Midnight Fugue: A Dalziel and Pascoe Mystery (Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries)
Hardcover – Bargain Price, October 6, 2009
Description
From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. The short time frame of British author Hill's strong 24th Dalziel and Pascoe procedural (after 2008's The Price of Butcher's Meat ) maximizes suspense without sacrificing either characterization or humor. Andy Dalziel, an irascible dinosaur of a police officer who's only just returned to the Mid-Yorkshire force after recovering from a serious injury, is tracked down by Gina Wolfe, whose policeman husband, Alex, has been missing for seven years. Alex disappeared while under investigation by internal affairs, who suspected him of leaking information to a major criminal target. Gina was on the verge of having Alex declared legally dead, until she received a recent magazine photo clearly showing Alex or his double. Dalziel's decision to assist Gina unofficially in finding out what became of Alex leads to his placing a colleague in jeopardy. Numerous subplots don't slow the pace, a testament to Hill's skill in putting all the pieces together. (Oct.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. “The short time frame of British author Hill’s strong 24th Dalziel and Pascoe procedural (after 2008’s The Price of Butcher’s Meat) maximizes suspense without sacrificing either characterization or humor. . . . Numerous subplots don’t slow the pace, a testament to Hill’s skill in putting all the pieces together.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )A must for series fans (Booklist )“Hill keeps a particularly nasty surprise up his sleeve for last. The accelerated timetable gives Dalziel and Pascoe’s 24th a Rube Goldberg effervescence that contrasts effectively with the pervasive sadness beneath.” (Kirkus Reviews )“This seemingly simple case turns into a major puzzler... Hill writes of these tricky matters in a fluid and witty style that eventually lifts the old lion from his torpor and restorse him to roaring health.” (New York Times Book Review )“This complicated mystery with great characters and a fast pace will attract Hill’s loyal following and fans of British police procedurals. Hill is a very talented wordsmith as well, and his works should appeal to those seeking out well-written, carefully crafted crime novels.” (Library Journal )“The sleights of hand that Hill manages to pull off are stunning, not to mention the sly, wry style of a rogue with a dry wit and a sharp eye. . . . It’s a tour de force that Hill manages to pull off with ease.” (Providence Journal )“Hill’s achievement here should be savoured. . . . It’s a tiny perfect thrill of perfection. This is one of Hill’s best novels, one of the best this year or any year.” (Globe and Mail (Toronto) )“Hill juggles multiple intertwined subplots and characters, inflicting plenty of murder and mayhem on the populace before Dalziel wraps it all up in one 24-hour day. As clever and twisty as ever, this is another winner from an old master.” (Portsmouth Herald )“[Hill] does it again in his new Dalziel and Pascoe book, Midnight Fugue, succeeding in brilliant fashion... His writing is assured and relaxed. His touch is deft, and he even allows Fat Andy to show a caring and sentimental side, something surprising in the great old copper’s senior years.” (Toronto Star )“[The] most amusing and satisfying of all the Dalziel and Pascoe books. . . . A master of the British police procedural.” (Tampa Tribune )One of the best of the Brits, Reginald Hill, adds another winner to his résumé and another chapter to the saga of Dalziel and Pascoe—with Midnight Fugue (San Diego Union-Tribune ) Reginald Hill has been widely published in both England and the United States. He received Britain's most coveted mystery writers' prize, the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, as well as the Golden Dagger for his Dalziel/Pascoe series. He lives with his wife in Cumbria, England. Read more
Features & Highlights
- It starts with a phone call to Superintendent Dalziel from an old friend asking for help. But where it ends is a very different story.
- Gina Wolfe has come to mid Yorkshire in search of her missing husband, believed dead. Her fiancÉ, Commander Mick Purdy of the Met, thinks Dalziel should be able to take care of the job. What none of them realize is how events set in motion decades ago will come to a violent head on this otherwise ordinary summer's day.
- A Welsh tabloid journalist senses the story he's been chasing for years may have finally landed in his lap. A Tory MP's secretary suspects her boss's father has an unsavory history that could taint his son's prime ministerial ambitions. The ruthless entrepreneur in question sends two henchmen out to make sure the past stays in the past. And the lethal pair dispatched have some awkward secrets of their own.
- Four stories, two mismatched detectives trying to figure it all out, and twenty-four hours in which to do it: Dalziel and Pascoe are about to learn the hard way just how much difference a day makes.
