Customer Reviews

The Only Game

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The Only Game by Reginald Hill. Harpers-Collins Publishers 1997. First published in Great Britain by Harper-Collins Publishers 1991 under the authors pseudonym Patrick Buell

Inspector Dog Cicero begins to investigate a missing child, whose disappearance looks suspiciously like a case of child abuse or even murder. The flaming red hair of the child's beautiful mother, Mrs. Jane Maguire, and her Irish lilt bring back painful memories of a time 10 years previously in Ireland with Special Services. His face was half blown off and the woman he loved was killed in a car bomb explosion set by the IRA. Jane reminds Dog of his lost lover and he cannot decide if his unwillingness to believe Jane guilty of the murder of her child is because of her resemblance to his former lover or to the paucity of facts supporting her guilt.

In his investigation Dog keeps stumbling over Superintendent Toby Tench of Special Branch and begins to wonder if there is more to Jane than meets the eye. The meanness and jealousy of Toby Tench, a schoolmate and bully from Dog's younger days have not improved and Dog must be not only circumspect but guarded to keep his disfigured body in one piece.

As the complex and riveting story plunges ahead with swiftness and clarity, Dog discovers not only what happened in Ireland 10 years previously but the story behind the mysterious Jane and her dead husband. Consummate gambler Uncle Endo, Dog's spiritual guide and teacher, has an aphorism (or are they really Dog's?) for every occasion and as the story races to it's surprising conclusion Dog places his life and happiness on the line.

This wonderfully written book has enough twists and turns to keep everyone guessing until the very end and enough gut wrenching scenes to keep the pages turning. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it to all mystery fans.

I find myself surprised that i like this book. I don't often like books where the author strays away from their normal characters into something completely different...but this book is really good. i would say it is equally as good as many of the dalziel and pascoe books.

Reginald Hill really does have a great way of building up characters until they just jump off the page at you. he also is able to create really engaging and intriguing plots, which are always original. this is one qualifies yet again. it's a really well-paced book, and you get the impression that Hill is in complete control as he leads you by the nose to an excellent conclusion. and there are one or two really great twists right near the end that i just did not see coming.

"The Only Game" is an amazing thriller from the early '90s when Britain was still struggling with the IRA and international support for the latter flowed from many sources, including the U.S. Author Hill's protagonist in this intricate tale is a local Essex detective inspector by the unlikely name of Dog Cicero (an explanation is provided). Investigating what appears to be the straight forward kidnapping of a five-year old boy, Cicero is quickly involved in a complicated and sprawling case that is linked to murder, international terrorism, police corruption and a host of assorted other felonies. While the story line/plot may not be Reginald Hill at his very finest, the characters that he peoples this novel with are terrific. There are few reader buttons left unpushed as the story moves forward bringing the principal characters into an initial finale worthy of any first-rate thriller; only to be followed by a second ending that is typical of Hill's unfailing cleverness and frequent habit of teasing out his closings to prolong the pleasure of the reader. And protagonist Dog Cicero is a man to remember--one of the more admirable coppers in the genre.

Many people are familiar with the incomparable Pascoe and Dalziel series which has had a hugely successful and well-deserved run of some 25 years or more, but "The Only Game" and a dozen or so of Hill's non-P&D books deserve attention and admiration as well. These titles are not all that easy to find sometimes as they are mostly out of print (except for those under the Felony & Mayhem imprint), but they are often available through Amazon as used books. They--and certainly this title in question--are well worth looking for. Find "The Only Game" and buy it. It's a wonderful read.