Unnatural Causes: Amazon.ca: P D James: Books

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2 Reviews

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3.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars NOT ONE OF HER BEST, Nov 20 2001

By

MOVIE MAVEN (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unnatural Causes (Adam Dagliesh Mystery Series #3) (Paperback)

To my mind, any book of P.D. James is worth reading, but UNNATURAL CAUSES is simply not one of her best. Yes, the plot is fascinating, if a bit dependent on twists and turns that mean very little, indeed, to the solution of the murders.

Most interesting, as usual with James, is her development of complex characters. Unfortunately, as another reviewer pointed out, almost every one of these characters is, at best, unpleasant and since they are all writers or are connected with professional writers in some way, it seems James has a bit of a chip on her shoulder about her colleagues.

The last 20 pages contain a transcription of a taped confession which ties up all the loose plot knots, but does not, at all, let us in on the effects this confession has on any of the characters except for James' detective, Adam Dalgliesh. This is truly disappointing, especially for a writer who so carefully peoples her novels.

A small note: I do not consider myself a prude and perhaps it is mere political correctness on my part, but I found James' characters' negative comments about homosexuals and one physically challenged character to be in poor taste.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Dagliesh "vacations" in Suffolk in a writers colony, May 29 2001

By

Carol Peterson Hennekens (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews

In this, the fourth Dagliesh book, Adam goes to Suffolk to take a little R&R with his eccentric aunt Jane. Jane lives in a remote coastal area where here neighbors include a couple of "pulp" fiction writers, a critic and some other unusual folks. Of course, a corpse turns up.

The first two-thirds of the book are solid, if unexceptional. It's interesting to watch Dagliesh walk the tightrope of investigating a death that isn't his job - and for once to have the official police investigators portrayed as reasonably competent folks. And while other reviews were let down by the ending, I found the final third to be page turning stuff. (Of course, being in the middle of a major thunder storm helped :)) I found the plotting to be nicely complex and the solution to be that nice mix - a surprise but one that made sense when all of the reasons were laid on the table.

For new readers this book has fewer references to Dagliesh's friends and on-going life than some of the others. I.e. - you won't be frustrated landing in the middle of ongoing plots, but you also aren't getting a full picture of his life that evolves with the reading of the series in order.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com ^(beta)

Amazon.com: 3.8 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Enjoyable, Mar 17 2007

By Brett Benner - Published on Amazon.com

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This review is from: Unnatural Causes (Adam Dagliesh Mystery Series #3) (Paperback)

I actually found it her most enjoyable so far, Having now read them in order I was less than impressed with the first, enjoyed the second, but found this third mystery refreshing and utterly enjoyable. Dalgliesh takes a vacation, visiting his aunt whose neighbors are a variety of writers who are a hilarious collection of characters. When one of them turns up dead in a dinghy with his hands chopped off, Dalglieh becomes a reluctant participant in finding the killer among them. Witty and wonderfully written, it makes me anxious to buy the next book!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Ignore other reviews; this is a fine James, Nov 22 2000

By Elsie Wilson - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Unnatural Causes (Paperback)

Curious that, with such an arresting opening as this book has (a handless corpse floating off the Suffolk coast), i should find it so difficult to get involved with. I think, more than anything, i found it a little tough to tell some of the characters apart at first. Once past that point, however, this became, like just about every other James, the best one she's written. One grows to enjoy the little community she has created, the petty spites and jealousies, the sniping back and forth between these largely unsuccessful (at least in terms of importance) writers, at the death of one of them. Even Dalgliesh, in Suffolk on holiday, so the death is not his case, has trouble in his relationship with the local Inspector in charge of the case, they are overtly polite, but there is tension between them; he cannot hold himself back from doing some investigation on his own, however, and is able to show that murder has been committed, though not prevent another. The actual revelation of method and motive are interesting and unusual, in that James makes use of the murderer's confession to show how it was done. Another classic James and Dalgliesh.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars NOT ONE OF HER BEST, Nov 20 2001

By MOVIE MAVEN - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Unnatural Causes (Adam Dagliesh Mystery Series #3) (Paperback)

To my mind, any book of P.D. James is worth reading, but UNNATURAL CAUSES is simply not one of her best. Yes, the plot is fascinating, if a bit dependent on twists and turns that mean very little, indeed, to the solution of the murders.

Most interesting, as usual with James, is her development of complex characters. Unfortunately, as another reviewer pointed out, almost every one of these characters is, at best, unpleasant and since they are all writers or are connected with professional writers in some way, it seems James has a bit of a chip on her shoulder about her colleagues.

The last 20 pages contain a transcription of a taped confession which ties up all the loose plot knots, but does not, at all, let us in on the effects this confession has on any of the characters except for James' detective, Adam Dalgliesh. This is truly disappointing, especially for a writer who so carefully peoples her novels.

A small note: I do not consider myself a prude and perhaps it is mere political correctness on my part, but I found James' characters' negative comments about homosexuals and one physically challenged character to be in poor taste.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 24 reviews 3.8 out of 5 stars