A Killing Kindness

The thing with Reginald Hill is that almost all of his books are intelligent, engaging and full of well-developed characters. So the spectrum of writing is good to incredibly good. This early D & G entry, "A Killing Kindness" is closer to the good end than to the great. Author Hill puts a heavy focus on the procedural side of detective work as the dynamic duo plus the estimable Sergeant Wield track a serial killer with a penchant for explaining himself/herself with quotes from Shakespeare. Additional color is added with a look at English gypsies who inhabit the story start to finish. For regular fans of Dalziel and Pascoe, who haven't gotten to this novel yet, this is number five in the series, chronicling a well-developed relationship between the two cops and including a pregnant Ellie Pascoe and a still-in-the-closet and lovelorn Sergeant Wield. It's a good read with plenty of indications of the great things that are to follow in this series.

Had previously read this book and forgotten. Not the greatest of the Dalziel and pascoe books but very readable.

Reginald Hill is an author to be reckonned with in the British procedural genre, and his long-running Dalziel and Pascoe series is a winner. Any of the many books is a fine example of intelligent writing. This book is not a disappointment. It is a book where Pascoe figures a bit more prominently than Dalziel, but we do have Andy there in key spots. It gives us lots of examples of his blustery non-sequitors. Dalziel and his crew are trying to unmask the Yorkshire choker who has a taste for the Elizabethan bard (in particular the play "Hamlet"). We also have a clan of gypsies to help make things interesting. This is intelligent writing that keeps you guessing until the end. Hill has an uncanny ability to set his novels so realistically, and his very human characters help to reel us in. Don't pass up this series.

As a fan of the PBS series about Dalziel and Pascoe, I thoroughly enjoyed the narration of Colin Buchanan, who plays Pascoe, in this audio version of the novel. Actually, this one should be entitled Pascoe and Dalziel, as Peter plays the major role in this investigation of a series of stranglings. Witty, humane, and entertaining, Reginald Hill does his usual admirable job tackling such issues as racism and prejudice. Gypsies, divorce, and adolescent mistakes all figure prominently in this mystery. Buchanan's dialects and voices make differentiating among characters easy for the listener. Very enjoyable.

To teh readers familiar with the Pascoe/DAnziel series, A Killing Kindness will not be a surprise--it is as good as most of the other novels in the series. Pascoe and Danziel are trying to catch a serial killer, who stnragnels young girls. Only there are a couple of exceptions. The plot is good and believable. The conclusion, although not very surprising, is satisfying.As usual, Hill's strength is in giving the secondary characters opportunities to develop throughout the series. THey are not just props for the two detectives to excahnge clever lines, and this is what makes the book more than a simple mystery.