Customer Reviews

Unnatural Causes (Adam Dalgliesh Mystery Series #3)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

In this third mystery by P.D. James our author skirts the line of getting a bit cute--a little too wry for comfort. Realizing that she set the bar very, very high with her first two books, Ms. James seems to have retreated somewhat from focus on the mystery itself. Instead, this work is focused upon Inspector Dalgliesh; who the reader will note is destined to become one of the most well-known characters of the genre. So, not only does Dalgliesh take a bit of a vacation--so does the author.

Nevertheless, the writing is profoundly good. Inspector Dalgliesh begins to take shape in this book--his skills are evident and one learns more of his background, his likes and his dislikes. Ms. James even takes pains to prune the character back a bit. Though the mystery itself didn't get five stars, the development of Dalgliesh will pay vast dividends in future works. Like the corporations that take a charge against earnings in order to invest for the future, Ms. James' detour in "Unnatural Causes" allows her to focus uniquely upon her protagonist with results fully expected to pay rich rewards in her future installments.

Sooner or later it happens to many writers (and filmakers, too): the urge to turn the creative gaze back in on itself. Fortunately for us murder mystery afficianados, P D James got this out of her system early, here in Unnatural Causes.

The corpse around which this book's fantastically convoluted plot turns is a murdered murder mystery writer. Every character on the scene is a writer of some sort or another, much of Dalgleish's detecting involves scraps of manuscript and analysis of typing styles -- and after a while, the self-referential nature of all this is likely to leave even the staunchest P D James fan a bit cold. In addition, the story's climax is melodramatic, and its subsequent denouement clumsily-presented and unlikely -- i.e. they resemble typical murder mysteries, but do not meet James's usual elegant standard.

Unnatural Causes is therefore not recommended for the casual reader interested in sampling Lady James's generally superlative work; Devices and Desires and A Taste for Death, her two best, are really the places to start.

Nevertheless, for experienced P D James readers, Unnatural Causes does hold interest. The character of Dalgleish is here 'fully-formed', and the bleak descriptions of the Suffolk coast presage the even better evocations of England's eastern shores in several of her later novels. And, as always, Lady James's use of the English language stands head and shoulders above her peers. It's true real people rarely talk in the elegant sentences her characters spout at all turns, but the sheer joy of her style more than compensates for her lack of versimilitude.

I haven't been a fan of P.D. James novels, and this is only my second attempt. UNNATURAL CAUSES has a very complex, but interesting plotline, some unusual eccentric characters and a strong sense of atmosphere in Ms. James' depiction of the various scenes in the novel.

Her main hero, Adam Dalgleish, is a bit of a mystery, and probably because it's my first encounter with him, not having followed along with his previous character development. The characters in the novel aren't very likeable and the murderer's identity came as somewhat of a surprise. The finale in the storm at the murderer's cottage was inventive, and James ties up the murders with a flare in the taped confession.

I don't know whether this will prompt me to read any more of Ms. James' books, but there's an obvious flair in her writing, and she does have a strong sense of characterization.

Unnatural Causes is early Adam Dalgleish. He's still coping with his reluctance to become emotionally intimate and uses a holiday to visit his Aunt Jane as an opportunity to think things over. Will he ask Deborah Riscoe to marry him . . . or not?

Naturally, as soon as he arrives there's a mysterious disappearance followed by all kinds of bizarre events. When the mystery turns into apparent crime, Dalgleish becomes concerned for his aunt who doesn't have an alibi. A.D. is also on the outside looking in as the local CID led by Inspector Reckless seems to resent Dalgleish's presence.

The whole circumstance is made more bizarre by the presence of many literary types in what increasingly seems to be a literary mystery written about in a mystery. There's a fascinating story within the story element that gets the book off to a strong start.

But as Dalgleish unravels the ultimate mystery, the book also comes unraveled. You get a lengthy explanation, but the end doesn't move swimmingly along like the beginning and middle do.

Perhaps Baroness James painted herself into a corner by producing such an imaginative mystery and couldn't bear to part with it when she couldn't think up a nice ending to match.

But I still recommend the book because of the strong beginning and middle. You can skip the end after the storm if you want. You'll probably like the book better if you do.

This is my absolute favorite of the Dalgliesh novels. The balance between exploring characters and expounding plot is just about perfect. The reader really feels for Dalgliesh as he struggles to decide about marrying Deborah Riscoe, and the murder than intrudes on his vacation is both horrible and intruiging. Finally, as an added bonus, in this book we at last get to read a bit of Dalgliesh's poetry: ten beautifully intricate lines addressed to Deborah. If you like and are interested in the character of Dalgliesh, you must own this book, because you will want to read it again and again.

P.D. James is the grand doyen of the classic British murder mystery novel! I am currently reading through her entire corpus of works finding them beautifully written, cleverly constructed and providing hours of reading enjoyment!

Unnatural Causes was first published in 1967. The book does not seem dated other than the facts that typewriters are used instead of computer screens and carbon copies were still a part of the writer's landscape.

The book opens with the horrible scene of a terrible murder. The victim is Maurice Seton. Seton's two hands have been chopped off as the rest of his decaying corpse lies in a small dinghy off the coast of Sussex. Seton was a minor detective fiction author who had acquired a bad reputation in the small communiy of Monksmere. Many authors live in the immediate vicinity. His wife is thought to have committed suicide; he had been accused of murdering a beautiful cat named Arabella. Dalgliesh is in the area to visit his spinster aunt Jane Dalgliesh. Inspector Reckless and the brilliant Dalgliesh find this case to be as twisted as a pretzel. There are several characters whose movements on the night of the murder focus the reader's attention on their whereabouts.

A fine book for a cozy night before afireplace with Mozart playing on the Bose radio and a delicious snack next to the chair1 Enjoy this short but brilliant work by a master of the genre!

No matter if the book isn't the 'best ever written', it

is still always a pleasure to read P.D. James. She is a first class writer who weaves her mysteries full of plot twists while developing her detective Adam Dalgliesh book after book. Even though the books fit into an ordered series, she doesn't spend needless time rehashing events in Dalgliesh's life, but allows

her readers to grow with him. "Unnatural Causes" finds Dalgliesh hoping to take a vacation at his aunt's house in Suffolk; needless to say, he finds himself enmeshed in a murder investigation that might perhaps hit too close to home.

When writer Maurice Seton is found dead in a boat, floating at sea, his hands chopped off, the community of writers is instantly on alert and under investigation. His death had to come at the hands of one of the people in this small, closely knit town, but the post mortem shows that Seton died of natural

causes. Dalgliesh isn't convinced, and despite his wish to remain aloof, he involves himself in the search for the truth behind the writer's death. He must work his way through seemingly unbreakable alibis and preconceived prejudices.

"Unnatural Causes" is a quick-paced mystery, but the ending fails in comparison to others in the series. Usually P.D. James invites the readers into the thoughts and reactions of the both the killer and those affected by the crimes; however, this novel is summed up with a taped confession that doesn't allow the readers to enter in. I found it ironic that Dalgliesh lambasts detective fiction at one point for wrapping cases up too tidily with not enough clues to point one to the real killer. This was the first time I have read a James' mystery where I knew who the killer was, just by instinct, but could not figure out the motive; perhaps if I look back, the clues will be there, as they usually are.