A Killing Kindness (Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Reginald Hill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1981 | Series: Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries

When a girl is found choked in a ditch following a night out with her boyfriend, a mysterious caller phones the local paper with a quotation from "Hamlet". If Detective-Superintendent Dalziel is unimpressed by the literary phone calls, he is furious when Sergeant Wield calls in a clairvoyant.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'One of Britain's most consistently excellent crime novelists' The Times 'These novels last, like a grand malt whisky -- rounded, rich, intoxicating! Here is an author at his formidable best' Frances Hegarty, Mail on Sunday 'So far out in front that he need not bother looking over his shoulder' Sunday Telegraph --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

'Reginald Hill stands head and shoulders above any other writer of homebread crime fiction' - Tom Hiney, Observer

'Hill is an instictive and complete novelist who is blessed with a spontaneous storytelling gift' - Francis Fyfield, Mail on Sunday

'So far out in front that he need not bother looking over his shoulder' - MIKE RIPLEY, Sunday Telegraph --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 269 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon Books (March 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394519108
• ISBN-13: 978-0394519104
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #804,246 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

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A little taste of murder and Hamlet!, October 26, 2006

By 

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

This review is from: A Killing Kindness (Crime Classic) (Paperback)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Dalziel and Pascoe, April 6, 2010

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: A Killing Kindness: #6 Dalziel & Pascoe (Pascoe & Dalziel) (Paperback)

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.

4.0 out of 5 stars What do you think, Peter?, April 26, 2006

By 

Linda Pagliuco "katknit" (CT, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Killing Kindness (Dalziel & Pascoe Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.