''Devices and Desires'' is a 1989

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

by English writer

P. D. James Phyllis Dorothy James White, Baroness James of Holland Park (3 August 1920 – 27 November 2014), known professionally as P. D. James, was an English novelist and life peer. Her rise to fame came with her series of detective novels featuri ...

, the eighth book of her Adam Dalgliesh series. It takes place on Larksoken, a fictional isolated headland in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. The title comes from the service of Morning Prayer in the 1662

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

: "We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts".

Plot overview

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Adam Dalgliesh, having published his second volume of

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

, retreats to the remote Larksoken headland where his recently deceased aunt, Jane Dalgliesh, has left him a converted

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

. However, a psychopathic

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

, known as the

Whistler, is on the loose and seems to have arrived at Larksoken when Dalgliesh finds the body of the nearby

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...

's Acting Administrative Officer during an evening stroll on the beach.

Reception

In a 1990 book review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 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." However, ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' 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".https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/pd-james/devices-desire/

Adaptations

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 Robert Hugh Carvel (born 6 September 1977) is a British film and theatre actor. He has twice won a Laurence Olivier Award: for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as Miss Trunchbull in '' Matilda the Musical'', and for Best ...

. It was adapted for

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

in 1997 by Neville Teller.https://archive.org/details/pdjames-dalgliesh-devices-and-desireshttps://www.ladbrokeradio.com/1997.html

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1989 British novels Novels by P. D. James Novels set in Norfolk Novels about serial killers Novels about writers Faber & Faber books British detective novels