P.D. James' plucky detective heroine Cordelia Gray should be careful what she wishes for. At the beginning of the fabulous British series 'An Unsuitable Job for a Woman', Gray is a young assistant to a longtime private detective, hoping to learn the ropes as an investigator. But getting her wish plunges her, ready or not, into the murky worlds of passion, philandering, surveillance, and murder. Gray's career is truly one learned - and earned - by fire. Helen Baxendale (snippy Emily from Friends) plays Cordelia with nuance and pluck - she's what Helen Mirren's Jane Tennison (Prime Suspect) might have been as a very young, idealistic, wet-behind-the-ears novice. Cordelia suddenly inherits a detective firm when her mentor commits suicide, so she's thrust into investigation with little besides her own wit, and the help of her flinty assistant, Mrs. Sparshott (Annette Crosbie). "We may not look the part", deadpans Mrs. Sparshott, "but appearances can be deceiving". Can they ever. In this four-episode boxed set, Cordelia, assisted by Mrs. Sparshott, takes on what seem like matter-of-fact investigations, only to realize that the crimes lurking below the surface are ever more serious, and deadly. Each episode is based on a different James book and include 'Sacrifice', 'A Last Embrace', 'Living on Risk', and 'Playing God'. Cordelia's character grows professionally and personally over the course of the episodes, including falling in love and expecting a child. But through it all, Baxendale's performance sparkles, and mystery fans will be glad Cordelia never listened to the advice that investigating might be "unsuitable". Not bloody likely.
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