Ease Reading-Find Your Next Favorite Book

Hot Search

Adam Dalgliesh #3

Unnatural Causes

p.d. james

... Show More
An Adam Dalgleish Mystery

Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh had been looking forward to a quiet holiday at his aunt's cottage on Monksmere Head, one of the furthest-flung spots on the remote Suffolk coast. With nothing to do other than enjoy long wind-swept walks, tea in front of the crackling wood fire and hot buttered toast, Dalgliesh was relishing the thought of a well-earned break.

However, all hope of peace is soon shattered by murder. The mutilated body of a local crime writer, Maurice Seaton, floats ashore in a drifting dinghy to drag Adam Dalgliesh into a new and macabre investigation.

218 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1967
Series
Adam Dalgliesh
Places
england, suffolk coast england, 

This edition

Format
218 pages, Paperback
Published
May 20, 2002 by Penguin Books in association with Faber \u0026 Faber
ISBN
9780571204106
ASIN
0571204104
Language
English
Characters More characters
  • Adam Dalgliesh

    Adam Dalgliesh

    Adam Dalgliesh (pronounced "dal-gleash") is a fictional character who has been the protagonist of fourteen mystery novels by P. D. James; the first being Jamess 1962 novel Cover Her Face. He also appears in the two novels featuring James other...

  • Maurice Seton

    Maurice Seton

    ...

More editions

About the author

Profile Image for p.d. james

p.d. james

... Show More
P. D. James, byname of Phyllis Dorothy James White, Baroness James of Holland Park, (born August 3, 1920, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England—died November 27, 2014, Oxford), British mystery novelist best known for her fictional detective Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard.

The daughter of a middle-grade civil servant, James grew up in the university town of Cambridge. Her formal education, however, ended at age 16 because of lack of funds, and she was thereafter self-educated. In 1941 she married Ernest C.B. White, a medical student and future physician, who returned home from wartime service mentally deranged and spent much of the rest of his life in psychiatric hospitals. To support her family (which included two children), she took work in hospital administration and, after her husband's death in 1964, became a civil servant in the criminal section of the Department of Home Affairs. Her first mystery novel, Cover Her Face (1962), introduced Dalgliesh and was followed by six more mysteries before she retired from government service in 1979 to devote full time to writing.

Dalgliesh, James's master detective who rises from chief inspector in the first novel to chief superintendent and then to commander, is a serious, introspective person, moralistic yet realistic. The novels in which he appears are peopled by fully rounded characters, who are civilized, genteel, and motivated. The public resonance created by James's singular characterization and deployment of classic mystery devices led to most of the novels featuring Dalgliesh being filmed for television. James, who earned the sobriquet “Queen of Crime,” penned 14 Dalgliesh novels, with the last, The Private Patient, appearing in 2008.

James also wrote An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1972) and The Skull Beneath the Skin (1982), which centre on Cordelia Gray, a young private detective. The first of these novels was the basis for both a television movie and a short-lived series. James expanded beyond the mystery genre in The Children of Men (1992; film 2006), which explores a dystopian world in which the human race has become infertile. Her final work, Death Comes to Pemberley (2011)—a sequel to Pride and Prejudice (1813)—amplifies the class and relationship tensions between Jane Austen's characters by situating them in the midst of a murder investigation. James's nonfiction works include The Maul and the Pear Tree (1971), a telling of the Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811 written with historian T.A. Critchley, and the insightful Talking About Detective Fiction (2009). Her memoir, Time to Be in Earnest, was published in 2000. She was made OBE in 1983 and was named a life peer in 1991.

Readers also enjoyed

Community Reviews

Rating(4.1 / 5.0, 99 votes)
5 stars
30(30%)
4 stars
44(44%)
3 stars
25(25%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
99 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Estener
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
داستانش در کل بد نبود؛ شخصیت ها هم محدود اما ملموس بودن؛ اما من لذت خاصی ازش نبردم. یکی از مشکلات تصور مکان ماجرا و اون دماغه و ... بود - واقعا در تصور اوصاف شکست خوردم تو این کتاب. حس می کنم نوع روایت و تعلیق ماجرا هم چنگی به دل نمی زد

اما مهمترین مشکل - که شاید باقی مشکلاتم هم از دل اون براومده باشن - ترجمه بود. بی تعارف بگم ترجمه ترجمه ی بدی بود. اغراق نیست بگم از هر چهار جمله یه جمله مشکل داشت - یا حذف شده بود یا درست ترجمه نشده بود. خلاصه اینکه ترجمه داغون کرده بود کتابو. البته این داغونی اگر صرفا به متن فارسی نگاه کنید چندان به چشم نمی آد - مگه بواسطه ی ابهام های مفهومی گاه به گاه

حتی عنوان کتاب هم درس ترجمه نشده، نویسنده در عنوان داره به مرگی به ظاهر طبیعی اشاره می کنه؛ یعنی مرگ به "علل طبیعی" نبوده بلکه به "علل غیرطبیعی" بوده
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
ibnat
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
With the recent death of PD James, I felt the need to reread some of my favourites of hers. Unnatural Causes, third in the Adam Dalgleish series, is one of them. With what I think to be one of the most perfectly written opening chapters of any mystery novel I have ever read, Unnatural Causes does not disappoint. The irony of the subject matter in this one is effective. Crime novelist found dead in exactly the manner described to him by another author acquaintance and the majority of suspects in this one are all also writers or connected with the industry. Including, again ironically, Adam Dalgleish, poet extraordinaire, who is on holiday in Suffolk where the dead author lived and eventually turned up after his death. Another interesting angle in this story is the fact that Adam, one of the best Scotland Yard detectives around is forced to take a backseat as an ordinary citizen to the assigned officer in the case, Detective Reckless. Dalgleish's frustration with having to defer to Reckless who, himself, is a very good investigator sets the tone for the whole novel and Dalgleish's irritation and annoyance with not being in charge of this complex investigation is palpable. In this one, definitely the beginning is more satisfying than the end with its beautifully written first chapter and the introduction of an interesting collection of characters and a most puzzling mystery. The end, in contrast, leaves one feeling a bit flat with the murderer, finally revealed, not being overly believable in the role. Overall though, a most excellent offering by the late, great PD James.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
casual42
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
Digital Audiobook read by Penelope Dellaporte


In book three of the mystery series, Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh has a holiday planned. He’ll spend ten blissfully uneventful days with his spinster aunt at her seaside cottage on the Suffolk coast. It’s a well-earned break, and his plans include nothing more taxing that long walks, tea by the fire, and some personal reflection. And then a headless, handless body washes ashore.

I came late to the PD James party, but here I am and I’m ready to enjoy myself. Dalgliesh is a marvelous character – a supremely competent detective, astute, observant, and intelligent, but also sensitive to nuance and willing to reflect on numerous possibilities.

James gives us several possible suspects and enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing. There’s also a thrilling scene involving a major storm that puts everyone in danger. I hadn’t identified the culprit before the reveal. A totally satisfying mystery. I’ll continue with this series.

Penelope Dellaporte does a fine job of narrating the audiobook.

0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Kaungaline
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
This is the third Adam Dalgleish mystery, and I liked it much better than the first two. It has a more interesting set of characters, and a more ingenious plot. Set on the Suffolk coast, there is a good atmosphere of place, and Dalgleish himself seems slightly more interesting than in the first two books. I will probably persevere and read some more.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
haikal1199
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
A masterpiece from the mistress of crime. Her writing is sublime: conjuring up the feeling, smell and sound of every place described. This is an unusual Adam Dalgliesh mystery because he has to play second fiddle to a more junior local detective. The original crime happens when Adam is on holiday, staying with his favourite aunt. The plot is strange and the characters bizarre: a bunch of back-biting writers. I wonder where that idea came from? A brilliant book, thoroughly recommended.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
mr07
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
This book has a great opening paragraph. It is gross but has a great descriptions of a murdered victim set adrift in a dinghy – a “corpse without hands.” (page 7)
This Adam Dalgliesh mystery is a fairly fast-paced read with interesting plot twists and an odd (and mostly unappealing) assortment of characters. On vacation at his Aunt Jane’s, Adam has personal issues to contemplate when he is plunged into the bizarre situations of looking on as the local police officer investigates the murder of his Aunt’s neighbor. The storyline includes a gripping storm sequence where Adam must escape a cottage via the rooftop before it is swept away into the sea.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
bleeb
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
I was enjoying this one for such a long time. The mystery surrounding how the victim came to die, how they came to be where they were found, who might have a motive, etc. was really intriguing and had me hooked and the fact that Dalgliesh wasn't the investigating officer made this one an even more interesting proposition. Ultimately, though, I found it unsatisfying. The ending was a real let down for me. I like a murder mystery where, by the end, you know how the detective worked it all out and this element of the plot was lacking. Four stars because of the enjoyment of the mystery itself but I almost feel like I'm being too generous given the ending; it could so easily have been five.
0 0 Reply
Profile Image for Kimberly .
duckyzzz
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
... Show More
First, I did not read this edition. I am reading this on the bundle P. D. James's Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries: Cover Her Face, A Mind to Murder, Unnatural Causes, Shroud for a Nightingale, The Black Tower, and Death of an Expert Witness. To be honest, I picked it up because it was cheap and I was in the market for some British mysteries. I did not know then how much I would like James' writing style. I find it better than most mysteries, which, after all, are supposed to be about plot.

I also like her characterizations. I'm less sure that these are actually as good as I'm finding them. In this installment, I was able to visualize the characters. I have a better understanding of Dalgliesh - the man himself, not just the detective.

The novel opens with a man lying in the bottom of a small boat, obviously dead, and with his hands cut off at the wrists. Little blood, he was dead before the mutilation. We soon learn that this was Maurice Seton, detective novelist. The small community on the Suffolk coast is made up of other authors, one of whom has suggested to Seton that he open a novel with a man lying dead in the bottom of a boat with his hands cut off. It's hard not to be intrigued.

Are all of her novels this good? Because this is another 4-stars, and possibly better than the previous two of the series. I'm so glad to be reading these with a group here on Goodreads - one a month. I look forward to the next installment.
0 0 Reply
Leave a Review
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.