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.)
Over the years, Hill has employed interesting—and sometimes jarring—narrative techniques, and the 24th installment (after The Price of Butcher's Meat) in his Yorkshire-set series featuring detectives Andy Dalziel and Pete Pascoe is no exception: the novel takes place in the course of a single day. Dalziel is still adjusting to being back at work after his injuries and long convalescence. He is asked to help Gina Wolfe, wife of long-missing detective Alex Wolfe. Dalziel quickly sees that the case is much more complicated than it appears, and he and the team spend a dizzying day uncovering leads and trying to protect Gina from dangerous characters from Alex's past. VERDICT 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.—Beth Lindsay, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman
The search for a colleague long presumed dead leads Chief Supt. Andrew Dalziel to 16 of the most jam-packed hours ever to strike the Mid-Yorkshire Constabulary. Following the death of their daughter Lucy seven years ago, Gina Wolfe left her husband Alex, a one-time police inspector dropped from the Ilford force over unproved accusations of bribery. Alex retaliated by disappearing. Now Gina's fallen in love with his old boss, Commander Mick Purdy, and can't remarry unless Alex is proven to be dead. The problem is, he doesn't act dead. Someone's sent a recent photo of a man who looks like his twin to Gina, and Purdy has encouraged her to talk to his old mate Andy Dalziel, still recovering from a near-fatal bombing (The Price of Butcher's Meat, 2008, etc.), about tracking him down. Before Andy can do more than take Gina to lunch, a nefarious pair stalking her on behalf of shady financier Goldie Gidman make their move. The resulting violence will send one of Andy's favorite constables to the hospital, an inoffensive young man to the morgue, DCI Peter Pascoe to the forefront and the survivors scurrying about as if they were being chased by malefactors with pitchforks and burning brands. What mystery there is in the case of Alex Wolfe's disappearance is solved with insolent dispatch, but 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.
The short time frame of British author Hill’s strong 24th Dalziel and Pascoe procedural 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 restores him to roaring health.” — New York Times Book Review
“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. We see all the players at the beginning. We see the murder take place, but exactly who’s who and why they are doing what they seem to be doing is deftly hidden from view until the last tumultuous violent pages. . . . It’s a tour de force that Hill manages to pull off with ease.” — Providence Journal
“Hill’s achievement here should be savoured. I’ve read some of his works more than a dozen times. This one is going onto my permanent shelf and I’ve already consumed it twice. Save it for a time when you can read it straight through, taking time to read each passage and follow each variation and, above all, don’t push to the end. 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)
“Wit and wisdom collide in the outsize person of Supt. Andy Dalziel, long time head of the Yorkshire constabulary and newly back at work after the bombing that nearly killed him in Death Comes for the Fat Man ... 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
“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
“[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
"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
“[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."
[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.
Hill’s achievement here should be savoured. I’ve read some of his works more than a dozen times. This one is going onto my permanent shelf and I’ve already consumed it twice. Save it for a time when you can read it straight through, taking time to read each passage and follow each variation and, above all, don’t push to the end. 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.
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 restores him to roaring health.
New York Times Book Review
"A must for series fans."
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. We see all the players at the beginning. We see the murder take place, but exactly who’s who and why they are doing what they seem to be doing is deftly hidden from view until the last tumultuous violent pages. . . . It’s a tour de force that Hill manages to pull off with ease.
Wit and wisdom collide in the outsize person of Supt. Andy Dalziel, long time head of the Yorkshire constabulary and newly back at work after the bombing that nearly killed him in Death Comes for the Fat Man ... 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.
[The] most amusing and satisfying of all the Dalziel and Pascoe books. . . . A master of the British police procedural.
"A must for series fans."
"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."
Hill is one of the best crime writers around, as he proves in the latest installment in his Dalziel/Pascoe procedurals. What makes it an outstanding listen is Jonathan Keeble’s ability to portrait Dalziel as a complete hedonist while somehow keeping him lovable. And while Pascoe has mellowed through the years, Keeble allows just a hint of his priggish personality to sneak through in this fine performance. Hill delivers his usual assortment of fleshed-out villains, this time including a diminutive mastermind and her psychopathic brother. Keeble keeps it all sailing smoothly along at a lively pace while never missing a chance to milk all the humor out of Dalziel’s famous bons mots. D.G. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
