Midnight Fugue: A Dalziel and Pascoe Mystery (Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Reginald Hill (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries | Publication Date: October 6, 2009

It starts with a phone call to Superintendent Dalziel from an old friend asking for help. But where it ends is a very different story.

Gina Wolfe has come to mid Yorkshire in search of her missing husband, believed dead. Her fiancÉ, Commander Mick Purdy of the Met, thinks Dalziel should be able to take care of the job. What none of them realize is how events set in motion decades ago will come to a violent head on this otherwise ordinary summer's day.

A Welsh tabloid journalist senses the story he's been chasing for years may have finally landed in his lap. A Tory MP's secretary suspects her boss's father has an unsavory history that could taint his son's prime ministerial ambitions. The ruthless entrepreneur in question sends two henchmen out to make sure the past stays in the past. And the lethal pair dispatched have some awkward secrets of their own.

Four stories, two mismatched detectives trying to figure it all out, and twenty-four hours in which to do it: Dalziel and Pascoe are about to learn the hard way just how much difference a day makes.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The short time frame of British author Hill's strong 24th Dalziel and Pascoe procedural (after 2008's The Price of Butcher's Meat) maximizes suspense without sacrificing either characterization or humor. Andy Dalziel, an irascible dinosaur of a police officer who's only just returned to the Mid-Yorkshire force after recovering from a serious injury, is tracked down by Gina Wolfe, whose policeman husband, Alex, has been missing for seven years. Alex disappeared while under investigation by internal affairs, who suspected him of leaking information to a major criminal target. Gina was on the verge of having Alex declared legally dead, until she received a recent magazine photo clearly showing Alex or his double. Dalziel's decision to assist Gina unofficially in finding out what became of Alex leads to his placing a colleague in jeopardy. Numerous subplots don't slow the pace, a testament to Hill's skill in putting all the pieces together. (Oct.)
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Review

“The short time frame of British author Hill’s strong 24th Dalziel and Pascoe procedural (after 2008’s The Price of Butcher’s Meat) maximizes suspense without sacrificing either characterization or humor. . . . Numerous subplots don’t slow the pace, a testament to Hill’s skill in putting all the pieces together.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )

“The sleights of hand that Hill manages to pull off are stunning, not to mention the sly, wry style of a rogue with a dry wit and a sharp eye. . . . It’s a tour de force that Hill manages to pull off with ease.” (Providence Journal )

“[Hill] does it again in his new Dalziel and Pascoe book, Midnight Fugue, succeeding in brilliant fashion... His writing is assured and relaxed. His touch is deft, and he even allows Fat Andy to show a caring and sentimental side, something surprising in the great old copper’s senior years.” (Toronto Star )

“This complicated mystery with great characters and a fast pace will attract Hill’s loyal following and fans of British police procedurals. Hill is a very talented wordsmith as well, and his works should appeal to those seeking out well-written, carefully crafted crime novels.” (Library Journal )

A must for series fans (Booklist )

“This seemingly simple case turns into a major puzzler... Hill writes of these tricky matters in a fluid and witty style that eventually lifts the old lion from his torpor and restorse him to roaring health.” (New York Times Book Review )

“Hill’s achievement here should be savoured. . . . It’s a tiny perfect thrill of perfection. This is one of Hill’s best novels, one of the best this year or any year.” (Globe and Mail (Toronto) )

“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, this is another winner from an old master.” (Portsmouth Herald )

“Hill keeps a particularly nasty surprise up his sleeve for last. The accelerated timetable gives Dalziel and Pascoe’s 24th a Rube Goldberg effervescence that contrasts effectively with the pervasive sadness beneath.” (Kirkus Reviews )

One of the best of the Brits, Reginald Hill, adds another winner to his résumé and another chapter to the saga of Dalziel and Pascoe—with Midnight Fugue (San Diego Union-Tribune )

“[The] most amusing and satisfying of all the Dalziel and Pascoe books. . . . A master of the British police procedural.” (Tampa Tribune )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harper (October 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061451967
• ISBN-13: 978-0061451966
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #643,764 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

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock..., October 6, 2009

By 

Tom S. "filmfan3" (New York City) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Midnight Fugue: A Dalziel and Pascoe Mystery (Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The fat man is back, full strength, October 10, 2009

By 

Patto (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Midnight Fugue: A Dalziel and Pascoe Mystery (Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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 Hill does a great job of character development throughout this excellent series.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterfully Crafted, October 21, 2009

By 

Judith A. Brodnicki (Omaha, Nebraska) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Midnight Fugue: A Dalziel and Pascoe Mystery (Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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.