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FREE AN UNSUITABLE JOB FOR A WOMAN PDF P. D. James | 240 pages | 17 Jun 2015 | FABER & FABER | 9780571228553 | English | London, United Kingdom An Unsuitable Job for a Woman () - IMDb Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Handsome Cambridge dropout Mark Callender died hanging by the neck with a faint trace of lipstick on his mouth. When the official verdict is suicide, his wealthy father hires fledgling private investigator Cordelia Gray to find out what led him to self-destruction. What she discovers instead is a twisting trail of secrets and sins, and the strong scent of murder. Get A Copy. Paperbackpages. Published April 17th by Scribner first published More Details Original Title. Cordelia Gray 1. Adam DalglieshCordelia Gray. Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about An Unsuitable Job for a Womanplease sign up. Both are temporary typists sent to assist a cop-turned-private detective and end up becoming partners at the agency. Both consider going back to typing when things don't seem to go their way as investigators' sidekicks. Lara I was struck by the similarity in style and tone to The Cuckoo's Calling. Not to take anything away from that book, I enjoyed it, but Rowling was clea …more I was struck by the similarity in style and tone to The Cuckoo's Calling. Not to take anything away from that book, I enjoyed it, but Rowling was clearly heavily influenced by James. And why wouldn't she be? Cordelia Gray is fabulous heroine and the book is masterfully written. Who is the "Gary Webber" referred to at one point towards the end of the novel. Unless I missed something he had not been referred to at all An Unsuitable Job for A Woman, and is not again. Was this a mistake on James' part, writing out a character she had originally included, but then forgetting she had written him out at that point of the narrative? Evelyn Smith-Stahle It's the young An Unsuitable Job for A Woman with autism that he used to care for on weekends and holidays. See all 4 questions about An Unsuitable Job for a Woman…. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Jun 16, James Thane rated it liked it Shelves: crime-fictionmy-book-club-made-me-read-this. This book, which was first published inreads like it was written inif not earlier. It's very much in the tradition of English mysteries that were set in country houses in the years between the two world wars, and there's nothing in the book to suggest the time period in which it is supposed to actually take place. There are a number of young men and women in the book, but they don't sound remotely like the young people who were living in England in the '60s and '70s; rather they so This book, which was first published inreads like it was written inif not earlier. There are a number of young men and women in the book, but they don't sound remotely like the young people who were living in England in the '60s and '70s; rather they sound much more like characters who would ultimately become the parents of those young people. James was 57 at the time this book appeared, which suggests that she probably didn't have a lot of contact with the young people of that era and didn't begin to understand them. The protagonist is a plucky female detective named Cordelia Gray, who also sounds like she just stepped out of the s. She inherits the detective agency where she's worked for only a brief period, when her partner commits suicide after learning that he has cancer. Following the partner's funeral, Cordelia is asked to investigate the suicide of a young college dropout named Mark Callender. Callender's father is a prominent scientist who didn't have much contact with his son, but he tells Cordelia that he needs to know why his son would have hanged himself. Cordelia accepts the case and promptly moves into the primitive country cottage where the boy took his life, apparently to be as close as possible to the investigation. It will come as no surprise to anyone who's ever read a crime novel, let alone one in this particular sub-genre, that before long our intrepid heroine will begin to suspect that Mark Callender didn't actually kill himself but rather was murdered. Cordelia will question a number of the young man's friends and will go to parties and outings with them as her investigation proceeds. And before long, she will find herself in serious danger. This is a book that could An Unsuitable Job for A Woman been shorter by a good thirty percent. There are endless descriptions of landscapes, houses, clothing and characters that go on and on and on and on unnecessarily. It's also very hard to take the story seriously because it unfolds in ways that often make no sense at all. That said, this is a pretty good example of a type of book that was once very popular in the mystery genre. Clearly the author had immersed herself in this field before writing the book and she then produced a novel that would have appealed to lots of readers "back in the day. James would later abandon this character after only a few outings and turn to An Unsuitable Job for A Woman much more successful and enjoyable and believable protagonist, Adam Dalgliesh, who makes a cameo appearance here. Readers curious to sample the work of P. James would be much better served by trying one of those novels. View all 15 comments. I guess this simplicity will let you feel empathy for the charcters. James writes a good human story. Jan 12, Jane rated it liked it Shelves: book-clubfiction. Where I got the book: my local An Unsuitable Job for A Woman. My first shock of this review is checking Wiki to see where this novel comes in P. James's oeuvre and discovering that P. Let me just take a moment. The second shock was discovering I wasn't all that impressed. I thought I liked P. D James. Have I changed or is this the Death Comes to Pemberley effect? Anyway, I find that this was James's fifth novel. And indeed the writing is that of a sea Where I got the book: my local library. And indeed the writing is that of a seasoned author, fluent and vivid, the setup is clever, and if the detective heroine is rather unremarkable she's reasonably well sketched. I did like the idea of the abandoned cottage being loved again on one side but not on the other. Generally, though, I wasn't excited by the story. James can be a little bleak at times and I think "bleak" is definitely the word here. None of the characters really seem to give a damn about each other or anything else, really. As a reader I wanted to care more and I didn't; it was a puzzle to be solved and that was all. And then, we get near the end. And the heroine guesses the clue to the mystery An Unsuitable Job for A Woman spoiler [ and that An Unsuitable Job for A Woman about the blood groups is reaching An Unsuitable Job for A Woman bit imho hide spoiler ] and then the other key characters start filling in the details with cheerful abandon in a "oh well if you know that much" way. I hate it when they An Unsuitable Job for A Woman that, because why should they? Especially in a world where all the characters bar the students have been anything but forthcoming. Why, seriously, would she risk her livelihood by doing that when all her character development points to caution? I don't mind leaving the stage littered with bodies but I think, as Dalgliesh points out, it's all a An Unsuitable Job for A Woman overly neat and tidy. Not a good way to finish a detective novel. View all 16 comments. When that human being is dead, it can be dangerous as well as unwise. I adored this book inas it was probably the An Unsuitable Job for A Woman literary mystery I'd read of its kind, barring Elizabeth George. I always meant to get around to the second and last book in the short series, but never did. What entranced me were all the literary references, the Cambridge "It's unwise to become to too personally involved with a human being. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (TV Series – ) - IMDb A woman reluctantly takes over a ramshackle detective agency following the apparent suicide An Unsuitable Job for A Woman her boss. In the conclusion, An Unsuitable Job for A Woman mysterious caller guides Cordelia Helen Baxendale as she probes the stabbing death of Tim Bolton. The trail leads the pregnant Cordelia to an illicit baby-brokerage operation run by Stephen Childs Jack Ellis. Fergusson: Struan Rodger. Laura: Flora Montgomery. Edith: Annette Crosbie. The young doctor seems to be a cadtaking Laura's money and cheating on her.