Cover Her Face

by Neville Teller (Adapter), P.D. James, Robin Ellis (Narrator)

Though Sally Jupp came from the village home for unmarried mothers, she seemed the ideal girl to help Mrs Maxie run a large Elizabethan manor house and look after her invalid husband. But the real Sally, pretty, ambitious and clever, was very different from the docile, repentant character she seemed to be. Murder shattered the tranquillity of her new home and Chief Detective Inspector Adam Dalgliesh arrived in the peace of a country Sunday to solve a case as mysterious as Sally herself. He soon discovers that there is no shortage of motives, and as he investigates, the complex secrets and powerful passions of village and family life come into play.

This BBC Radio 4 dramatisation by Neville Teller stars Robin Ellis, with Hugh Grant and Siân Phillips. It was first broadcast from 14 April to 5 May 1993.

2 CDs. 2 hrs.

2 pages, Audio CD

Published May 7, 2002

Reviews

[Jim B]

A satisfying mystery where the true killer and motive is not clear till the end.

Read by Penelope Dellaporta; the recording was very plain, just a voice.

[Angel]

I love the Inspector Dalgliesh stories because they are mostly without drama. Just the thoughts and actions of the people involved, laid out neatly. As in other British mysteries, you don't get all of the facts until the end, so you can't do the detection on your own, but you can have fun trying to figure out who the murderer really is.

This is the first of the stories and you'd never know it. You learn a little of the detective inspector and his sergeant but it's the story that always comes first. I find myself really wanting to know what happened.

[Renee M]

My rating is for the BBC dramatization since that’s how I accessed the story this time. The dramatization was excellent, but would not my first choice for this author. I wish I had read the book first. Based on my reading of her second book, A Mind to Murder, I expect that there was a delicious dissection of the characters, their relationships, secrets, and quirks. Perhaps I’ll get the opportunity to revisit at some later date.

[Laura]

A murder in an East Anglian village reveals hidden passions beneath the calm surface.

PD James's first novel, in which she created her famous detective Inspector Adam Dalgliesh.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008ycyr

[Sara Eames]

A very well written whodunit. It is the first Adam Dalgliesh book I have read, and I will certainly read more in the future.

[Rob Cook]

Solid 90's Radio 4 adaptation. Sian Phillips and Hugh Grant stand out amongst the cast and at only two hours long it doesn't drag.