The Long Kill [Mass Market Paperback]

Reginald Hill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1998

'One of Britain's most consistently excellent crime novelists' The Times '[Reginald Hill] keeps one on the edge of one's wits throughout a bitterly enthralling detection thriller' Sunday Times When a hitman starts missing, it's time to retire. And where better than the Lake District where the air is healthy, the scenery spectacular, and there's a handsome young widow who's caught your eye. Everything in this Garden of Eden seems lovely to Jaysmith. But soon he begins to discover, as many another retired man before him, that settling down to the quiet life is not as easy as it seems. His old employers aren't keen to lose him, his past is always lying in wait, and when Anya introduces him to her family, Jaysmith realizes there's no way out. He's back in business, and it makes little difference that this time it's to defend, not destroy. However you wrap it up, his one accessible talent is The Long Kill.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Eminent British author Reginald Hill, writing as Patrick Ruell, tells a feverishly suspenseful story here. A political assassin identified only by the terse surname Jaysmith, is sent to England's Lake District, where he misses his target, Steven Bryant. Since his forte, "the long kill" with the aid of a telescopic lens, is becoming impossible due to his failing eyesight, he phones in his resignation to the man he knows as Jacob in London. Later, the ex-gunman buys a cottage and meets a young widow, Anya Wilson, her small son and her father, whom Jaysmith recognizes as Bryant. The future seems bright for Jaysmith as he and Anya plan marriage, but Jacob suddenly materializes with armed hirelings to dispose of Steven and Anya. Alerted to a conspiracy, Jaysmith braves overwhelming odds in the shoot-out that caps the novel's shocking disclosure. This taut thriller is a tour de force enhanced by the author's evocations of the English countryside's natural splendor.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'Reginald Hill writes brilliantly throughout, creating memorable characters with chiselled skill' Sunday Times 'Hill is among the most entertaining and invigorating detective novelists writing at present' TLS

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins (1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006510221
• ISBN-13: 978-0006510222
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #454,277 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 consumate story-teller, May 19, 2000

By 

Helen - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Long Kill (Mass Market Paperback)

It is not easy to admit that, after not very long at all, I felt quite sympathetic towards the main character in this book - who is, after all, a hired gun.

This book shows that the author is capable of not only sustaining an excellent series with Dalziel, Pascoe and crew, but is worthy of the highest praise generally.

Try finding and reading not only this but other books this author has written outside the Dalziel/Pascoe series. It would be well worth your trouble.

4.0 out of 5 stars Killer angel, August 22, 2011

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: The Long Kill (Mass Market Paperback)

Here's a good republishing project for Felony and Mayhem Publishers--a fine, 1988 crime thriller from Reginald Hill (writing as Patrick Ruell). Well before the beginning of the great Pascoe and Dalziel series, Hill was producing highly original stories with full-blown characters and real bite to the plots. "The Long Kill" is one of those books. A rather tough-minded tale with unlikely and difficult characters. The protagonist is a professional assassin considering retirement in the English Lake Country after falling for a local lass. The lass herself is one of a number of rather grumpy and complicated folks living with unhappy past decisions and experiences. A malevolent force--actually the protagonist's sometime employer--hovers over the scene as the plot slowly reveals a series of interconnections that will end in a very explosive and unconventional way.

"The Long Kill" is a highly satisfying read because of its unpredictable path and surprising ending. A bit difficult maybe because of the irascibility of its characters and the impossible ambition of its hero, but it's some of Reginald Hill's best early writing. I hope that it gets a second publshed life soon.

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Gem, May 6, 2009

By 

MMM (Brooklyn, New York United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Long Kill (Mass Market Paperback)

I too was smitten after very few pages by the book's main character, an assassin no less! Reginald Hill always makes his characters come alive and nearly jump off the pages. This is a wonderful read!