An Unsuitable Job for A Woman

I found this book very dull and would not recommend it. The characters are all a bit cardboard and unrealistic. The central character is grey like her name so I didn't really care about what happened to her and the case she takes on. The case itself is not interesting, an apparent suicide that (exceedingly slowly) develops into something potentially more sinister. I figured out the ending way before the detective did, the whole book seems to move at the pace of a snail under water. I disliked all the characters, the students Cordelia meets at Cambridge are especially annoying and ridiculous. I ended up wishing they would all get murdered or that something, anything, of interest would happen. Avoid!

Dalgliesh Echoes beyond His Reach (3/4 people found this helpful)

Baroness James deserves great credit for coming up with this most unusual and interesting novel. Her detective, private investigator Cordelia Grey, is a landmark in the history of female detective fiction. The clever way that Ms. James connects this unlikely operative to the mighty Adam Dalgliesh adds great insight into both characters. The story itself is full of the unexpected . . . while maintaining touch with the ordinary. The combination is enough to keep you misdirected and fascinated until the very end.

I recently decided to reread the book to see if it still ranks up there as one of my favorite detective novels . . . and came away even more impressed than ever.

Cordelia Gray is a young woman learning her investigatory trade when her partner, Bernie Pryde, cuts his life short. Bernie has set up matters to give her as good a chance as possible to prosper in sole detection, including leaving her an unregistered gun. But will she have any clients?

It's a relief when a prospective client shows up looking for Bernie and takes Cordelia back for an interview with the famous father of Mark Callender, who recently killed himself. What father wouldn't want to know why? Cordelia in short order finds herself off on a five pounds a day assignment.

As she tracks backwards through the last days of Mark Callender, Cordelia finds that she likes him and wants to do right by his memory. Using the lessons that Bernie taught her, that he, in turn, learned from Dalgliesh, Cordelia soon has her suspicions about the suicide. Before long, she's being threatened as well.

What's it all about?

Bring a big imagination, grab a very comfy chair, turn on a good reading light and settle down for a treat!

"What's there to be afraid of? After all, we're only dealing with men." (6/8 people found this helpful)

Written in 1972 and winner of the Best Novel Award by the Mystery Writers of America in 1973, this clever mystery by P. D. James features a female detective who is no Miss Marple. Cordelia Gray, is a contemporary detective, liberated and independent. An attractive young woman in her early twenties, she has inherited a detective agency from her partner Bernie Pryde, and she intends to keep it running, make it profitable, and create a career for herself. Polite and at ease in elegant circumstances, Cordelia is also willing to take chances and do all the dirty work--and carry a gun.

On her first case following the death of Bernie Pryde, Cordelia is hired by famed environmentalist Sir Ronald Callender of Garforth House, to find out why his son Mark has hanged himself. Sir Ronald has had little interest in or affection for his son during his lifetime but now seems determined to understand the reasons for his son's shocking suicide. Cordelia soon learns that just prior to his death, Mark dropped out of college and found work as a gardener, severing relations with his father from whom he declared he would accept no money or support. Further investigation leads Cordelia to believe that Mark was murdered.

The characters, though "thin" and somewhat stereotypical, are quirky and memorable enough to keep the reader interested in their behavior--Mark's friends, who know more than they are willing to reveal; Sir Ronald's household, including Elizabeth Leaming, his secretary, formerly a student of literature; Miss Markland, the sad single mother who once lived in the cottage where Mark's body was found; and Christopher Lunn, assistant to Sir Ronald at the scientific foundation where they both work. Soon an attempt is made on Cordelia's life, and three more deaths occur before Mark's murderer and motive are revealed.

James is a master at keeping the reader guessing till the very end, creating numerous plot twists which change the reader's perceptions and expectations at every turn. The tension remains high throughout, and the conclusion, in which Cordelia has to make a report to Adam Dalgiesh, Bernie Pryde's mentor (and the main character of James's best-known series), allows James to connect Cornelia's story with that series and, perhaps, give it additional credibility. Cordelia Gray is an engaging detective conveying just the right balance of ingenuousness and fierce determination, traits that continue her appeal in James's The Skull Beneath the Skin. One of James's best novels, "Unsuitable Job" will keep even jaded mystery readers on the edge of their chairs. Mary Whipple

An Unsuitable Job for A Woman

P.D. James

Reader Reviews:

Quite boring (0/0 people found this helpful)

Dalgliesh Echoes beyond His Reach (3/4 people found this helpful)

"What's there to be afraid of? After all, we're only dealing with men." (6/8 people found this helpful)

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