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by Colin W Williams
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by Hans Rathgeb
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by Cheryl Gomez-Preston, Randi Reisfeld
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by Edgar Rice Burroughs
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Unsuitable Job for a Woman
by P D James
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Warner Books> C/o Little Br (1987-10)
ISBN: 0446348325
EAN: 9780446348324
Mass Market Paperback
SKU: mon0000009319
Condition: Good
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Cordelia Gray, head of the Pryde Detective Agency, investigates the apparent suicide of a young Cambridge student and finds herself embroiled in murder. Book available.
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Customer Reviews
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A Suitably Good Mystery Novel
Rating  (4)
Date: 2007-12-27
This book, originally written in the 1970s, follows the exploits of a young female PI named Cordelia Gray as she inherits her partner's detective agency and embarks on her first case. When the son of a prominent British scientist commits suicide, he hires Cordelia to find out why. Soon Cordelia is wrapped up in the case where everything is not quite as it seems - from living in the deceased's home to interviewing his friends to embarking on increasingly dangerous interviews and following suspicious leads.
Although the book may seem a touch dated at times, it provides a captivating whydunnit as opposed to a whodunnit that will keep you guessing until the end - as any good mystery novel should. This is the first Cordelia Gray novel (as far as I know) but I believe there are sequels as well if you're interested. A nice change of pace from the modern detective novel, this book is both quaint and enjoyable as Cordelia's guesswork seems perfectly logical most of the time, rather than far-fetched and unprobable as many modern books tend to be.
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An Unsuitable Book for P D James
Rating  (3)
Date: 2007-07-28
1 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
James who is most famous for her books of Inspector Dalgleish, takes time to create a female PI in 1970s London. This book which was written in 1972 and later revised by James an set in 1977, should have been set in 1937. By the time this book was written, Agatha Christie had written ten Miss Marple books and the Avenger's Mrs. Peel had been a spy for eight years. Cordelia Gray's character is so much out of the thirties, and the 'young' people she meets seem to be part of the 'lost generation' from between the wars.
James' late 1970s London, seems never to have heard of the 1960s or The Beatles or Carnaby Street, etc. I'm not english, but, as an example, how many young people in 1977 went 'punting' on the Thames around Cambridge. You would think that it was something for 'old' people to do. And the french woman, Isabel, is something out of the 1920s, with her rich Papa back home lending her money and the occasional Renoir (as small one!) to hang in her rooms.
The story itself is interesting, a sort of locked room suicide that turns out to be a homicide. She even gets in a few digs at Dalgleish (she had written five of his novels by then) and what a 'fuss pot' he was for details. But the book just hasn't aged well like Christie, and seems to be done by a 'hack'. Too bad.
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SHADES OF GRAY
Rating (4)
Date: 2006-08-08
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Despite its rather mundane and unalluring title and the name of her lead character, Cordelia Gray, PD James has concocted a fairly riveting tale of murder, deception and betrayal.
She introduces us to Cordelia Gray, a 23 year old private detective who inherits her own agency when her older partner commits suicide due to untreatable cancer. Her first solo case comes in the form of investigating the suicide death of a young man. His father, a noted scientist, wants Cordelia to find out why he killed himself.
James' mainstay Adam Dalgleish is a ghost in most of the book but he does come in for the final section. Of course, Cordelia's digging leads her to believe the suicide is really a murder, and finds her own life in danger.
James' prose is highly atmospheric and she fills the book with interesting, if somewhat unlikeable, characters (Are Brits really as self-centered and pompous as they appear in these mysteries?).
AN UNSUITABLE JOB FOR A WOMAN is a well written mystery and again demonstrates the popularity of Ms. James.
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"What's there to be afraid of? After all, we're only dealing with men."
Rating (4)
Date: 2006-08-06
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw 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. n Mary Whipple
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Dalgliesh Echoes beyond His Reach
Rating  (5)
Date: 2006-05-03
2 out of 3 customers found this reveiw 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!
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