Cover Her Face

By: P. D. James

Narrated by: Penelope Dellaporta

P. D. James is “the greatest living mystery writer.” –People

Headstrong and beautiful, the young housemaid Sally Jupp is put rudely in her place, strangled in her bed behind a bolted door. Coolly brilliant policeman Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard must find her killer among a houseful of suspects, most of whom had very good reason to wish her ill.

Cover Her Face is P. D. James’s electric debut novel, an ingeniously plotted mystery that immediately placed her among the masters of suspense.©1992 P. D. James; (P)2008 Books on Tape

3 stars

I typically do enjoy murders in the quiet English village motifs, however, at times I felt it would have been a better short prose rather than a novel. The plot dragged some and if it wasn't for the appeal of the characters I would've lost interest. I do feel that P.D. James is a great writer and that perhaps this was just a dud and I am willing to continue with the series. It's just a shame about the narrator. I can appreciate a quiet if not subdued performance as long as it doesn't hinder the pace of the plot, but, as before mentioned above it was rather dull.

Narrator Not Up to the Job

Penelope Dellaporta reads Cover Her Face in an old-fashioned style more suited to Agatha Christie than P.D. James. In addition, when reading dialogue, she does not do a creditable job with male voices. James describes Inspector Dalgliesh as having a deep voice, yet if you didn't know what you were listening to, you might think that the voice you were hearing was that of a woman. It's hard to understand why Dellaporta was given the job of narratimg the first ten Adam Dalgliesh novels; P.D. James deserves better.

the narrator in

the last chapter skips some of the paragraphes and you should stop the narrating and read it

Could use a different reader

Not P D James' best, but even at that she is in a class by herself. Would have been helped by a better reader. Love her books and it's a pleasure to be able to listen to them. The writing is just so good.

Riveting

A riveting mystery; well read with an ending that will definitely come as a surprise.