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The Skull Beneath the Skin (Cordelia Gray Mysteries, No. 2) (Paperback)

by P.D. James (Author)
Key Phrases: skull beneath the skin, marble limb, business room, The Skull Beneath the Skin, Sir George, Miss Lisle (more...)

3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

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Cover Her Face (Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries, No. 1) by P.D. James
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Editorial Reviews

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People P.D. James is the greatest living mystery writer. -- Review

People P.D. James is the greatest living mystery writer.

Time The reigning mistress of murder.

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TimeThe reigning mistress of murder.

PeopleP.D. James is the greatest living mystery writer.

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Product Details

Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Touchstone (April 3, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0743219562
ISBN-13: 978-0743219563
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #85,214 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category: (What's this?)
#21 in Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( J ) > James, P.D.

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
skull beneath the skin, marble limb, business room, marble arm

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The Skull Beneath the Skin, Sir George, Miss Lisle, Miss Gray, Courcy Island, Miss Maudsley, Ambrose Gorringe, Lady Ralston, Clarissa Lisle, Miss Costello, Devil's Kettle, Roma Lisle, Simon Lessing, Sir James, Miss Tolgarth, Kingly Street, Chief Inspector, Doc Ellis-Jones, Lady Macbeth, Cordelia Gray, Courcy Castle, Father Hancock, Carl Blythe, Queen Victoria, Lillie Langtry

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Citations (learn more)

37 books cite this book:

Murder by the Book?: Crime Fiction and Feminism (Narrative Forms and Social Formations) by Sally Rowe Munt on 4 pages
Uncommon Cultures: Popular Culture and Post-Modernism by Jim Collins on 4 pages
The Skull Beneath the Skin (Cordelia Gray Mystery Series #2) by P. D. James in Front Matter (1), Front Matter (2), and Back Matter
Just Think: Nourish Your Mind to Feed Your Soul by Nancy J. Nordenson on page 44, page 138, and Back Matter
Original Sin (Adam Dalgliesh Mystery Series #9) by P. D. James in Front Matter, and Back Matter

See all 37 books citing this book

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	68% buy the item featured on this page: The Skull Beneath the Skin (Cordelia Gray Mysteries, No. 2) 3.5 out of 5 stars (23) $12.75
	11% buy An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (Cordelia Gray Mysteries, No. 1) 4.4 out of 5 stars (20) $10.98
	8% buy Death of an Expert Witness (Adam Dalgliesh Mystery Series #6) 4.4 out of 5 stars (18)
	7% buy Innocent Blood (Adam Dalgliesh Mystery Series #7) 3.8 out of 5 stars (25) $12.60

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Customer Reviews

23 Reviews

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
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3.5 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Again, Cordelia Gray, April 17, 2002

By	Frank J. Konopka (Shamokin, PA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

To the best of my knowledge, P.D. James only wrote two books about her young female detective Cordelia Gray. That's unfortunate, because I enjoyed both of them very much, especially this one. It has all of the "classic" elements of the British murder mystery: the castle, an island, an oddly assorted company, a butler, an interesting wealthy man, assorted relatives, and a grisly murder. Cordelia must sort out everything in the end, and even though the ultiumate outcome is somewhat in doubt, there's rarely a dull moment throughout this book. You follow Ms. Gray's progress avidly, and try to keep up with what's going on around her to gather your own clues about the murder. I'll admit that I was shocked at the resolution of the mystery, and that's one of the reasons I enjoyed the book so much. If you haven't read Ms. James, start with "An Unsuitable Job For A Woman", the first Cordelia Gray mystery, and then progress to this work. You won't be disappointed!

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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars P.D. James makes an unwelcome departure, July 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Skull Beneath the Skin (Cordelia Gray Mystery Series #2) (Paperback)

Cordelia Gray, the brave and endearing young private investigator who made her debut in P.D. James' AN UNSUITABLE JOB FOR A WOMAN, returns in the author's eighth whodunit, THE SKULL BENEATH THE SKIN. The title's from Webster, and it's a fitting one; the story literally reeks of the theater. Clarissa Lisle is a bitchy, fading actress determined to salvage her career as the star of an amateur production of Webster's "The Duchess of Malfi," staged in a restored Victorian theater on Courcy Island, just off the coast of Dorset. Lisle has been receiving mysterious poison-pen letters, death notes in the form of quotations from Shakespeare and Webster, and has hired Cordelia to discover their source. The castle on Courcy Island becomes the stage for a tense gathering of Clarissa's friends, relatives, and guests--each of whom, we learn, has excellent motive for killing the actress. When the death does inevitably occur, Cordelia finds herself left with a case of murder that she fully intends to--and does--unravel.

THE SKULL BENEATH THE SKIN may be the most stylish, lavishly mounted novel that James has written. It's an overflowing mixture of the elements of the detective/horror tale at its most clich�d--the closed circle of suspects in a Victorian castle on a small island serviced by a spooky, tight-lipped butler and his wife, a crypt filled with skulls, a collection of memorabilia from past murders, frightening knick-knacks in the shapes of human appendages...it's all gloriously entertaining, never for a minute even coming close to realism. And therein lies the fatal flaw of the novel.

P.D. James' novels are seldom been anything but realistic, but she seems to have broken the rule in THE SKULL BENEATH THE SKIN. The Gothic horror, portrayed in a darkly comic manner, clashes painfully with her finely drawn, introspective characters (except Clarissa Lisle, one of the few two-dimensional stereotypes who pop up in James' fiction) and flawlessly crafted prose. It's as if she's written two completely different novels, one a brilliant character study, the other a conventional ghost story, and meshed them together with little regard for the coherence of the result. Until now, James has done a marvelous job proving that the English mystery can make an extraordinarily fine mainstream novel; unfortunately, she's also shown that the magic combination can work only when her settings are serious and controlled. THE SKULL BENEATH THE SKIN is not serious. It's not too far from out-and-out comedy, and James' admirable but vain attempts to weave her fantastic set pieces and excessively necrophilic atmosphere into a profound work of fiction makes it even more funny.

Not that most readers will care. This is still an absorbing entertainment--substantial, cunningly plotted, and beautifully written. More discriminating readers will conclude that either THE SKULL BENEATH THE SKIN is a parody written by a skilled impersonator, or P.D. James has seen one Dracula movie too many.

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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "I'm afraid of death--the skull beneath the skin.", April 6, 2005

By	Mary Whipple (New England) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

Now almost twenty-five years old, this mystery by P. D. James is a delightful entertainment, filled with plot twists and turns, over-the-top action, and characters who are so exaggerated that they might be considered caricatures. Cordelia Gray, a detective whose job is usually the finding of lost pets, is hired to guard egomaniacal actress Clarissa Lisle during the days leading up to her performance in The Duchess of Malfi. Always preoccupied with death, Clarissa has recently received threatening notes, leaving her hysterical on the eve of her performance.

Both Cordelia Gray and Clarissa Lisle are staying at Sir Ambrose Gorringe's Victorian castle, perched high on a remote island where Gorringe has restored the theater at which Clarissa will perform. A collector of morbid relics, including, most recently, the arm from a memorial statue of a dead child, Gorringe also delights in telling the island's history as a place where German POWs were interned.

When, despite precautions, Clarissa Lisle is, in fact, murdered--with the marble arm from the dead child's statue--the reader is presented with a typical "closed room" murder, the killer obviously one of a dozen or so people staying at the castle, each with a possible motive for killing Clarissa--the need of money for a business, blackmail, long-standing hatred, blame for the death of a child, humiliation, rejection. As the police (and Cordelia) investigate, the story of the island and the torture death of a German prisoner in a "cauldron" under the house, plays a role in the action.

As always, James's eerie setting furthers the mystery and enhances the suspense. The quirky and memorable characters are well drawn, but they often border on absurdity, and James's large cast and her use of stereotypes prevent significant character development. The unfolding mystery and constant plot twists keep the reader guessing--just when the murderer has been "uncovered," doubts arise about other characters and their possible involvement. Additional deaths keep the tension high, and the ending, in keeping with the tone of the novel, shows the decadence of these "elite" characters. Numerous quotations from plays by Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare, and John Webster add additional (and ironic) dramatic punch to this mystery-melodrama. Highly entertaining and often wickedly amusing. Mary Whipple

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars In need of a good editor
I've enjoyed the Adam Dalgleish mysteries by P.D. James, and was hoping that this Cordelia Gray mystery would be similarly enjoyable. I was sorely mistaken. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Deborah Akers

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent...
Watertight characterization, spectacular scenery vividly described, a smooth uncluttered prose - a much-polished work! Read more

Published 14 months ago by Prabal Guha Biswas

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing.
P.D. James is best known for her Adam Dalgliesh mysteries, and this is for the very good reason that in Dalgliesh James has created a believable, interesting, and flawed detective... Read more

Published 21 months ago by Vivian Shaw

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed
The Skull Beneath the SkinWay too much minutiae and not enough written on the plot to keep my interest. Very disappointed but will give P. D. Read more

Published 22 months ago by N. Wisor

5.0 out of 5 stars Playing at Murder
"The Skull Beneath The Skin" is the second (and presumably last) installment in the Cordelia Gray mystery series by P.D. James. Read more

Published on May 6, 2007 by R. Chaffey

4.0 out of 5 stars Cowards die many times before their death...
A delightful mystery in the classical, Agatha Christie style, "The Skull Beneath the Skin" has all the features making it remarkable within its genre. Read more

Published on November 12, 2006 by Aleksandra Nita-Lazar

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book Dripping in Creepy Atmosphere!
Many people like their mysteries well balanced: Great plot; wonderful characters; terrific character development; almost indecipherable mystery; not too much blood; and... Read more

Published on June 21, 2006 by Professor Donald Mitchell

5.0 out of 5 stars James is one of the best mystery writers ever.
I have just recently discovered P. D. James and at my age I should have discovered her long ago. Considering the quality of the mystery writing out today by most authors, it is... Read more

Published on October 22, 2005 by Mary Ingram

4.0 out of 5 stars Mr T's incredible adventure (the skull beneath the skin)
Yo nigga what?
This is the chron G from the hood with the Cord dogg solvin some o the nigga deaths aiiight. Read more

Published on September 11, 2005

1.0 out of 5 stars unsuitable book for a woman
I have read P.D. James before and enjoyed those books. However, this book and it's predecessor were immensely unrealistic. Read more

Published on March 5, 2005 by E. Durham

› See all 23 customer reviews...

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