competent, intelligent, and is very aware that she doesn't have "it" all together yet.
There's no gratuitous sex, violence, or super-detailed recounting of bugs or blood spatters or things that are much more popular in police-procedural tv shows. It's not that sex and violence don't exist in this world, but you need not slog through page after page to imagine what it's like trying to get blood out of a carpet.
This doesn't seem like an emotional novel, yet I have a fondness for the characters (even the evil ones) that comes from an interesting story that's well-told. I'm looking forward to many more P.D. James novels in my future.
March 24, 2017
Cordelia Gray, age 22, shows up to work one morning to find her boss, Bernie Pryde, dead by suicide; he has chosen this over suffering through cancer. While she’s handling this sorrow and the details, she is hired to find out why Cambridge dropout Mark Callendar has killed himself. The man who hires her is his father, and it doesn’t take Cordelia long to realize that murder is the far more likely cause of Mark’s death.
The search Cordelia undertakes reveals surprises, twists, elements of danger and all that you’d want in a well written murder/suspense/mystery/thriller novel. True, it doesn’t rush through things at a breakneck speed designed to give one nightmares after staying up all night reading it, but it doesn’t need to do so. The writing is at once simple and well done; moving along at a clip that does speed up at times, naturally, or it would merely be a cozy mystery. Since it is written in the 1970s there are no cell phones or electronic tracking means, which is such a refreshing change. I like Cordelia and am strongly considering reading the next one.
The search Cordelia undertakes reveals surprises, twists, elements of danger and all that you’d want in a well written murder/suspense/mystery/thriller novel. True, it doesn’t rush through things at a breakneck speed designed to give one nightmares after staying up all night reading it, but it doesn’t need to do so. The writing is at once simple and well done; moving along at a clip that does speed up at times, naturally, or it would merely be a cozy mystery. Since it is written in the 1970s there are no cell phones or electronic tracking means, which is such a refreshing change. I like Cordelia and am strongly considering reading the next one.
January 25, 2016
Cordelia Gray finds herself the sole proprietor of the Private Investigation business she shared with her now deceased partner. Her first case is to investigate the suicide of a young man from a wealthy family who dropped out of college to become a gardener. There's no doubt it was suicide...or is there? Cordelia moves into the gardener's cottage and talks to his college friends to uncover the truth, often facing folks who really believe hers is an unsuitable job for a woman. This is P. D. James' first novel of Cordelia Gray and it’s brilliant.
July 5, 2011
Saw more Dorothy L. Sayers in this than in any of the previous James books. Was looking for a mystery and saw this had Cambridge as a setting. My daughter leaves for there this week. Wanted to give her something fun to read for the journey. She's going on a course and has lots of mandatory reading.
November 10, 2020
Nu-i rău. Are un farmec ușor demodat...
November 4, 2010
PD James is the finest mystery writer today I think. Her vocabulary is not only challenging, but spot-on. When she uses a word, it belongs where it lands. She is marvelously well read, and laces her narrative with beautiful quotations from classic authors. Her mysteries are always intriguing, and I've never figured one out before the end. I started with one of the last Adam Dalgliesh novels and worked my way backward to the beginning. Recently I realized that she wrote two novels about a female detective named Cordelia Gray that I had somehow missed. This is the first of those. It is absolutely delightful. Five enthusiastic stars for Cordelia!
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