• The Lighthouse

  • An Adam Dalgliesh Mystery
  • By: P. D. James
  • Narrated by: Charles Keating
  • Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (889 ratings)

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The Lighthouse  By  cover art

The Lighthouse

By: P. D. James
Narrated by: Charles Keating
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Publisher's summary

Combe Island off the Cornish coast has a bloodstained history of piracy and cruelty but now, privately owned, it offers respite to over-stressed men and women in positions of high authority who require privacy and guaranteed security. But the peace of Combe is violated when one of the distinguished visitors is bizarrely murdered. Commander Adam Dalgliesh is called in to solve the mystery quickly and discreetly, but at a difficult time for him and his depleted team. Dalgliesh is uncertain about his future with Emma Lavenham, the woman he loves; Detective Inspector Kate Miskin has her own emotional problems; and the ambitious Sergeant Francis Benton-Smith is worried about working under Kate. Hardly has the team begun to unravel the complicated motives of the suspects than there is a second brutal killing, and the whole investigation is jeopardized when Dalgliesh is faced with a danger more insidious and as potentially fatal as murder.

©2005 P.D. James (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“With her trademark blend of subtle characterization, vivid sense of place and deceptively simple plot, James pulls off another triumph. A beautifully written page-turner from the queen of the genre.” —Toronto Sun

“An elegant and perceptive writer – rich drifts of prose pile up on the page, descriptive passages are Dickensian in length, ornament and power. . . James’s many fans will relish The Lighthouse, for all its poise and narrative familiarity.” —The Globe and Mail

“James’s gifts animate and transform the armature into something exceptional. Her disciplined conventions, her observation of social and class niceties, renew the traditional Franco-British drama of domestic crime. She is a very superior writer of detection.” —Times Literary Supplement

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What listeners say about The Lighthouse

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

Very good, but not as complex as most of her work

Even a mediocre PD James novel is superior to most other writers' work in this genre. This book is good, with her usual superb use of language and her plausible, interesting characters, but setting the story on an isolated island with few inhabitants forces a simpler plot than we are used to enjoying with James.

I really like this narrator, who certainly sounds British but does not "lay it on thick" like that Penelope person. Penelope's overwhelming, gushing narration makes many of the James audiobooks almost unlistenable for me. Charles' narration is clear and intelligent without drawing attention to itself.

Like most readers, I am guessing, I want to go for a long vacation on that island (now that it is rid of murderers.)

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1 person found this helpful

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

Overly Psychological

Any additional comments?

I looked forward to this book, but ended up finding it tedious. The author gave much more time and attention to the psychological interiors of several of the characters than I found interesting.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

The Lighthouse Could Shine Brighter

P.D. James' eloquence and descriptive storytelling shines in this story about murder on an isolated island, but when we get 3/4 into the investigative procedure and out of nowhere, the solution to the crime simply pops into a sick Adam Dalgleish feverish mind, I felt cheated, and that I had wasted the last 6 hours. We, who went through all the investigation, realize that it proved mostly meaningless, since Adam seems to have the clarvoyance necessary for the solution.
Go figure? No, don't. I will be VERY interested to see how this story will flesh out on video, if it ever does. Perhaps in the video, a "dah-dah" sound effect will justify Adam Dalgeleish's unexpected and out-of-nowhere solution, but it won't remedy our sense of bewilderment and disappointment at being deprived of a fitting ending to an otherwise satisfying tale.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

wonderful

this is truly one of the most wonderful books i have ever read(heard) im so happy that i discovered such a charming and insight ful writer

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

Characters with depth and plenty of red herrings to keep one guessing!

I love this satisfying murder mystery with Dalgliesh, Kate, and Benton-Smith on an island off the Cornish coast.

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

charles keating great narrator

Mr Keating does great job and doesnt irritate you. his voice is great. th is best of my Dagleisch narrators

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

Classic English detective story

Very well-written and exquisitely narrated, this book has all the earmarks of an Agatha Christie mystery -- a murder, a relatively small group of upper class people one of whom must be the murderer, a detective, and a careful one-by-one examination to find the killer. Even the philosophizing was on point. In my view, everything in the book was well-done except for the ending.
The author seemed to be struggling to find the right resolution, and the conclusion (complete with epilogue) felt artificial.

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

Enjoyed

PD James, good read, as always. Sorry there is only one left to go. I am listening after having read years ago.

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

Excellent

enjoyed every minute of this story ..I recommend it to anyone that want to get drawn into a book

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

Great mystery, great performance!

I could not put this one down! Dalgleish at his subtle self, Kate opens up as a real human, and you get to know Benton-Smith.

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