Recommendations based on An Unsuitable Job for a Womanby P.D. James

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Original Sin

    by P.D. James
    A murder mystery set in a theological college, exploring the themes of sin, guilt, and redemption.

    The literary world is shaken when a murder takes place at the Peverell Press, an old-established publishing house located in a dramatic mock-Venetian palace on the Thames. The victim is Gerard ... (Goodreads)

  2. Cover Her Face

    by P.D. James
    Detective investigates the murder of a young woman in an English country house.

    The story opens with a dinner party hosted by Mrs. Eleanor Maxie at Martingale, a medieval manor house in the (fictional) Essex village of Chadfleet. Mrs. Maxie's son and daughter, Stephen Maxie and ... (Wikipedia)

  3. Shroud for a Nightingale

    by P.D. James
    Mystery novel set in a London hospital, involving a trail of murder and intrigue.

    Student nurses Heather Pearce and Josephine Fallon have died of mysterious circumstances in the hospital nursing school of Nightingale House. As Scotland Yard’s Chief Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh ... (Wikipedia)

  4. Playing for the Ashes

    by Elizabeth George
    A cricketer is murdered, and Inspector Lynley must navigate the complex web of relationships and secrets in the world of cricket to solve the case.

    "The story begins with my father, actually, and the fact that I'm the one who's answerable for his death. It was not my first crime, as you will see, but it is the one my mother couldn't forgive." In ... (Goodreads)

  5. The Talented Mr. Ripley

    by Patricia Highsmith
    A young conman's descent into a life of crime, with deadly consequences.

    Tom Ripley is a young man struggling to make a living in New York City by whatever means necessary, including a series of small-time confidence scams . One day, he is approached by shipping magnate ... (Wikipedia)

  6. The House of Mirth

    by Edith Wharton
    A young woman's struggle to navigate New York high society, in pursuit of financial security and true love.

    Lily Bart, a beautiful but impoverished socialite, is on her way to a house party at Bellomont, the country home of her best friend, Judy Trenor. Her pressing task is to find a husband with the ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Blue Dahlia

    by Nora Roberts
    A woman's journey of self-discovery and reconnection to her family, uncovering secrets and lies.

    Recently widowed Stella Rothschild has found a new love in Logan Kitridge. But there is someone who isn't happy about Stella's growing feelings for Logan: the Harper Bride, an unidentified woman ... (Goodreads)

  8. Well-Schooled in Murder

    by Elizabeth George
    Detective Lynley investigates a murder at an exclusive boarding school.

    Teacher John Corntel asks his former Eton schoolmate Lynley for help when the 13 year old schoolboy Matthew Whateley has disappeared. Initially Lynley refuses, until Deborah St James finds the naked ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Possession

    by A.S. Byatt
    Two modern academics uncover a hidden romance between two Victorian poets.

    Obscure scholar Roland Michell, researching in the London Library , discovers handwritten drafts of a letter by the eminent Victorian poet Randolph Henry Ash, which lead him to suspect that the ... (Wikipedia)

  10. IQ

    by Joe Ide
    A brilliant private investigator solves complex cases in the gang-ridden streets of Los Angeles.

    A resident of one of LA's toughest neighborhoods uses his blistering intellect to solve the crimes the LAPD ignores. , East Long Beach. The LAPD is barely keeping up with the neighborhood's high ... (Goodreads)

  11. Trouble Is My Business

    by Raymond Chandler
    Private detective Philip Marlowe takes on a series of cases that lead him into the dark underworld of Los Angeles.

    In the four long stories in this collection, Marlowe is hired to protect a rich old guy from a gold digger, runs afoul of crooked politicos, gets a line on some stolen jewels with a reward attached, ... (Goodreads)

  12. A Great Deliverance

    by Elizabeth George
    A detective investigates a murder in the countryside, uncovering secrets in a rural community.

    To this day, the low, thin wail of an infant can be heard in Keldale's lush green valleys. Three hundred years ago, as legend goes, the frightened Yorkshire villagers smothered a crying babe in ... (Goodreads)

  13. The Flanders Panel

    by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
    A painting restoration expert discovers a hidden message in a 15th-century Flemish painting, leading to a thrilling investigation of a murder mystery.

    Julia, an art restorer and evaluator living in Madrid , discovers a painted-over message on a 1471 Flemish masterpiece called La partida de ajedrez ( The Chess Game ) which reads "Quis Necavit ... (Wikipedia)

  14. The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side

    by Agatha Christie
    A murder mystery involving a beloved actress who is killed after drinking a poisoned cocktail.

    While recovering from an illness, Jane Marple goes out for a walk in St. Mary Mead and takes a fall. She encounters Heather Badcock, who brings her to her home and relates a story of meeting American ... (Wikipedia)

  15. The Bat

    by Jo Nesbø
    Detective Harry Hole uses his sharp wit and investigative skills to hunt down a serial killer.

    Norwegian police officer Harry Hole is sent to Sydney , Australia to serve as an attaché for the Australian police's investigation into the murder of a young female Norwegian girl residing in ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Agnes Grey

    by Anne Brontë
    A young governess's struggles to find her place in the world, while teaching and caring for the children of a wealthy family.

    Agnes Grey is the daughter of Mr. Grey, a minister of modest means, and Mrs. Grey, a woman who left her wealthy family and married purely out of love. Mr. Grey tries to increase the family's ... (Wikipedia)

  17. 2nd Chance

    by James Patterson
    An ex-FBI agent seeks to uncover the truth behind a mysterious death and bring justice to the victim.

    Homicide Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer is still recovering from the recent loss of her partner and is just returning to the force when she is called in to investigate a series of murders that include an ... (Wikipedia)

  18. The Little Stranger

    by Sarah Waters
    A mysterious and haunting tale of a family living in an eerie old manor house.

    Faraday, a country doctor with humble beginnings, is called to Hundreds Hall, an 18th-century estate that has lived far beyond its former glory. He treats a young maid who dislikes the large, ... (Wikipedia)

  19. The Pickwick Papers

    by Charles Dickens
    Witty comedy of misadventures of a group of travelers in 19th century England.

    Few first novels have created as much popular excitement as The Pickwick Papers –-a comic masterpiece that catapulted its 24-year-old author to immediate fame. Readers were captivated by the ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Robots of Dawn

    by Isaac Asimov
    Detective story set in the future, unraveling mysteries of robotic behavior and morality.

    Detective Elijah Baley of Earth is training with his son and others to overcome their socially ingrained agoraphobia when he is told that the Spacer world of Aurora has requested him to investigate a ... (Wikipedia)

  21. The Body in the Library

    by Agatha Christie
    A mysterious body found in a tranquil country library, investigated by a detective couple.

    The maid at Gossington Hall wakes Mrs Bantry by saying, “There is a body in the library!” Dolly Bantry then wakes her husband, Colonel Arthur Bantry to go downstairs. He finds the dead body of a ... (Wikipedia)

  22. A Murder Is Announced

    by Agatha Christie
    An unexpected death in a small village leads to a mystery investigation.

    A notice appears in the paper of Chipping Cleghorn: "A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, 29 October, at Little Paddocks, at 6.30 pm. Friends accept this, the only intimation." This ... (Wikipedia)

  23. Gaudy Night

    by Dorothy L. Sayers
    Harriet Vane returns to her alma mater to solve a mystery, while grappling with her feelings for Lord Peter Wimsey.

    Harriet Vane returns with trepidation to her, alma mater, , Shrewsbury College, Oxford to attend the Gaudy dinner. Expecting hostility because of her notoriety (she had stood trial for murder in an ... (Wikipedia)

  24. A is for Alibi

    by Sue Grafton
    Private investigator unravels the case of a murdered woman, uncovering a web of lies and deceit.

    Kinsey Millhone , 32, private detective investigates the death of prominent divorce lawyer Laurence Fife. His murder eight years earlier was blamed on his wife, Nikki Fife. Upon being released from ... (Wikipedia)

  25. The Moonstone

    by Wilkie Collins
    A mystery novel, unraveling the secrets of an ancient Indian diamond.

    Colonel Herncastle, an unpleasant former soldier, brings the Moonstone back with him from India where he acquired it by theft and murder during the Siege of Seringapatam . Angry at his family, who ... (Wikipedia)

  26. State of Wonder

    by Ann Patchett
    A journey in the Amazon rainforest to find a missing colleague and unlock the secrets of a mysterious drug.

    In a narrative replete with poison arrows, devouring snakes, scientific miracles, and spiritual transformations, "State of Wonder" presents a world of stunning surprise and danger, rich in emotional ... (Goodreads)

  27. Fingersmith

    by Sarah Waters
    A thrilling tale of two women who conspire to swindle a wealthy gentleman.

    Sue Trinder, an orphan raised in "a Fagin -like den of thieves" by her adoptive mother, Mrs Sucksby, is sent to help Richard "Gentleman" Rivers seduce a wealthy heiress. Posing as a maid, Sue is to ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Inland

    by Téa Obreht
    Two women's lives intersect in the Arizona Territory during the late 1800s, as they navigate the harsh desert landscape and their own personal struggles.

    The novel follows two parallel narratives in the American frontier . , Living in the lawless, drought-ridden lands of the Arizona Territory in 1893, 37-year-old frontierswoman Nora Lark waits inside ... (Wikipedia)

  29. The Quiet American

    by Graham Greene
    A journalist's exploration of a conflict between a French colonial regime and Vietnamese nationalists.

    Thomas Fowler is a British journalist in his fifties who has covered the French war in Vietnam for more than two years. He meets a young American idealist named Alden Pyle, a CIA agent working ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Tenth of December

    by George Saunders
    A collection of stories exploring the human condition through diverse characters and their struggles.

    A young girl named Alison is kidnapped three days before her birthday. Kyle, a boy who lives nearby whose parents enforce very strict household rules, sees the event unfold and must decide whether to ... (Wikipedia)