Devices and Desires

1989 Dalgliesh novel by P. D. James

Devices and Desires

First edition

Author| P. D. James
Language| English
Series| Adam Dalgliesh #8
Genre| Crime, mystery
Publisher| Faber & Faber

Publication date

| 2 October 1989
Publication place| United Kingdom
Media type| Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages| 454 (first edition, hardback)
ISBN| 0-571-14178-1 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC| 20416380
Preceded by| A Taste for Death
Followed by| Original Sin

Devices and Desires is a 1989 detective novel by English writer P. D. James, the eighth book of her Adam Dalgliesh series. It takes place on Larksoken, a fictional isolated headland in Norfolk. The title comes from the service of Morning Prayer in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer: "We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts".

## Plot overview

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Commander Adam Dalgliesh, having published his second volume of poetry, retreats to the remote Larksoken headland where his recently deceased aunt, Jane Dalgliesh, has left him a converted windmill. However, a psychopathic serial killer, known as the Norfolk Whistler, is on the loose and seems to have arrived at Larksoken when Dalgliesh finds the body of the nearby nuclear power plant's Acting Administrative Officer during an evening stroll on the beach.

## Reception

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In a 1990 book review for The New York Times, Judith Crist wrote "Her newest mystery, 'Devices and Desires,' is P. D. James at better than her best... She has not failed us, and she has exceeded herself."[1]

However, Kirkus Reviews called it, "though literate and densely thoughtful, perhaps the weakest James of all thus far, especially since sleuth Dalgliesh plays only a small, wishy-washy role".[2]

## Adaptations

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A television version of the novel was produced for Britain's ITV network in 1991 starring Roy Marsden as Adam Dalgliesh. In 2024 it was adapted again for the television series Dalgliesh starring Bertie Carvel.

It was adapted for BBC Radio in 1997 by Neville Teller.[3][4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Crist, Judith (28 January 1990). "A Detective in Spite of Himself". New York Times. New York. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
2. ^ https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/pd-james/devices-desire/
3. ^ https://archive.org/details/pdjames-dalgliesh-devices-and-desires
4. ^ https://www.ladbrokeradio.com/1997.html

## External links

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* Devices and Desires at IMDb

* v
* t
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Works by P. D. James

Adam Dalgliesh series|

* Cover Her Face
* A Mind to Murder
* Unnatural Causes
* Shroud for a Nightingale
* The Black Tower
* Death of an Expert Witness
* A Taste for Death
* Devices and Desires
* Original Sin
* A Certain Justice
* Death in Holy Orders
* The Murder Room
* The Lighthouse
* The Private Patient

Cordelia Gray series|

* An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
* The Skull Beneath the Skin

Other novels|

* Innocent Blood
* The Children of Men
* Death Comes to Pemberley

Non-fiction|

* The Maul and the Pear Tree
* Talking About Detective Fiction

Adaptations|

* An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1982)
* The Black Tower (1985)
* An Unsuitable Job for a Woman (1997–2001)
* Children of Men (2006)
* Death Comes to Pemberley (2013)
* Dalgliesh (2021–2024)

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work

|

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