Asking for the Moon (Dalziel and Pascoe) [Paperback]

Reginald Hill (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dalziel and Pascoe | Publication Date: April 5, 2004

'Hill is an instinctive and complete novelist who is blessed with a spontaneous storytelling gift' Frances Fyfield, Mail on Sunday If you've already met Dalziel and Pascoe, you're in for a treat. If you haven't yet had the pleasure, you're in for a revelation! Here in four stories we track their partnership from curtain-up to last act; from the mean streets of Mid-Yorkshire to the mountains of the moon. The Last National Service Man reveals the truth, hitherto buried in police files, of their momentous first encounter, while Pascoe's Ghost is a chilling tale taking us deep into Poe country. Dalziel's Ghost, meanwhile, finds the man who normally wouldn't be seen dead in a graveyard expressing a surprising interest in the 'other side'. And finally, One Small Step takes a giant leap forward to 2010 and the first murder on the moon.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Few writers in the genre today have Hill's gifts: formidable intelligence, quick humour, compassion and a prose style that blends elegance and grace' Donna Leon, Sunday Times 'The fertility of Hill's imagination, the range of his power, the sheer quality of his literary style never cease to delight' Val McDermid, Sunday Express 'He is probably the best living male crime writer in the English-speaking world' Andrew Taylor, Independent 'Reginald Hill's novels are really dances to the music of time, his heroes and villains interconnecting, their stories entwining' Ian Rankin, Scotland on Sunday

From the Publisher

"Reginald Hill has raised the classical British mystery to new heights."
--The New York Times Book Review

"A lot of people write classic detective stories, but Reginald Hill is one of the elite few who write classy classics."
--The Baltimore Sun

"The real joy of the Dalziel-Pascoe books is the writing and the characterizations. Mr. Hill has such disparate writers as Trollope, Beerbohm, Sayers and Shaw in his blood."
--The New York Times

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins Publishers; First Edition edition (April 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006479340
• ISBN-13: 978-0006479345
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,502,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Reginald Hill has been widely published both in England and the United States. He received Britain's most coveted mystery writers award, the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, as well as the Golden Dagger for his Dalziel/Pascoe series. He lives with his wife in Cumbria, England.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not your usual short stories!, February 23, 2007

By 

S. Schwartz "romonko" (alberta canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Asking for the Moon (Dalziel and Pascoe) (Paperback)

I did not realize that this book was a collection of short stories when I first picked it up. But this is not your usual collection of short stories. These four stories are wonderful snapshots of the Dalziel and Pascoe partnership through their years working together. Dalziel is still at his sharpest here, even in the fanciful story "One Small Step" where Pascoe brings him out of retirement to solve the first murder on the moon. Yes, that's right, I said moon. As I said these stories are totally unique, and each one is a wonderful mystery in its own right. Now I will get back to reding the series, but I am glad that I took this little side trip to delve into Dalziel and Pascoe's world.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Short story collection of a funny couple of cops!, March 8, 2002

By 

K. L Sadler "Dr. Karen L. Sadler" (Freedom, Pa. USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Asking for the Moon (Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ok, first off...no where on the front of the book did it indicate that these were short stories, rather than a full mystery. That is my major complaint. I grabbed the book thinking that since it was Reginald Hill, it was a full mystery. After I read the first story, then I read the back! If the reader prefers a full mystery, then don't get this book!!!

Other than that, and the fact that short stories do not have the time to well develop a mystery plot (my own opinion), I enjoyed Hill's writing. He may not have the plot time in here, but he does develop the characters. Pascoe and Dalziel are a hilarious couple in many ways. Dalziel is an old British curmudgeon, who never ceases to surprise the reader and Pascoe.

The first three stories were pretty good, the last with a mystery based on the moon wasn't as well done. Part of it is trying to write what we expect the future to be like, and that is hard to do. If you base your expectations on science fiction writers like Wells, Verne, Orwell, etc. we are already behind on some things and ahead on others (establishment of space travel versus communications and information retrieval). I am not crazy about mixing the two genres (mystery and science fiction).

But Hill is a good writer. For those who run out of other stuff to read, this book is good enough for a glance...
Karen Sadler

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From whimsical to over the top, February 14, 2009

By 

Blue in Washington "Barry Ballow" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Asking for the Moon (Dalziel and Pascoe) (Paperback)

I'm a huge fan of Reginald Hill's Pascoe and Dalziel stories, but this collection of P&D short stories left me kind of scratching my head about what the author had got up to. There are two stories--in this collection of four--that are classic Pascoe and Dalziel. In "Pascoe's Ghost" you get a zig-zag murder mystery with an homage by author Hill to Edgar Allan Poe. "Dalziel's Ghost" is a net full of red herrings that showcases the big man's mental agility and deviousness and his fondness for playing with partner Pascoe's mind.

The book's first story, "The Last National Service Man," is a comic masterpiece, and chronolgically, is early in the P&D partnership.

"One Small Step," the collection's closing story, projects the pair into the distant future. Pascoe has become a major police authority in the European Federal Police and Dalziel is working as a retired consultant. The big surprise here is that they are called to a crime scene on the surface of the moon. Picture the rhino-sized Dalziel in a space suit! There is some over-the-top humor laced into this story--Dalziel brings new meaning to the "mile-high club." But on the whole, I thought the story had a little too much fantasy and zig-zag to be credible.

There's a lot of fun in this collection and it serves as a good intro to Pascoe and Dalziel for those who haven't given them an earlier try.