A satisfying read. Cordelia Gray is a young - very young - private investigator launched into an untimely solo career by the suicide of her boss, Bernie Pryde. Her first case is to unpick the circumstances behind a young ex-student's suicide. Or is it suicide? There's more death and destruction before the book's over, but despite this, the book is laced with humour. I like James' precise use of language and her exploration of motive. As one reviewer says, it's 'a why-dunnit rather than a who-dunnit' and all the better for it. ( )

The novel is quite short, without any unnecessary descriptions and details. I liked the main heroine: she seems witty, cold-blooded but not cold-hearted, compassionate but at the same time not too impressionable.

The mystery itself was not mysterious enough for me. And the problem was not in the novel itself. From the very beginning, I started noticing some similarities to [b:The Cuckoo's Calling|16160797|The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1)|Robert Galbraith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1540217136l/16160797._SY75_.jpg|22002305] by [a:Robert Galbraith|383606|Robert Galbraith|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. The office seemed similar, the way of investigating the crime and even the murderer is the member of the family and also the one who asks the detective to investigate it. So I suspected Mark's father from the very beginning. ( )

Un bel giallo classico di una regina del giallo intramontabile. ( )

Leisurely but exceptionally engrossing story of Cordelia Gray, who proves the books title wrong in so many ways. It isn't so much the case itself, although it is interesting enough, but it is the way Ms. Gray uses her own unconventional upbringing, superior intelligence, and lessons learned from her deceased mentor to figure out the truth behind the suicide of a student who left Cambridge to become a gardener, while interacting with an intriguing cast of complex, well-drawn characters. It goes without saying that James could write circles around most people, and she certainly did here. I'm hooked and can't want to see what the admirable Ms. Gray is up to next. (The audiobook is very well read and highly recommended.) ( )

When I first read this in about 1975 I was blown away by Cordelia, and the way James characterized a female detective. I still love it. ( )

The First Fictional Modern Professional Female Detective
Review of the Sphere Books paperback edition (1974 orig/1986 reprint) of the Faber & Faber hardcover original (1972)

Perhaps someone in the comments will be able to come up with an example to refute my lede, but I definitely remember reading P.D. James' first Cordelia Gray book back in the day and thinking that she didn't have any contemporary rivals. There had of course been amateurs such as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Tuppence and also some pulp examples such as Erle Stanley Gardner's Bertha Cool from back in the Golden Age. But I think all the Burkholders, Millhones, Plums, Scarpettas, Warshawskis, etc. came well after 1972. I picking out the more prominent series characters here and there may be individual examples that I'm not aware of.

James however did not make Cordelia Gray a series character and instead returned to her regular Scotland Yard CID Commander Adam Dalgliesh, aside from a 10-years-later one-off Cordelia Gray sequel The Skull Beneath The Skin (1982). Possibly the limited resources of a private detective did not trigger James' imagination much further and she felt she had taken enough of a first step to allow others to follow.

Even in An Unsuitable Job..., the shadow of Dalgliesh hovers throughout the book before he makes an actual cameo appearance towards the end. Cordelia Gray has inherited the Pryde Detective Agency from her deceased partner Bernie Pryde, who had previously worked under Dalgliesh when the latter was a Detective Superintendent in the CID. Dalgliesh had been instrumental in having Pryde dismissed from the force. Pryde would regularly quote the 'Super' about investigative procedures and these lessons come back to Gray's mind throughout as she investigates an apparent suicide as her first solo case.

Gray definitely proves more than competent in her deductions and finds herself a possible murder target in a rather convoluted resolution. There is a rather bizarre coverup after that though. It becomes apparent that Dalgliesh can see through that, but he allows it to pass as 'justice having been done'.

I enjoyed this re-read of the first Cordelia Gray and the added conspiracy element of Adam Dalgliesh participating in the proceedings.

See cover image at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6c/Jobfora_woman.jpg
Front cover of the original Faber & Faber hardcover edition (1972). Image sourced from Wikipedia.

See cover image at https://i.pinimg.com/originals/83/4f/dd/834fdda1eaaf1cd9b61a17fb5eff0942.jpg
Actor Helen Baxendale as Cordelia Gray in the TV-series "An Unsuitable Job for a Woman" (1987-89). Image sourced from Pinterest.

Trivia and Links
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman was adapted as a theatrical film in 1982 which starred actor Pippa Guard as Cordelia Gray. You can watch the entire film on YouTube here.

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman was also adapted for a same-titled short-run TV series (1987-89) starring Helen Baxendale as Cordelia Gray and where the first episode "Sacrifice" was based on the original novel and the following 3 episodes were original scripts. ( )

Another wonderful P.D. James. Special mention to the excellent narrator, Penelope Dellaporta. ( )

A pretty good book. It was an interesting mystery with lots of twists and turns that were sometimes difficult to follow. It also seemed like the story took place in the late 1800s but in reality the story took place in the 1970s. It's worth reading more books in the series. ( )

Cordelia Gray has just become the sole proprietor of Pryde Detective Agency and has taken on her first client — Sir Ronald Callender.

Sir Ronald’s son, Mark, had been found dead by hanging. The verdict at the inquest was suicide. Sir Ronald wasn’t convinced. He had been recommended the Pryde Agency and is surprised to find the original owner has committed suicide himself, and the partner is a 22 year old woman.

Though Cordelia is young, she is determined to solve the case. She finds herself going back into the family’s history; the early death of the boy’s mother, the actions of the father and his relationship with the boy. There are other items that slowly add to the over all picture.

Along the way, she is told she has “an unsuitable job for a woman” and has a few near misses, but none of this stops her.

It isn’t a clear cut mystery, and can take a bit to follow, but it is a solid read in my book. ( )

Cordelia Grey inherits her partner's detective agency and takes on the investigation of a young man's suicide

Really excellent, a unique take on a classic detective story. Looking forward to the other Grey novel (I think there's only one?) ( )

I am glad that I finally found the time to read this one - great main character, plot, and an intense story in a very quiet way. I need to find more of these books. ( )

There were some strange moral decisions taken in this book which left me slightly confused. On the whole the story was interesting but I found some characters left me a little cold ( )

Die Privatdetektivin Cordelia Gray soll in der ehrwürdigen Universitätsstadt Cambridge die näheren Umstände über den Selbstmord des Sohnes eines berühmten Wissenschaftlers erkunden. Der vermeintlich harmlose Auftrag entpuppt sich als gefährliches Manöver und führt hinter die Kulissen einer scheinbar gelassenen Idylle von Gelehrsamkeit.

This was a 1973 Edgar nominee but, no worries. Even at that point James was a successful, much decorated author. This clever, satisfying tale features Cordelia Grey but James' beloved Dagleish hovers in the background. As always, the social fabric is woven into the plot and was a delightful aspect of the story for me, looking back to the world (can it be possible?) fifty years after publication. Best of luck with the clues but be forewarned; it isn't simple. ( )

Description
Handsome Cambridge dropout Mark Callender died hanging by the neck with a faint trace of lipstick on his mouth. When the official verdict is suicide, his wealthy father hires fledgling private investigator Cordelia Gray to find out what led him to self-destruction. What she discovers instead is a twisting trail of secrets and sins, and the strong scent of murder.

Straightforward and young Cordelia Gray did a good job investigating and interviewing anyone who knew Mark. But she did do a few odd things along the way and then took a big risk in the end. I wasn’t convinced of the reason she had for taking the risk. The story was pretty interesting but a few things that were revealed at the end seemed a bit far-fetched. ( )

It’s smart and moves along at a good pace. Love the MC, Cordelia Gray. Being written in another country always gives me a different perspective on how books are written. I’ll be looking for more of Miss Gray books. ( )

When Cordelia Gray’s boss at the Pryde Detective Agency dies, he leaves her the business… and an unregistered gun. And so begins ‘An Unsuitable Job for a Woman’ by PD James, with a female private detective who is a long way away from Adam Dalgliesh, James’s famous creation, but who has been trained by an ex-copper who worked for Dalgliesh. And so the tentacles of ‘the Super’ stretch to Cambridge where Cordelia Gray undertakes her first case.
She is not a female private detective in the busybodying, gossiping style of Miss Marple or Agatha Raisin, but a liberated, independent woman who is financially motivated to make a success of her business. Employed by a Cambridge scientist, Sir Ronald Callender, to discover why his son Mark dropped out of university and committed suicide soon after, Cordelia takes up lodging in the rundown gardener’s cottage where Mark died. So much is unclear. Mark left a stew uncooked and a garden fork stuck in half-dug earth. His friends feign friendliness to Cordelia but dance around her questions. Sir Ronald’s assistant/housekeeper is superior and unhelpful. The Marklands, who employed Mark in his last few weeks, are shadows on the edge of the story. Something is evidently not right and Cordelia is soon convinced Mark was murdered. But how can it be proved?
This is a satisfying read with plenty of twists, mysteries and unexplained behaviour. The Seventies college setting in Cambridge – student parties, punting on the Cam – felt authentic. And I did not guess the ending.
Disappointingly, PD James only wrote two Cordelia Gray novels, this in 1972 and ‘The Skull Beneath the Skin’ ten years later.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ ( )

This book, written in the 1970s about Cordelia Gray, a PI, shows that while some things have changed for women and some things haven't, good detective works remains the same.

http://nicolewbrown.blogspot.com/2014/11/an-unsuitable-job-for-woman-by-pd-james...

With her bag at her feet she sat down by the body. She said a brief convent-taught prayer to the God she wasn’t sure existed for the soul which Bernie had never believed he possessed and waited quietly for the police.
--P.D. James (An Unsuitable Job For a Woman p 215)
Perhaps it’s only when people are dead that we can safely show how much we cared about them. We know that it’s too late then for them to do anything about it.
-- P.D. James (An Unsuitable Job For a Woman p 246)
…love was as destructive as hate.
-- P.D. James (An Unsuitable Job For a Woman p 412) ( )

My first PD James. Good prose, good character, but honestly, if I'm going to read a Brit mystery writer, I'd rather go with Agatha Christie. ( )

Delightful P.D.James mystery, with all of the misleads, tangles and dark mystery! ( )

Cordelia Gray, age 22, shows up to work one morning to find her boss, Bernie Pryde, dead by suicide; he has chosen this over suffering through cancer. While she’s handling this sorrow and the details, she is hired to find out why Cambridge dropout Mark Callendar has killed himself. The man who hires her is his father, and it doesn’t take Cordelia long to realize that murder is the far more likely cause of Mark’s death.

The search Cordelia undertakes reveals surprises, twists, elements of danger and all that you’d want in a well written murder/suspense/mystery/thriller novel. True, it doesn’t rush through things at a breakneck speed designed to give one nightmares after staying up all night reading it, but it doesn’t need to do so. The writing is at once simple and well done; moving along at a clip that does speed up at times, naturally, or it would merely be a cozy mystery. Since it is written in the 1970s there are no cell phones or electronic tracking means, which is such a refreshing change. I like Cordelia and am strongly considering reading the next one. ( )

I believe this was the first P.D. James I've read - very familiar with the name - I enjoyed it enough to read more by this author. ( )

Good story, good characters, good reader. I like the depth of character in PD James books. The description of place is really evocative. This one took a very unexpected turn for me. It is nice to be surprised. I'm sorry to see there are only two Cordelia Grey mysteries. ( )

It's a shame P.D. James didn't do more with Cordelia Grey: she's much more interesting as a protagonist than Dalgleish. This was her first outing, in 1973, and she very quickly demonstrates that she's no weak and feeble Harriett. Perhaps the ending here is a little bit too contrived, but it's all good fun, and it just about makes sense, so why not? ( )