Unnatural Causes (Unabridged)

Rating:
Summary: Ignore other reviews; this is a fine James
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Dalgliesh looks on
Review: Some vacation ... Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh drives to his aunts in Suffolk with hope of rest and reflection on his own life. Soon he finds himself in the middle of it, with local inspector Reckless investigating the murder (or natural causes?) of a Maurice Seton, floating on a dinghy alone with his hands cut off, possibly by his aunt's hatchet. From here the mystery starts, and continues from a literary circle, to a strip tease artist. The conclusion was a shocker for me, although looking back, the clues and the character development fit! For the American birdwatcher, like myself, there is also delight in aunt Jane's identification of the curlew sandpiper, versus Adam's dunlin.

Rating:
Summary: The best view ever of Dalgliesh's character.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: NOT ONE OF HER BEST
Review: 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.