Devices and Desires
The classic murder mystery from the 'Queen of English crime' (Guardian)
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4.6 • 16 Ratings
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- £6.49
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- £6.49
Publisher Description
THE MULTIMILLION-COPY BESTSELLING ADAM DALGLIESH SERIES FROM THE 'QUEEN OF ENGLISH CRIME' (Guardian)
'A legend.' VAL MCDERMID
'P. D. James took the classic crime novel and turned up the dial.' MICK HERRON
'Perhaps her greatest novel.' Guardian
PERFECT FOR FANS OF VAL MCDERMID, RUTH RENDELL AND ELLY GRIFFITHS
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Dalgliesh thought he was inured to horror - but this was the first time he'd stumbled upon a murdered body.
When Commander Adam Dalgliesh visits Larksoken, a remote headland community on the Norfolk coast in the shadow of a nuclear power station, he expects to be engaged only in the sad business of tying up his late aunt's estate. A serial killer known as 'the Whistler' has been terrorising the area - but it isn't his case. He isn't going to get involved.
Then, not far from his aunt's home, he stumbles on a body. Unable now to keep his distance, he must navigate not only the looming weight of the power station's influential leaders but his aunt's friends and neighbours - all of whom could be suspects - if he wants to help the local police understand this latest crime.
But could there really be more than one murderer here?
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'Magnificent . . . a compelling human drama.' Evening Standard
'A masterpiece.' 5* reader review
'Unsettling and memorable.' 5* reader review
'Please read it.' 5* reader review
**Now a major Channel 5 series**
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READERS LOVE THE ADAM DALGLEISH SERIES:
'Adam Dalgleish is one of the best characters in modern detective fiction.' 5* reader review
'If you are not already an Adam Dalgliesh fan, I urge you to become one . . . James can describe a scene or delineate a character with precision and depth, like no other writer I have read . . . I usually stay up all night to read a P. D. James novel once I start one.' 5* reader review
'I would never give less than 5 stars to any P. D. James book. She is one of a kind, always constant, always wonderful writing, always great characters, and always a good mystery that you cannot put down.' 5* reader review
'P.D. James writes mysteries for ordinary people. Her characters are relatable and her hero is dynamic. But don't expect cell phones or computers. Her stories are strictly old school, which is what I love about them.' 5* reader review
'Crime writing at its very best!' 5* reader review
PRAISE FOR P. D. JAMES:
'P. D. James is the crème de la crème of crime writers. Her books are shrewd puzzles, full of wit and depth.' IAN RANKIN
'Nobody can put the reader in the eye of the storm quite like P. D. James.' SUNDAY EXPRESS
'One of the literary greats. Her sense of place was exquisite, characterisation and plotting unrivalled.' MARI HANNAH
'James manages a depth and intelligence that few in her trade can match.'THE TIMES
'There are very few thriller writers who can compete with P. D. James at her best.' SPECTATOR
'The queen of English crime.' GUARDIAN
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
James ( A Taste for Death ) sets her 11th novel on Larksoken, a remote windswept headland in Norfolk, where the presence of a huge nuclear energy plant serves as a metaphor for the power of the past to rule over her characters. Commander Adam Dalgliesh of New Scotland Yard, in Larsoken to settle an estate left him at the death of a relative, is drawn into the investigation of a serial killer, the Whistler. Dalgliesh's neighbors include the power station's director, Alex Mair; his elegant sister Alice, a cookbook author; acting administrator--and Alex's former lover--Hilary Robarts; and anti-nuclear activist Neil Pascoe. The next signature killing , of the widely disliked Robarts, turns out to have occurred hours after a young man who firmly establishes his identity as the Whistler commits suicide. The question of who murdered Robarts, then, centers around motive. This intricate, layered mystery may be read as parable: we can escape the consequences of our choices, political and personal, no more than we can shed our private histories. This is dark James, plotted with a slight unevenness but utterly faithful to her deeply and sympathetically plumbed characters. 175,000 first printing; BOMC and QPB main selections.
