Helpful Score: 1
Reginald Hill is a joy to read. His plotting is superb, his use of dialogue is better than most contemporary writers and his mixture of pathos and comedy advances his storyline. He creates images that stay with you from book to book. This is as good as any of his previous offerings.
Yorkshire's coppers Andy Dalziel and Peter Pascoe are investigating the suicide of prominent businessman Pal Maciver. It seems to be a clear-cut case: he shot himself while sitting at his desk in his locked study.
But things are not quite what they seem. When Pascoe digs deeper, he finds threads going back to another, almost identical death -- that of Maciver's father. And even more disturbing: Pascoe's boss, Detective Superintendent Dalziel, was the officer on that case.
With Dalziel checking his every move, Pascoe is forced to lead his own investigation, plunging into the past to uncover truths about the Maciver family, particularly Pal's relationship with his step-mother, the beautiful and enigmatic Kay Kafka. He soon realizes that the implications of Maciver's death stretch far beyond the borders of Yorkshire. And when a key witness -- exotic hooker Dolores, 'Lady of Pain' -- disappears, the death takes on a far more complicated and mysterious face.
But things are not quite what they seem. When Pascoe digs deeper, he finds threads going back to another, almost identical death -- that of Maciver's father. And even more disturbing: Pascoe's boss, Detective Superintendent Dalziel, was the officer on that case.
With Dalziel checking his every move, Pascoe is forced to lead his own investigation, plunging into the past to uncover truths about the Maciver family, particularly Pal's relationship with his step-mother, the beautiful and enigmatic Kay Kafka. He soon realizes that the implications of Maciver's death stretch far beyond the borders of Yorkshire. And when a key witness -- exotic hooker Dolores, 'Lady of Pain' -- disappears, the death takes on a far more complicated and mysterious face.
Reginald Hill is a master. In this recent installment of the cases of Fat Andy Dalziel and Peter Pascoe of the Mid-Yorkshire CID, a mystifying series of events challenge their great crime-solving minds. Hill's books are not just mysteries; they are literature.
Prominent businessman Pal Maciver locked himself in his study and shot himself. It's an open-and-shut case, as far as Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel is concerned. Except...Maciver's father died in an almost identical manner ten years earlier, and "Fat Andy" was the investigating officer. Pal's strange and strained relationship with his beautiful, enigmatic stepmother, Kay Kafka, also raises warning flags. And the family's shady corporate dealings carry two apparent acts of self-slaughter far beyond the borders of Yorkshire, causing policeman Peter Pascoe to question his superior's reticence...and his motives. (from back cover)
