A good read up until the way in which the plot/murders were explained, which felt like a bit of a cop out.

P.D. is challenging Agatha in the convolutions of her murderous villains. Then going all lazy meta with two inspector plods lamenting the killer only confesses it all in books. Oh my, what does our friendly neighbourhood killer proceed to do? Bet you can't guess! (there's a tape recorder involved...)

Adam va a fare visita alla zia dopo aver risolto l'ultimo caso, sperando in un periodo di riposo. Purtroppo si imbatte suo malgrado in un macchinoso omicidio e la prima sospettata è proprio la zia. Volente o nolente si trova ad indagare cercando di non pestare i piedi alla polizia locale: riuscirà a risolvere il caso, rischiando la propria vita.

Published in 1967, this is the third Adam Dalgliesh mystery; following on from “Cover Her Face” and “A Mind to Murder.” Dalgliesh is still involved with Deborah Riscoe, who appeared in the first novel, and is considering whether or not to propose to her. Does he love her enough to change his life and perhaps put his work second? While considering this change, he goes to stay with his aunt, Jane Dalgliesh. An avid bird watcher, she lives in a small community near Monksmere bird reserve, which seems to be populated (apart from her) mostly by writers – either authors or critics. These include Maurice Seton, a detective novelist, Sylvia Kedge, his crippled secretary, his half brother Digby Seton, critic Oliver Latham, Justin Bryce, R.B. Sinclair, the reclusive ‘great novelist’ and romance writer Celia Calthrop and her niece, Elizabeth.

The book unfolds with the discovery of Maurice Seton; found floating in a small dingy, minus his hands. This macabre death throws the small group of writers into recriminations, suspicion and fear. Although the wonderfully named D I Inspector Reckless is in charge, Dalgliesh finds himself dragged into the investigation. This will take him from the idyllic countryside of Monksmere to Soho nightclubs, as he attempts to discover who was responsible for Seton’s disappearance and bizarre death.

Although this novel is set amongst a group of authors, which should appeal to me, I found this less enjoyable – or perhaps less believable – than the previous book. Of course, being P D James I still loved the plot and characters, but it just seemed a little too staged. I am, though, enjoying re-reading the series very much and enjoyed learning a little more about the taciturn Dalgliesh.

I didn’t really care for it, it had all the makings of a good story but I had a hard time getting through it.

Where oh where does PD James come up with these ideas? Also, the subtitle of the book should be Adam Dalgliesh and the very horrible no good vacation.

Another step on the journey to get to know Adam Dalgliesh. In this installment, we get to meet his aunt, Jane, who shares many characteristics with her nephew. They are both taciturn, comfortable in their own company, and rather detached observers of other people's behaviour. They are rather the mirror image of Christie's Jane Marple and her nephew, Raymond West.

As so many good mysteries are, this one is set in a small community where everyone knows one another at least a passing fashion. They have what is usually called history—grudges, friendships, dependencies, and prejudices. We sort through all these potential distractions with the help of Dalgliesh, who regularly vacations in the area and has pre-knowledge of the cast of characters. I was forcibly reminded of M.M. Kaye's Death in … series.

Dalgliesh is not included in the investigation officially; he is peripherally involved and too valuable a resource to be excluded. Indeed he and Inspector Reckless don't particularly like one another and tend to be like roosters, puffing themselves up to look more impressive when they are in the same room. In this way, Adam has taken on the expert amateur role of Jane Marple.

James is very aware of the romance of being a mystery writer and explores her own field through this group of published and aspiring writers. I wonder if she found it amusing? Perhaps some of these unpleasant people were based on the real thing? A friend of mine uses her fiction to kill off the people that annoy her. A good use of imagination, surely.

I find that I like Dalgliesh, despite his reticence to engage with humanity. Investigating homicides must tend to estrange a person from general society.

Cross posted at my blog:

https://wanda-thenextfifty.blogspot.c...

This is the third Adam Dalgleish book, and was a library check out for me. I decided to revisit P.D. James this year as part of my "Century of Women" project. Unnatural Causes is the third in the series, and was published in 1967.

This is my favorite book so far because it was so cleverly plotted. The victim is a mystery writer, and is found in circumstances that feel like something out of his next planned book. Well after his death, an envelope containing the typed opening of his next book is received, and it echoes the circumstances in which his body was found, and was obviously typed on the victim's own typewriter.

Adam Dalgleish is is involved because he has gone to Suffolk to visit his aunt, a respected amateur ornithologist, lifelong spinster, and extremely self-contained woman. The victim was one of her neighbors, and her small circle of neighbors all have a motive to murder. Dalgleish is also trying to decide what to do about his romantic relationship, which has reached a critical juncture and he must decide if he is going to ask the woman to marry him or end the relationship all together. Aunt Jane lives in an isolated cottage on the Suffolk coast, so there is a lot of discussion about remote coastal landscapes that look something like this:

n  n

The way that the solution to the mystery is presented isn't completely successful, in my opinion. The end of the book is basically a transcription of a long, somewhat rambling, recorded confession left behind by the murderer. This type of device has a tendency to drag on, and it does so here, but it's a relatively small quibble. Otherwise, the book is extremely cleverly done, and the meta elements are a lot of fun.

I'm just here for Adam Dalgliesh, so when there are too many characters I just patiently wait for him to explain Who Killed Who and Why in the last 10 pages.

הספר השלישי מתרכז בדמותו של אדם דגליש. לאחר תקופה לחוצה ופיענוח פרשיית רצח, יוצא הבלש לנפוש אצל דודתו במונקסמיר ולקבל החלטה בדבר המשך יחסיו עם דבורה ריסקו. דבורה רוצה להתחתן, ודגליש צריך לקבל החלטה האם להפוך אותה לחלק מרכזי בחייו?

כבר בלילה הראשון כשהוא מגיע לדודתו, מתחילה להתגלגל הפרשייה, שהוא לא ממונה על פיתרונה, אלא יותר משמש כמשקיף, המעניק לקורא מהתובנות שלו.

הסופרת מכירה את בני עמה התחרותיים והקטנוניים משהו. מרוכזים בעיקר בעצמם ובהצלחה שלהם. קבוצת סופרים של ספרי מתח ומבקרי ספרי מתח שהאגו שלהם גדול מתכנסים בחרדה כשחברם נעלם. כשגופתו מופיעה, הם כולם הופכים לחשודים ברצח. אבל האם באמת מדובר ברצח?

יש בפתרון העלילה תחכום מסויים והספר קולח גם כאשר דגליש אינו הבלש המרכזי בספר.

This installment of Adam Dalgliesh was a disappointment. The story started well with a mutilated corpse of a local writer being found during Dalgliesh's visit to his aunt in Suffolk disturbing the much looked forward peace and quiet of a holiday. And the setting the story in a literary community added a bit more spice or so I thought. But unfortunately, it didn't take the turn that I expected it would.

The story quickly became sluggish. It became tangled within the too detailed descriptions into the characters and the psychologies of possible suspects, their petty differences, and tiresome bickering. Midway I lost my track of whatever the clues the author lying in our way as to the motive and the manner the crime was committed. But I guessed who the murderer could be and was gratified to be partly right. Overall, however, the whole murder-mystery plot sounded too fantastic and unnatural (which at least justifies the title), and the characters felt absolutely nothing to me. And the spite behind the motive and some of the attitudes made me very uncomfortable.

I also didn't enjoy the secondary and unofficial role played by Dalgliesh. The Superintendent's full capacity was curtailed and that placed him under a great disadvantage. As a result, the story suffered terribly. However, the story brings out more of Adam Dalgliesh as a person. The deeper penetration to his private thoughts and his character shows that he is human and is fallible.

After three books, I haven't still fully warmed to the series. And this third installment was a bitter disappointment. There is a good deal of psychology in these books, but I feel the author has always strayed from what is paramount - the plot of the murder-mystery. But I still want to continue with the series since I like Adam Dalgliesh. I hope the stories will get better eventually.

I was disappointed by the book, probably because the author had been highly praised both by my husband and various members of my reading group. I thought the ending was bad—everything wrapped up in a confession tape. She says Dalgliesh had things figured out before hand, but doesn’t let us know how he came to his conclusions. I didn’t find myself particularly fond of any of the characters, unless it was Dalgliesh’s Aunt Jane, who plays a minor role, more of a device just to get him to Monksmere Head. As a result, I wasn’t curious about who the killer was—I just didn’t care. I