Phyllis Dorothy James

Unnatural Causes

P. D. James

Sajiya Chaudhary

Her writing is quite different from Christie's. James gives each of her characters depth and enough space in the book so that it becomes almost life-like, the setting, the story, to us readers. 
I loved the beginning, and the setting of this novel, especially how I came to know much more about Dalgliesh. But the end was a bit disappointing, not bad, just a bit sad. Still, the novel is worth a read. And would make you want to visit the coastal town of Suffolk.

Lara Engle

Still love P.D. James, still love Adam Dalgliesh. It's intriguing to me that James has written this series over such a long period of time, always setting it in the present day, never worrying about the passage of time. In an age when many writers (and movie producers) feel the need to explain away every bit of mystery, it's fun to not have to think about some practicalities. When you read P.D. James, you know who her characters are, you know the story will be good, the reasoning tight. You don't need to know how Adam Dalgliesh has stayed young since 1962.

I thought I had figured out the murderer early on in this book, but I soon realized I was wrong. Above all, I feel that James is true to human nature in her characterizations. Even minor characters feel real. There are archetypes, but not stereotypes.

I'm eager to read more P.D. James.

Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh had been looking forward to a quiet holiday at his aunt's cottage on Monksmere Head, one of the furthest-flung spots on the remote Suffolk coast. With nothing to do other than enjoy long wind-swept walks, tea in front of the crackling wood fire and hot buttered toast, Dalgliesh was relishing the thought of a well-earned break. However, all hope of peace is soon shattered by murder. The mutilated body of a local crime writer, Maurice Seaton, floats ashore in a drifting dinghy to drag Adam Dalgliesh into a new and macabre investigation. Set on the remote Suffolk coast, this is a thrilling work of crime fiction possessing all of the qualities which distinguish P.D. James as a novelist. Award-winning P.D. James (author of Death Comes to Pemberley, A Certain Justice and Children of Men) plots a complex story of murder, mystery and suspicion. The novel was adapted into a hit film in 1993, starring Roy Marsden, Simon Chandler and Kenneth Colley.

Lisa Miller

A dead man, found floating in a dinghy with his hands chopped off is how crime writer Maurice Seton begins his newest book - Maurice Seton found floating in a dinghy with his hands chopped off is how this book begins. Set in a seaside village Superintendent Dalgliesh was looking forward to a holiday, now he's involved in a murder case and he's not even in charge, he's a suspect, along with all the other eccentric local personalties, most of whom are amateur writers. This provides opportunity for some fun meta comments about crime writers, was this James poking fun at herself?

The discovery of a local mystery writer's mutilated corpse in a drifting dinghy ends Adam Dalgliesh's hope of a quiet holiday.