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The Black Tower
- Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
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The Black Tower
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Summary
Award-winning P.D. James, one of the masters of crime fiction, takes her best-known detective to the Dorset coast in this murder mystery. Awakening on his sick bed to a deepening sense of his own mortality, Dalgliesh fights with his illness and finds himself embroiled in a thrilling murder investigation packed with lies, suspicion and deceit.
Commander Dalgliesh is recuperating from a life-threatening illness when he receives a call for advice from an elderly friend who works as a chaplain in a home for the disabled on the Dorset coast. Dalgliesh arrives to discover that Father Baddeley has recently and mysteriously died, as has one of the patients at Toynton Grange. Evidently the home is not quite the caring community it purports to be. Dalgliesh is determined to discover the truth of his friend's death, but further fatalities follow and his own life is in danger as he unmasks the evil at the heart of Toynton Grange.
From the bestselling author of Death Comes to Pemberley, Children of Men and The Murder Room, comes the fifth novel in the Adam Dalgliesh series, a thrilling work of crime fiction that explores the mysterious and intense emotions responsible for the unique crime of murder, with authority and sensitivity. Set on the Dorset coast, The Black Tower possesses all of the qualities which distinguish P.D. James as a novelist.
This novel won the Silver Dagger award for crime fiction and was adapted into a television program in 1985 starring actors such as Roy Marsden, Pauline Collins and Martin Jarvis.
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Critic reviews
"More expertise from P. D. James. The writing is excellent, the pitch of final terror beautifully sustained." (Evening Standard)
"She writes like an angel. Every character is clearly drawn. Her atmosphere is unerringly, chillingly convincing. And she manages all this without for a moment slowing down the drive and tension of an exciting mystery." (The Times)
What listeners say about The Black Tower
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- rosebud
- 24-10-21
Good story, well written although quietly read
I did enjoy the story and it contained twists I didn't see coming.
Well read but I needed to be in quiet surroundings to hear. Neither my husband or I could keep a track of the story during a car journey where we use audio books to while away a long journey.
I also struggled to hear during normal activities around the home. I have not found this an issue with other audio books we have listened to.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Tracey wolf
- 20-07-18
brilliant
the story was good,the narrator was good, I really enjoyed this book but it finished too quick!
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Martin H
- 30-06-23
Good Story - Nicely Narrated
This was my first PD James and I really enjoyed it. In Audible form it’s a bit tricky to keep track of the range of characters and nuances of the complex plot, but that’s more about me.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- D. G. Jones
- 06-10-22
Good but.........
I enjoyed the story but I think it a hour or two too long. Daniel knows how to tell a story
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jenny Ahlin
- 03-01-22
Classic
Classic James story. Lovely languages, reader and utterly British. Not the best in the series, but still keeps you guessing who the killer is until the very end
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- andrea jones
- 05-12-21
Good listen
took a while to start bit of a plodder but enticed you into the story more you listened. I was a bit disappointed I had sussed the killer it didn't ruin it for me I enjoyed it
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sherlock
- 12-01-22
Very intriguing detective story
I was very interested in listening to this audio story after seeing the TV adaption with Bertie Carvel. It’s a great listen, especially if like me you like detective fiction, especially PDJ and DLS etc.
Really well read and good to listen in small chunks. You don’t need to commit a lot of time to listen to these or feel the need to listen to a lot of it at once. Like a good book (which it is, just audio) it draws you in wanting to know more.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Peter
- 06-05-24
Extraordinary story told brilliantly
Excellent. This is the sort of book than unusually I might read again, not just for its complexity but for the brilliance of the language… mostly for the language
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- catsatcastle
- 15-05-17
Bleak and unsettling
This is an unusual one. The book opens with Dalgliesh finding out that, contrary to an earlier diagnosis, he does not after all have a life-threatening disease and leaves hospital sure that he is going to leave the police force and do something else with his life.
An elderly priest has invited him to stay with him as he wants to consult him about something unspecified. Dalgliesh goes to see him to spend some of his recuperation time with him but when he arrives, the priest has been dead for nearly two weeks. Despite himself, he finds he cannot stop being a policeman and starts asking questions. He finds plenty of suspicious behaviour but somehow does not follow through with any of it as he is not there officially and of course does not have his usual team with him. He is under-par as the result of his illness, and because he is no longer sure he wants to be a policeman.
The investigation is unfocused and to this reader at least confusing. James' supporting characters are usually very vividly drawn and easily distinguished but in this book some are rather hazily drawn even when they come to play an important role in the story.
The persistent feeling of menace is very strongly conveyed but none of the characters have any redeeeming features. I missed the presence of the decent older woman who features in later books to give a humane core to the story. I felt I had lived through a nightmare with Dalgliesh as he found his way through the mire of his weakness from his illness and his indecision about his future and I cannot imagine wanting to go through it again.
Daniel Weyman is a marvellous reader and gave his usual fine, flawless performance.
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13 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Diane
- 22-06-21
Favourite author
Listening to this book again after lockdown reminded me of the skill of the author as she keeps showing twists and turns that keep you guessing and enjoying
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