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An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

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About this listen

Meet Cordelia Gray: twenty-two, tough, intelligent and now sole inheritor of the Pryde Detective Agency. Her first assignment finds her hired by Sir Ronald Callender to investigate the death of his son Mark, a young Cambridge student found hanged in mysterious circumstances. Required to delve into the hidden secrets of the Callender family, Cordelia soon realises it is not a case of suicide, and that the truth is entirely more sinister.

©2014 Faber & Faber (P)2014 Faber & Faber Detective Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Suspense

Critic reviews

"One of the most compulsive and acutely observed thrillers of the year - a why-dunnit, rather than a who-dunnit; a study of the complex motives that make up the cold mind of a killer." ( Daily Express)
"A very ingenious, absorbing detective story of star quality." ( Evening Standard)
"Through a language which is always sensitively precise and often more, she keeps up a ripple of subterranean humour which would sustain a whole series as good as this one.... Miss James has the eye for detail which is an absolute requirement for a detective writer. She also has tolerance and experienced wisdom." (C.P. Snow, Financial Times)
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PD James has left her mark on the detective genre for decades, and the introduction of Cordelia Gray is perhaps one of the bear things to come out the genre altogether. Cordelia is such a great character, it was impossible to not like her. She’s smart, fun, incredibly brave, and she knows her way around. It was quite fun having a character of the same age as the reader to go along the mystery with.

As to the mystery: the clues definitely do their work. I was able to work it out before the reveal. And that’s what the crime story ought to do: the clues are fairly laid and the reader ought to arrive at the solution before the end logically. In some stories I haven’t, but with PD James, I have most of the time.

This is the only time I have not sympathised with the killer in her books. Most of the time the killer is often more sympathetic than the victim, and this was not the case. Thought the victim, the more I learned about him, wasn’t entirely likeable either. But I feel that, had he more time to grow, he might have been better as a person.

This is a first rate mystery with intrigue, beautiful writing, tense plot, and a genuinely diamond quality yarn. It’s more a whydunnit than a whodunnit, but that’s what makes it all the more interesting.

A More than Suitable Job for a Woman

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A good story and we'll read by Katie Skarfe.
Kept my interest throughout. Would highly recommend.

very good story

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This is the first PD James book that I’ve read/listened to and so I have not listened to any of her other well known books. This book is a bit slow starting off, but I really like the detail and description, and the narration of the voices is excellent! Cordelia is quite a self-contained person who has little connection with other people except to her now dead business partner, Pryce. The book would benefit from more fleshing out of Cordelia, especially of her work with Pryce, but there are some snippets later on in the book which help you understand her a bit better. Once the story gets going and you start learning about Mark you want to know more about his life. Cordelia has a natural instinct about investigating. The conclusion to the mystery about Mark is satisfying, although I wish that Dalgliesh wasn’t so prominent at the end, but I bet that this is something very welcome for readers of her other books. I would like to continue with the Cordelia Gray series.

Slow start but then a good mystery

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I love PD James - her eloquent style of writing is delightful with excellent use of the English language.

This crime drama is well written, uses beautiful prose to describe the scenes and it’s characters whilst keeping the reader fully engaged. A great plot that takes twists and turns (typical of its genre) yet keeps you rooting for Cordelia.

Brilliant, gripping crime drama

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narrated very well, not sure about the storyline but that might be because I mostly listened at bedtime and kept dozing off!

didn't love it

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