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Unnatural Causes

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Unnatural Causes

By: P. D. James
Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
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About this listen

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.

©2014 P. D. James (P)2014 Faber & Faber
Crime Fiction Detective Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Suspense Traditional Detectives Exciting
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Critic reviews

"From the moment a handless corpse in a neat city suit is found drifting in a dinghy off the east coast, and we meet the ghastly members of a literary society, we’re hooked." ( Evening Standard)
"The greatest contemporary writer of classic crime." ( Sunday Times)
"One of the most spine-chilling writers around." ( Observer)

What listeners say about Unnatural Causes

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Too Deep

Daniel Weyman's voice is far too deep for me, Michael Jayston's voice was far better

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Atmospheric story, perfectly narrated.

A perfect partnership - PD James's writing with Daniel Weyman's narration. The atmosphere and characters of the novel are perfectly interpreted by this narrator.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Great narration and prose

The denouement was disappointing. Whole explanation delivered as a chunk without the process followed by Dalgliesh. How did he know?

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another gripping yarn from PD James

This was a brilliant listen, hard to turn off. Well narrated, atmospheric and one to listen to again.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Kept me listening

What did you like most about Unnatural Causes?

I love the Dalgleish character and here there was plenty of him. I enjoyed the interplay between him and the other characters

Who was your favorite character and why?

No contest, Adam Dalgleish

Have you listened to any of Daniel Weyman’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I have heard him when performing other stories and he is excellent. He makes it so easy to differentiate between the characters

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I never listen to a book in one sitting. I like to savour them over a few days

Any additional comments?

I did not like the ending as it seemed somewhat contrived. The roof scene didn't ring too true and so left me feeling a little cheated. Hence the four rather than five stars

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A little far fetched

But I still enjoyed it. As others have said the way the disabled character is depicted is not at all nice. I guess it was wrote in a different time when things weren’t as inclusive. Excellent narration

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Well performed but brutal details.

Spoilt by nasty details at the finish. Impressive descriptions of weather, coast etc. Good performances.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Struggled and gave up.

The narrator repeatedly lulled me to sleep; this helped my insomnia, but I had to keep rewinding to catch up with missed passages. I lost interest in the story. I couldn't even be bothered to skip to the end to discover what happened. It was too wordy, unnecessarily descriptive, over used complicated language, too introspective. I might have enjoyed reading the book rather than listening to the story; I could have read at my own pace, and skipped the boring bits.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Distressingly ableist

I have always loved P.D. James’ intricate mysteries, and have recently been discovering her early work. These were written in the 1960s, and are a product of their time - this book, for example, has a lot what, to a modern reader, feels like ableism. There is a disabled character who is depicted very negatively, which I found distressing to read. If you can get past that, the mystery itself is intriguing

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love PD James books

Daniel's voice is very calming a wonderful listen, loved it, a great listen, would recommend

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