Dialogues on the Dead

Rating:
Summary: Word mavens rejoice
Review: A new Dalziel and Pascoe novel is always a cause for celebration but "Dialogues of the Dead" is a special treat for puzzle and word-game lovers. Hill's books are celebrated for sly and clever wordplay but this novel takes it further, making a word-puzzle central to the plot.

Two accidental deaths are proved murder by "Dialogues" submitted to a local Yorkshire literary contest. The pieces contain clues, but the local police, including fat, crude, razor-sharp Supt. Andy Dalziel, and the refined and dependable Inspector Peter Pascoe, as well as several academic consultants, are baffled. Meanwhile young constable "Hat" Bowler begins to romance the attractive librarian Rye Pomona while finding numerous suspects among the sniping literati, except for one problem - they keep getting murdered.

Word mavens might follow clues to the solution, but Hill leaves the key hidden until the end. Intricately constructed, with well-drawn characters and diabolical murder scenes, this novel will dazzle puzzle fans. Those less in the know, like myself, may feel many of the sophisticated clues flying right over their heads.

Rating:
Summary: A review of the entire series
Review: Dialogues of the Dead was the first book I read from Hill's in the Dalzeel/Pascoe (D/P)series. I loved it and was hooked. A clever mystery with unexpected twists, the novel looks into the investogation of a serial killer byu the Yorkshire police department. The main character here is a younger officer, nicknamed Hat, with the unforgetable D/P couple serving as secondary characters.

In this respect the book is not very representative of the other novels in the series, which dwell to a large extent to Danzeel and Pascoe. What makes the series unique and likable is that gradually, novel after novel, Hill is building up an entire world surrounding the two policemen. In different novels, we get to know their families, friends and enemies and once developed neither of these characters looses his/her depth or complexity.

The ending of Dialogues of the Dead leaves the door open for another Hat story. But then again, Hill had a similar approach in his novel Deadheads , and never resolved the situation in another mystery (to the best of my knowledge--I have not read all of the novels).

Too bad that some of the D/P mysteries are already out of print!

Rating:
Summary: 5 stars just isnt enough
Review: I have long been a fan of Reginald Hill, prefering his Dalziel and Pascoe to most other things he writes. And with this book, he has truly surpassed himself.

This is the best book i have read in 2001. (it was published in march 2001 here) and i enjoyed it more than i think i have ever enjoyed anything. Hill's plotting is superb, and his characters equally sublime.

This is truly a word puzzle, he lays out the clues for you along the way, but in such a way that you dont realize youre being fed clues (and in some cases red herrings) When you get to the end, it all makes some kind of glorious sense, and you wonder how stupid you were for missing all the little hints.

This IS his best d&p. and perosnally, it is probably my favourite book ever. (i speak nay in jest). the characters in this book are superb, especially Hat Bowler and Rye Pomona. They are rather simple, (alright, only Hat is, Rye is as deep as the maraianas trench) but his simplicity is compelling. He holds some kind of innocence, a son-like quality, which just makes you care for him and want it all to work out well for the poor lad.

It was a great book, until the end. Upon which it became a SUPERB book! Hill really outdoes himself with the end (and i really really hope they didnt change it one iota in the american version, as they sometimes tend to do, because it really was a great ending). For pages he's tricking you, then suddenly you see it all. You're in shock, then he explains it, making you feel like an idiot for not spotting it sooner.

Really, you should read some of the previous d & p books, as there are some vague references to them. You can probably get by without having read them, but if you read An Advancement of Learning, it will certainly help you.

As ever, Dalziel brings forth many a chuckle. But in this book he seems to take a back seat, becomeing much more the overseer of events, taking on a somewhat god-like quality. He isnt always right there, but his prescence and influence can almost always be felt.

This is, in short, nothing less than a superb book. If you miss it, you are definitely missing out, on a great reading experience.

You dont even have to like word puzzles. Whatever sort of book you like, this is one not to miss. Under any circumstances.

and just revel in the ending

Rating:
Summary: Clever, clever, clever
Review: Reginald Hill is spoiling me. His Dalziel and Pascoe books have become the most consistently original mystery series being written today. In each book, he not only plays with the conventions of the detective novel, but experiments with the very nature of storytelling itself.
There are only a few times in my life that immediately upon finishing a book, I've turned to the beginning and immediately reread it, but this book definitely warranted it. The puzzles within puzzles within puzzles were brilliant.
The book begins with a librarian and his assistant reading the entries for a local writing contest. One anonymous writer's submissions claim that two recent accidental deaths were actually murders. The police are skeptical, but some a third death occurs which is undoubtably murder, and Dalziel and Pascoe know they have a serial killer at work, a killer whose obsession with word games prompts his readers to call him the Wordman.
This is more than a simple mystery novel, but a wonderful exploration of words and meaning and storytelling. Even as the characters point out how words can twist and mislead, Hill twists and misleads us in those exact ways, even until the harrowing climax, and the wrenching unexpected twist that follows, and the brilliant last line that caps everything that has gone before. Hill is a master of words, and there is not one placed wrongly in this entire elaborate puzzle of a novel.

Rating:
Summary: Another great offering from Reginald Hill
Review: This is a really ingenious little book that could drive you completely mad with its literary utterances if you didn't have the fabulous Dalziel and Pascoe to break things up a bit. I can't help but secretly suspect that Reginald Hill has been holding himself in check all these years and finally couldn't help but explode in words, word games, and "dialogues" so that we might appreciate what a fabulously literary sort he is. And he clearly is. For the truly literate amongst us, this book alone will do, but I needed a thesaurus and a really good encyclopedic dictionary to get through this. And yet, this is not a complaint! It was a good read, a fabulous twisty ending, and I learned a whole big bunch from this read ("whole big bunch" is almost certainly NOT in Hill's vocabulary!). For the true Dalziel and Pascoe afficionado, I recommend going back nearly 30 years and starting their series from the beginning. Hill's writing grows with the series and the characters, but they are fun from beginning...

Rating:
Summary: Need not be too literary to appreciate
Review: While there is a definite "second level" on which this book can be appreicated by those with an abiding fascination with the Endligh language, this is at its heart a good -- make that great -- mystery novel. Don't let its "wordiness" scare you off. I read it on the train, where I could not pause to look up every word I didn't know. Even without understanding all of the keen tricks of language that Hill employs, this is a very enjoyable mystery novel. The pacing is fast, the dialogue is a notch above most crime fiction, and the twists and turns of the plot are enjoyable. I give this book "only" 4 stars because there are several components of the "twist" ending that he spills too late. To me, a great mystery lays out ALL of the clues before the end so that you can smack yourself in the forehead for not seeing them sooner. Hill holds back too many of these, taking some of the fun out of the ending. Nonetheless, the book is quite good and coherent. It's just not quite perfect. This was my first Hill novel. I will read many more.