Good Morning, MidnightReginald Hill
Gebundene Ausgabe
What a pleasure it is to be in the hands of a trusted writer. And < I> Good Morning, Midnight is a reminder of just how good this British crime writer is. Reginald Hill's reputation has been steadily consolidated with some of the most accomplished crime writing in the U K, and his Dalziel and Pascoe novels enjoy a consistency of achievement rare in the genre, with only the occasional misstep. Of course, it's hard these days not to visualise T V actors when we begin a D and P novel, but those adaptations soon seem a world away, so much more sophisticated and atmospheric are the novels. Here, Hill gives us his very individual gloss on a standard crime plot, one that most serious practitioners feel obliged to tackle at least once: the locked room mystery ( P D James recently had a crack at the same narrative device). Pal Maciver has committed suicide in a manner similar to that of his father several years ago: the death happening in the classic locked room. Pal's stepmother Kay doesn't enjoy all the negative attention she gets after the death, and although the dependable D S Dalziel is on her side, his help is restricted by a surprising influence-nothing less than as Dalziel's partner, the intractable D C I Pascoe, who regards Kay with suspicion, despite Dalziel's sympathy and support. When a key witness, seductive provider of sexual services Madame Dolores, vanishes, things become very complicated for both detectives-particularly as Pal Maciver's death appears to have many international complications. Will the squabbling Dalziel and Pascoe be able to come to a compromise before further deaths occur? It goes without saying that readers are in for a very enjoyable time in the company of the disputatious coppers; amazingly, Hill is able to ring fresh changes on what might have been supposed to be over-familiar material. The plotting is as mystifying as ever-just what we read D and P for, right? -< I> Barry Forshaw
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