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The Skull Beneath the Skin

By: P. D. James
Narrated by: Penelope Dellaporta
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Publisher's summary

Private detective Cordelia Gray is invited to the sunlit island of Courcy to protect the vainly beautiful actress Clarissa Lisle from veiled threats on her life. Within the rose red walls of a fairy-tale castle, she finds the stage is set for death.

©2001 P.D. James (P)2009 Random House
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Critic reviews

“Richly intricate and literate”, [James’s second Cordelia Gray mystery] “shows James at the height of her storytelling powers” (San Francisco Chronicle)

"P.D. James is “the greatest living mystery writer.” (People)

What listeners say about The Skull Beneath the Skin

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful listen

I almost want to just exclaim about James’ vocabulary, but that wouldn’t convey the complexity in her writing or the great listening experience, so I’ll sum it up by saying that I’m a therapist who doesn’t enjoy overly simplified characters or story lines and I appreciated this read as one of my favorite vacation reads this summer!!

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

Taught mystery - great narration

Would you consider the audio edition of The Skull Beneath the Skin to be better than the print version?

Yes because the performance by P. De La Porta was outstanding

Who was your favorite character and why?

Who wouldn't love Cordelia Gray!

What does Penelope Dellaporta bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Astute characterizations

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Classic English mystery!

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2 people found this helpful

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

Some nice tidbits of British history.

Once again Miss Grey funds all the answers, yet doesn't get the glory of success in public.

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

PD James

Strange ending, more like a Le Carre: Everything dissolves into ambiguity making one wonder why one cared how the novel would end. Interesting, if not all likeable, characters, intriguing plot, excellent writing style ending in a existentialist shrug.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A Principled Principal

Cordelia Gray is a strong character. She firmly believes in truth. She is compassionate, intelligent, and resourceful. Listeners will see these characteristics in this complex, often dark novel. It was hard to stop listening. Kudos to P. D. James.

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

The 2nd & last Cordelia Gray Mystery!

It's a crime that there are no more books in this series!! Excellent and interesting stories.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Disappointed

I've read many P.D. James mystery novels, and really like how the plot and character tangents miraculously sync up by the end, In
this book, the tangents begin sounding like random thoughts. Still, the use of language is superb.

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

great book with a bad ending

I thoroughly enjoyed it, right up to the ending which I found very unsatisfying and disappointing.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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twists in plot

nothing at all it was very good reading and stimulating enjoyable reading I recommend this author to all who like good mystery

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Cordelia is Annoying

As a big PD James fan, I was looking forwad to listening to this story. The narrators voice was screetchy with a weird echo. Cordelia was boring and there was little depth to her. Don't waste a credit on this book. Buy an Adam Danglish story instead

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