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The Murder Room Audiobook
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(3.01) - 4,749 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The Dupayne, a small private museum on the edge of London's Hampstead Heath devoted to the interwar years 1919-39, is in turmoil. The trustees--the three children of the museum founder, old Max Dupayne--are bitterly at odds over whether it should be closed. Then one of them is brutally murdered, and what seemed to be no more than a family dispute erupts into horror. For even as Commander Adam Dalgiesh and his team investigate the first killing, a second corpse is discovered. Clearly, someone at the Dupayne is prepared to kill, and kill again. The case is fraught with danger and complexity from the outset, not least because of the range of possible suspects--and victims. And still more sinister, the murders appear to echo the notorious crimes of th epast featured in one of the museum's most popular galleries, the Murder Room. For Dalgiesh, P.D. James's formidable detective, the search for the murderer poses an unexpected complication. After years of bachelorhood, he has embarked on a promising new relationship with Emma Lavenham--first introduced in Death in Holy Orders--which is at a critical stage. Yet his struggle to solve the Dupayne murders faces him with a frustrating dilemma: each new development distances him further from commitment to the woman he loves. The Murder Room is a story dark with the passions that lie at the heart of crime, a masterful work of psychological intricacy. It proves yet again that P.D. James fully deserves her place among the best of modern novelists.
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"The 'Sunday Times (London)' describes Ms. James work better than I can. "P.D. James is recognized not only as Britain's most successful living writer of crime fiction, but its most literate exponent." I rarely agree with reviews printed on the back covers of books but in this case I do. Reading 'The Murder Room' is like reading well crafted prose which also happens to be an excellent mystery. I have never read any type of book with better developed characters. I'm looking at the list of her books on the inside cover and I have enjoyed reading each and every one. For you feminists out there 'An Unsuitable Job For A Woman' would be a great one to start with. Even if you read no other read it."
— Sandra (4 out of 5 stars)
The Murder Room Listener Reviews
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Michael Crawshaw, 9/1/2022
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" a solid read. great for mornings on the elliptical. sure, perhaps not the most challenging of books, but as mysteries go, i enjoyed it, and who can resist a murder set in modern day england? plus the writing's pretty decent for what some could consider a beach read. "
— Erica, 2/12/2014 -
" Thought it was good. Didn't realize there was a club of 'super sleuths'. Seeing how they figured out and decided on what the person was like or what the victim looked like was fascinating. "
— Rebecca, 2/4/2014 -
" So, this is the fourth book by P.D. James that I've read in the past month or two, and I feel about it exactly as I felt about the first three; engaging and intelligent writing style, well-drawn characters, compulsively readable, and a crappy ending. Why are her endings so blah? They're so anti-climactic. I end up feeling like, "Oh. I see. So that was who did it. And that was why. Humph, well, okay." "
— Richard, 2/1/2014 -
" This was a good story, but somewhat slow and I did not care for the last death. "
— 2bnallegory, 1/29/2014 -
" Top notch. I have to concentrate a bit more when I read a P.D. James, but it's worth it. "
— Jane, 1/29/2014 -
" Loved this book ... Very exciting "
— Lisa, 1/23/2014 -
" Slow start. Many chapters to describe and situate characters. "
— Susie, 1/22/2014 -
" Another P. D. James classic with Adam Dalgliesh. The inspector's name for the series came from the author's English teacher! There's an interesting article about P. D. James in the New York Times. A sample of her tart tongue in referring to Agatha Christie: "Perhaps her greatest strength was that she never overstepped the limits of her talent." "
— Rob, 1/22/2014 -
" What I love most about this book is the way in which James uses the perspectives of all characters to narrate the story. The result is a murder case in which the reader has a more global perspective than any mystery I can remember of the interpersonal environment that led to a murder. "
— Tom, 1/20/2014 -
" I don't know why I am only discovering P.D. James now - I'm sure my mother suggested these books a long time ago! In any case, this was an excellent mystery - thoroughly British and well-paced. I look forward to listening to more of her work. "
— Sarah, 1/2/2014 -
" A totally absorbing mystery, as usual. It was especially interesting to learn about crime and culture in Britain during the interwar years. "
— Kirsti, 12/27/2013 -
" Guilty pleasure. Watched the BBC rendition after, not bad. "
— Jonvieve, 12/25/2013 -
" Interesting. The story unfolds slowly. "
— Haley, 12/21/2013 -
" Slow start- but definitely an interesting book. "
— Margaret, 11/25/2013 -
" She never disappoints, and keeps you guessing until the very end. As usual I had the wrong person. "
— Graham, 10/28/2013 -
" This book started really slowly, but I was glad that I stuck through to the end and gave it a chance. "
— Erin, 9/24/2013 -
" The book is very long, but well written. I like the Adam Dagliesh character. I have liked other books in the series more. "
— Mr., 5/15/2013 -
" Not into this at all "
— Sonya, 4/23/2013 -
" I always like PD James, and her sleuth Dalgleish. "
— Charles, 2/23/2013 -
" If you like PD James mysteries, you will like this one, but not love it. The story was good, but not great. The resolution of the case was exciting, but not really explained. James did not elaborate enough on the thought processes that led the detectives to figure out the identity of the criminal. "
— Kerri, 8/22/2012 -
" I love PD James mysteries. Good old English stuff. Must admit to a crush on Adam Dalglish. A cop and a poet in one. "
— Marj, 2/25/2012 -
" What's really great is that you can see these James stories on TV in the "Mystery" series, and read the books and enjoy them both very much! Great story-telling, great suspense, great fun. "
— Shincrackerfarm, 1/21/2012 -
" Murder in a museum - not quite the quality of the other Adam Dalgliesh novels - a bit too routinized. "
— Espen, 12/28/2011 -
" Pretty decent read. Written by a Brit and set in Britain there's some fun language puzzles for me (an American). For once, I didn't figure out whodunit... definitely rare in most mysteries! "
— Nichole, 12/11/2011 -
" I love P.D. James - complex and sometimes hard to get into, but the way she pulls everything together is fantastic. "
— Alicia, 10/1/2011 -
" Entertaining and a typical PD James mystery with Adam Dalgliesh. "
— Richard, 5/26/2011 -
" Nice book. A little slow to start and a little frustrating towards the end, but i enjoyed it iverall. More about Dalglish than the murder- "
— Jeremy, 5/6/2011 -
" It ended rather abruptly after taking forever to get to the actual reveal, but it was well written and enjoyable along the way, so that's ok. "
— Ann, 5/4/2011 -
" I love PD James mysteries. Good old English stuff. Must admit to a crush on Adam Dalglish. A cop and a poet in one. "
— Marj, 4/20/2011 -
" Entertaining and a typical PD James mystery with Adam Dalgliesh. "
— Richard, 3/16/2011 -
" James is one of the best writers of the British mystery, bar none. "
— Lavezzij, 2/25/2011 -
" liked it but i always have trouble stumbling through this writing style. "
— Barbara, 2/24/2011 -
" Clearly one of her better efforts and completely modern day themes of the powerful controlling the weak. "
— CC, 2/16/2011 -
" As always a great read, a satisfying mystery. "
— Charles, 2/11/2011 -
" The book initially started on a boring tone with a long introduction of every character in the plot. But as the stage was set up, it turned out to be one thriller. Quite an interesting and nail-biting climax. "
— Kanika, 2/4/2011 -
" This is a book of the classic English murder mystery - a bit contrived and not necessarily suspenseful. "
— Marge, 1/6/2011 -
" Great book with a real mystery. "
— Daryl, 11/15/2010
About P. D. James
P. D. James (1920–2014), English crime writer, was the author of numerous detective novels, many of which were New York Times bestsellers. She spent thirty years in various departments of the British civil service, including the Police and Criminal Law Departments of the Home Office. She has served as a magistrate and as a governor of the BBC. In 2000 she celebrated her eightieth birthday and published her autobiography, Time to Be in Earnest. The recipient of many prizes and honors, she was named Baroness James of Holland Park in 1991.
About Charles Keating
Charles Keating has won three AudioFile Earphones awards for his audiobook narrations. His credits include works by P.D. James, Mark Haddon, Charmian Hussey, and Terry Brooks. He is British actor of stage, screen and television in addition to being an audiobook narrator. He has acted with the Royal Shakespeare Company, played Rex in ITV’s celebrated Brideshead Revisited miniseries, and had roles in television shows including Sex and the City, Another World, All My Children and As the World Turns. In 2001, he played the role of Carney/Oscar Wilde in the Lincoln Center Theater Performance of A Man of No Importance, and in 2007, he played the role of Clement O’Donnell in the Guthrie Theater production of The Home Place.