Midnight Fugue

Wit and wisdom collide in the outsize person of Supt. Andy Dalziel, long time head of the Yorkshire constabulary and newly back at work after the bombing that nearly killed him in "Death Comes for the Fat Man." Dalziel is a bit unsure of himself - well, he did lose a whole day, almost showing up for work on Sunday for a Monday meeting - so a favor for London colleague Mick Purdy comes welcome on the regained Sunday. Purdy's fiancée, Gina Wolfe, already has a husband. An ex-cop, Alan Wolfe has been missing seven years. He disappeared after the death of their daughter and in the midst of a corruption investigation. Gina was about to have him declared dead when she received a Yorkshire newspaper clipping showing his picture. Meanwhile there's a menacing brother-and-sister team following Gina at the behest of a London crime-boss-gone-straight. He has the highest political ambitions for his playboy son and wants to ensure that inconvenient people out of his past, like Alan Wolfe, are silenced. Then there's the son's strict, mousy, practical, straight-arrow assistant who does her best to keep her charge politic. Hill juggles multiple intertwined subplots and characters, inflicting plenty of murder and mayhem on the populace before Dalziel wraps it all up in one 24-hour day. As clever and twisty as ever, if a little more padded than usual, this is another winner from an old master.

Yorkshire police Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel has healed from the injuries he received when a perp tried to kill him. However, even as he is returning to work after a stint at the Avalon Clinic, one thing remains the same: he is still a grump. However, even he is stunned when Gina Wolfe visits him with a personal request, as people avoid grouches not ask for a favor. Seven years ago her spouse Alex, a police officer was under an Internal Affairs investigation when he vanished; he was never found. Now as she is about to have him legally declared dead, she received a photo of Alex from a magazine looking very much alive. She asks Dalziel to investigate unofficially, which he does. The latest Dalziel and Pascoe police procedural is an incredible accomplishment by Reginald Hill as there are numerous subplots, strong characterizations and a fast-paced at times humorous story line, which is typical of the series, but all this occurs in 24 hours. Just another day for Dalziel and Pascoe but great frenzy fun for fans as Midnight Fugue will be on the short lists for sub-genre book of the year. Harriet Klausner

Like a Bach fugue, this latest novel in the Dalziel & Pascoe series is a masterful weaving of story lines into a compact and thrilling whole. Once the major themes are stated -- the Fat Man's return to work, Gina Wolfe's search for her lost husband, Fleur Delay established as the hit (wo)man with matchless cunning -- the development brings forth sub-plots culled from the principles that interweave and build to the denouement. On the surface, this story is all about trying to find Gina Wolfe's husband who went missing 7 years earlier. Gina needs to find him because if he's still alive then she can't have him declared legally dead, something that needs to happen before she can go on to marry her former husband's friend. Fleur Delay needs to find the errant Mr. Wolfe because he's a threat to "The Man." Various tabloid journalists (of less-than-stellar ethics) are trying to find Mr. Wolfe because of his connection to The Man's son who is up and coming in his political party. Dalziel is trying to find Mr. Wolfe because helping out is a favor to Gina's fiance. Pascoe is trying to solve a murder of a journalist connected with all of this and he has to view Dalziel as aiding a possible suspect (i.e., Gina Wolfe). Below the surface, Dalziel is also trying to re-establish himself in his police precinct as the great bull he once was. Pascoe is unsure whether Dalziel should be back to work so soon. Wield is certain that Dalziel will make it back to his leading position with some time. Hill retools some of his best story-telling devices for Midnight Fugue. Besides at least one instance of Andy Dalziel using his favorite word ("jacksie" -- it just wouldn't be Dalziel if he didn't say that), we have interstitial narration (used effectively and with slight variations in previous novels "On Beulah Height" and "Arms and the Women"). We also have the eerie -- and in this case quite satisfying -- surprise identity revealed at the end (again, used effectively and somewhat differently in "Deadheads," "Dialogue of the Dead," and "Death Comes for the Fat Man"). What I loved most about this novel is that, after reading the coda (or, postlude), you could re-read the entire story as leading to this as the ending instead of merely to concluding Gina Wolfe's search. Overall, it's a much shorter book than Hill has published recently for this series, but the story is so masterfully crafted that it won't matter. This delightfully compact fugue is as satisfying as a three-act grand opera.

In an earlier book Superintendent Dalziel was all but sent to Kingdom Come by a terrorist bomb. However Reginald Hill was too thoughtful of his fans to kill Fat Andy dead. In this book the gargantuan superintendent is cutting short his convalescent leave to get back to work. It's way too early, in the opinion of his staff and associates. And in truth, Fat Andy doesn't always know what day it is. But that doesn't stop him from being as bullheaded, foul-mouthed, irresponsible and insightful as ever in pursuit of crime. It all begins with a good deed on Andy's part. He agrees to help a lovely young woman find her husband, a cop who disappeared seven years ago - or get sufficient evidence of the man's non-existence to declare him officially dead. Andy's investigation unleashes all sorts of mayhem. Good and bad people get bashed, shot and otherwise eliminated. A powerful rich man with a questionable past faces a serious threat to his future. Fat Andy learns to love Bach. And all this takes place in 24 hours. There are lots of treats in store for the reader, including two terrific brother-sister gangsters and plenty of comic dialog between Andy and those who would best him. It's always a pleasure to sit down with the quirky cops at Mid-Yorkshire CID and get caught up in their latest adventures. Reginald does a great job of character development throughout this excellent series.

Gina Wolfe has come to Yorkshire--the domain of the wonderful Superintendent Andy Dalziel--in search of her long-missing husband. He's presumed dead, but she's just seen a photo of him in a recent publication. Her fiance, Police Cmdr. Mick Purdy, calls his old friend Dalziel and asks him to keep an eye on her. The case involves several other people: a charming but ruthless crime czar, an amoral Tory Member of Parliament and his ambitious "Lady Macbeth" secretary, a sleay journalist looking for a sensational story, and the crime lord's bizarre (and deadly) assistants--a truly creepy brother/sister act. Dalziel promised to protect Gina Wolfe, and Peter Pascoe, his former subordinate (now his equal), gets involved as well. But that simple act of kindness produces a lethal chain reaction of consequences.... Reginald Hill is one of my favorite British mystery writers. He's always coming up with interesting new ways to tell his Dalziel/Pascoe stories. In this one, he adopts a beat-the-clock style: the entire plot unfolds in a mere 24 hours, with constant hour/minute reminders at the top of every chapter. This is--literally--a race against time. Also, the strained relationship between the two detectives (and Peter's wonderful wife, Ellie) is constantly changing, and here the change is pretty dramatic. If you're a fan, I don't have to tell you to read this excellent new entry in the series. If you're new to Dalziel/Pascoe, I suggest reading the series in order, starting with A Clubbable Woman (Felony & Mayhem Mysteries). This is one of the best British crime series, and the rude, fat, cantankerous, irrepressibly nosy Andy Dalziel is one of the most lovable detectives around--Columbo with a British accent. Highly recommended.