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".
 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 |
Plot overview
editCommander 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
editIn 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]
Adaptations
editA 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.
References
edit- ^ Crist, Judith (28 January 1990). "A Detective in Spite of Himself". New York Times. New York. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
