Devices and Desires, first published in 1989, involves a serial killer, a nuclear facility hiding a number of secrets, and additional murders. P. D. James’s Scotland Yard detective, Adam Dalgliesh, settling the estate of a relative, gets caught up in the investigations. The crimes take place on Larksoken, a fictional isolated headland in Norfolk.
P. D. James begins with a psychopath called “The Whistler” (because he whistles as he kills young women), but pivots to the more complicated and sinister events at the nuclear facility.
The TV version of Devices and Desires was broadcast in 1991. Roy Marsden plays Adam Dalgliesh and seems stiff and aloof for much of the time. But, as the bodies start to pile up, the plot and the action accelerate into some satisfying storytelling following James’s mystery novel. Are you a P.D. James fan?
DEVICES AND DESIRES NOVEL: GRADE: B+
DEVICES AND DESIRES TV SERIES: GRADE: B
I used to be a big fan of hers, but I don’t think I read her last couple of Dalgleish books, including this one. I liked Marsden, and I liked the new version of Dalgleish with Bertie Carvel. Her books got too long for my taste.
Jeff, like you I prefer James’s early work. Yes, her later novels ballooned in size. I haven’t seen the new version of Dalgleish so I’ll have to check that out.
I think James eventually ended up a victim of her own success. Her later books were so bloated and full of completely unnecessary detail. Compare her last couple of door-stoppers to her crisp, economical earlier output like COVER HER FACE, in which not a word is wasted. I think she reached a point where no editor was willing to tell her that she needed to be ruthless about cutting all the excess fluff. That being said, I have read, and to various degrees enjoyed, all her Dalgliesh books, but much like her contemporary Ruth Rendell, I tend to like the briskness of her 1960s/1970s work compared to what came later.
Deb, I’ve read many Rendell and P.D. James books and I totally agree with you. I prefer the shorter, more focused books from the Sixties and Seventies over the door-stoppers from both authors’ late careers.