The Price of Butcher's Meat #23 : Dalziel and Pascoe: Book 23

From Publishers Weekly In Hill's solid 23rd Dalziel and Pascoe procedural set in Yorkshire, Det. Supt. Andy Dalziel doesn't see much of his longtime colleague, DCI Peter Pascoe, because Dalziel is recovering from the serious injuries he suffered in Death Comes for the Fat Man (2007) in the quiet resort of Sandytown. When the charred corpse of wealthy Lady Daphne Denham turns up in a revolving basket that had been used for a pig roast in Sandytown, the two policemen pursue largely independent investigations. Much of the background to Denham's demise comes from e-mails that in spots may puzzle those unfamiliar with e-mail jargon. More deaths follow before Hill offers a final twist that's unlikely to catch experienced genre readers by surprise. The crotchety Dalziel's chafing at the restrictions at the convalescent home where he's staying provides some amusing distraction from the somewhat leisurely crime solving. Newcomers might better start with earlier books in the series. (Nov.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From The 23rd installment in the Dalziel-Pascoe series is classic Reginald Hill with its clever, suspenseful plot, droll social commentary, and graceful prose. Hill brings the standard epistolary novel squarely into the 21st century as he intersperses a conventional third-person narrative with e-mails and stream-of-consciousness observations from a digital voice recorder. Though Entertainment Weekly found this structure confusing at first and the New York Times Book Review considered these devices somewhat clumsy, others, such as the Minneapolis Star Tribune , remarked that the techniques work "brilliantly." Hill's characters—part Jane Austen and part Agatha Christie—and frequent literary allusions exasperated some critics but charmed others. All agreed that Hill fans will be delighted, though other readers may want to start at the beginning of the series. Copyright 2009 Bookmarks Publishing LLC Having narrowly survived injuries sustained when he was caught in a huge explosion, Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel is still on leave from the Yorkshire police department, recuperating at the Avalon Clinic in the quaint seaside resort of Sandytown. But he soon begins to suspect that those outside the convalescent home have just as many problems as the residents. There's a psychiatrist with more to hide than his patients, a pair of powerful landowners with very different plans for putting the resort on the map, and a man from Dalziel's past who ought to be dead. When someone actually does turn up dead, and under the most macabre circumstances, Chief Inspector Peter Pascoe is called onto the scene. Together again, Dalziel and Pascoe investigate a baffling and complex case as further corpses make it increasingly hard for Sandytown to justify its claim to be "Home of the Healthy Holiday." But it's certainly been put on the map After a close encounter with a bomb, Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel recuperates at the Avalon Clinic in the quaint seaside resort of Sandytown. But soon he begins to suspect that those outside the convalescent home have just as many problems as the residents.There's a psychiatrist with more to hide than his patients, a pair of powerful landowners with very different plans for putting the resort on the map, a Chinese acupuncturist with a Yorkshire accent, a skinny-dipping baronet and his ice-box sister, and a man from Dalziel's past who ought to be dead.When someone actually does turn up dead, and under the most macabre circumstances, Chief Inspector Peter Pascoe is called onto the scene. Together again, Dalziel and Pascoe investigate a baffling and complex case as further corpses make it increasingly hard for Sandytown to justify its claim to be 'Home of the Healthy Holiday.' But it's certainly been put on the map... . Some say that Andy Dalziel wasn't ready for God, others that God wasn't ready for Dalziel. Either way, despite his recent proximity to a terrorist blast, the Superintendent remains firmly of this world. And, while Death may be the cure for all diseases, Dalziel is happy to settle for a few weeks' care under a tender nurse. Convalescing in Sandytown, a quiet seaside resort devoted to healing, Dalziel befriends Charlotte Heywood, a fellow newcomer and psychologist, who is researching the benefits of alternative therapy. With much in common, the two soon find themselves in league when trouble comes to town. Sandytown's principal landowners have grandiose plans for the resort -- none of which they can agree on. One of them has to go, and when one of them does, in spectacularly gruesome fashion, DCI Peter Pascoe is called in to investigate -- with Dalziel and Charlotte providing unwelcome support “Reginald Hill is quite simply one of the best at work today.”—Boston Globe There is no end to the praise mystery writer Reginald Hill has already earned for his British police procedurals featuring Chief Inspector Peter Pascoe and Detective Superintendent “Fat Andy” Dalziel. Having recently bested Harlan Coben, Val McDermid, Michael Connelly, and James Patterson for the Crime Writers Association’s Mystery and Thriller People’s Choice Dagger, the master returns with The Price of Butcher’s Meat—as a recuperating Andy Dalziel (following his close brush with mortality in Death Comes for the Fat Man) gets involved in the murderous politics of a not-so-peaceful seaside community. The Price of Butcher’s Meat is more “great stuff from one of the greats, and a true must for fans of British crime” (Denver Rocky Mountain News). Reginald Hill is quite simply one of the best at work today. Boston Globe There is no end to the praise mystery writer Reginald Hill has already earned for his British police procedurals featuring Chief Inspector Peter Pascoe and Detective Superintendent Fat Andy Dalziel. Having recently bested Harlan Coben, Val McDermid, Michael Connelly, and James Patterson for the Crime Writers Associations Mystery and Thriller Peoples Choice Dagger, the master returns with The Price of Butchers Meat as a recuperating Andy Dalziel (following his close brush with mortality in Death Comes for the Fat Man ) gets involved in the murderous politics of a not-so-peaceful seaside community. The Price of Butchers Meat is more great stuff from one of the greats, and a true must for fans of British crime ( Denver Rocky Mountain News ). Title from PDF title page (viewed on Jan. 7, 2009).