Customer Reviews

Recalled to Life (A Dalziel/Pascoe Mystery)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Reginald Hill's books on Dalziel/Pascoe make me laugh. One of the best things that can be said about any author is that they make you laugh! If they can do it while spinning a pretty good plot in the mystery genre, they have my admiration. Hill's cop-duet are an odd couple. I know the prevalence of 'odd couples' in mysteries has been done and overdone, but Hill brings a breath of fresh air to the genre with these two. I know I couldn't possibly stand either Dalziel or Pascoe alone through a whole book, hence they play off of one another to keep the reader interested and the plot interesting.

Now granted, every once in a while Hill feels he has to authenticate his cops with language I would prefer not to read. But...having been around some military and a few cops, I would not be surprised if they do talk like this except around women and children. Hill's books have enough good writing to make up for the occasional lapse into raunchy language.

This book combines not just a murder mystery but also incorporates a bit of the spy genre in here, as it involves both American CIA and British royalty in the murder. The plot becomes convoluted throughout the book since the people originally in the house at the time of the 'accidental' shooting not only do not stay in Britain, but they don't even stay married to the same people. It's a bit of a strain at times keeping people separated, but worth it.

I got a huge kick out of Dalziel's visit to America, and much of the language. I always have wished I had the knack of someone like Dalziel, who is an older British curmudgeon, to administer dry, humorous put-downs...I am not sure if someone like him would make it in the 'real world' without more diplomatic abilities than he seems willing to be bothered with...so he really does need Pascoe to smooth things over and 'cover his rear'.

A totally enjoyable reading...

Karen Sadler

University of Pittsburgh

For some reason 1963 is a landmark year in British culture. Kim Philby defected. The Profumo affair (prostitutes and politicians - a potent mix) broke. And, as Philip Larkin had it "Sexual intercourse began in nineteen sixty three between the end of the Chatterley ban and the Beatles first LP". The era is revisited in a number of novels, including John LAwton's A Little White Death. Recalled to Life is Reginald Hill's take on the era.

Hill is one of the finest contemporary genre writers. His Dalziel and Pascoe series is a long running police procedural series that rarely flags, due not only to the stength of the central characters (well drawn, and believably human, they are the bull like Superintendent Andy Dalziel, and sensitive graduate Inspector Peter Pascoe), but also the variety and deft characterisation of the peripheral characters (be they regulars like Sergeant Edgar Wield (a gay police officer), or Pascoe's wife Ellie a former sociology lecturer). Sometimes, though, all does not work as it should. In my view this is one such novel.

The novel begins with the release of Cissy Kohler from prison. She had been convicted of a country house murder in 1963, where in attendance were a prominent politician, an industrialist, a distant royal relative, and an American "diplomat" (together with assorted spouses, nannies and children). Dalziel was involved in the original investigation, and becomes involved in reassessing the investigation. His investigations take him to the United States, where his Yorkshire based brand of zero tolerance sees him featured on the front of a newspaper as "Crocodile Dalziel". The story comes together with involvement of the media, the secret service (from the UK and the USA), police corruption investigation, high politics, low deceit. Hill handles the plot in an exemplary fashion, drawing together the strands, and running a number of storylines/strands of investigation simultaneously. So far, so police procedural.

As ever the peripheral characters are delightfully drawn, from the ageing Scottish nanny, Miss Marsh, to the money grabbing former prison officer, encountered by Peter Pascoe, to Lord Partridge, a former cabinet minister, forced to resign in the aftermath of the Profumo affair.

So why the moderate ranking? If 3.5 stars were available I would have awarded that. But, there seems to be something missing in this book. The Dalziel and Pascoe series works at its best on home ground, drawing strength from the Yorkshire geography and culture (witness On Beulah Height and Bones and Silence). However, here by removing Dalziel from home base we are left with a number of forced situations of an Englishman abroad. There is also an unlikely love (lust?) interest that stretches the bounds of credibility.

This is a very enjoyable mystery novel. It has the usual Hill virtues (plotting, characterisation, and a twisted sense of humour), and manages to say a lot about English society. However, for me, the spark is missing.

If you enjoyed this novel try the Lawton book or either of the the Dalziel and Pascoe books mentioned earlier.

This is the first book I've read in the Dalziel & Pascoe series. I'm not all that impressed. The mystery was ok but dragged out to a silly degree - that may be because the murder took place 30 years before. Whether one enjoys this book depends on whether you find the character of Andy Dalziel a humorous force of nature with the deducting powers of Sherlock Holmes or an oaf. I'm in the oaf camp. All the references to Andy as "the fat man" left me wondering where Jake was hiding.

Listening to this on audiobook probably didn't help as the narrator, Brian Glover, should be legally barred from doing American accents. He shouldn't be allowed to do British accents either (only two speeds there - Yorkshire and Winston Churchill) but his American accents were appalling. Every single American character, and there were many, no matter what age, sex or social class sounded like Archie Bunker. Ok, not all of them. The train conductor sounded like a Steppinfetchit and the southern belle sounded like Aunt Jemima.

A good read but keep a dictionary handy. I've never seen ectopic, boscage, and tesselated in one sentence before.

You may want to jot down the names and relationships of the major characters of this well-done book, because they keep popping up throughout the novel and you have to keep asking "Now, who is this, again??" But that's the only sour note (and not a very sour one at that) in this clever and enjoyable book. Dalziel and Pascoe complement each other as they try to solve the mystery of an old death that may have been a suicide or may have been a murder. The two detectives verbally duel with often-hilarious witticisms and mild put-downs --testament to Hill's amazing facility with the English language. This is a fine English mystery and the first from the pen of Hill that I've read. It won't be the last.

"Recalled to Life" is one of the best and most challenging books of the Dalziel and Pascoe series and ultimately, one of the most enjoyable for the reader. The story revolves around the release from prison of a nanny involved in a 1960s sex/murder case involving A-list personalities in a manor house setting. The newly freed (and exonerated) woman creates a serious disturbance in the social and political equilibria which eventually leads to the entrance of the indomitable duo of Dalziel and Pascoe onto the scene.

The story that follows is one of author Reginald Hill's most creative labyrinths yet. Another great strength of this Dalziel and Pascoe novel is its ongoing humor, which goes into high gear when Dalziel follows the crime trail to America and collides with American English and Southern cooking.

Reginald Hill has no peer in mystery writing and his novels' characters are almost always flawlessly drawn and presented. He rarely insults or disappoints his readers, and with "Recalled to Life," he has only reinforced his reputation as one of the finest living authors of any genre practicing his trade today.

I'm rereading Reginald Hill and devouring Robert Goddard (whom I hadn't encountered before). I love these books. Hill's have a more romantic, 1950s flavor, but their detectives are timeless and extremely funny. Goddard's are more British-ly understated, with more lone not-meant-to-be-detective heroes swept into an investigation. Both are completely entertaining, and Amazon's service, as usual, was great. ~ Anne, DC

I think it's safe for me to say that this is my favourite Dalziel and Pascoe mystery since I began this series. That is saying a lot since I really have enjoyed each and every book up to this one. This one is a winner for me because of a number of reasons. The first is the humour that Hill displays throughout the book. It is actually "laugh-out-loud" funny. Some of the Dalzielisms are absolutely priceless. Secondly is Dalziel's trip to the States. This also crosses over to the humourous since Dalziel is really like a fish out of water in busy New York City. Thirdly, but certainly not the last reason, is that this is a really good story with lots of intrigue, mystery and a wonderfully tight plot. Dazliel has enlisted Pascoe's aid in attempting to prove beyond a doubt that Dalziel's old mentor was right with the way that he solved a case in 1963. So it is a Cold Case book, but it's different too since Dalziel and Pascoe are operating independently in trying to prove that the right person was hanged for a murder. And they have to do this while under the noses of what Dalziel calls the "silly buggers" or the spooks of the world who are so busy trying to protect ancient information that they will stop at almost nothing. As much as I loved this book, I wouldn't recommend reading it unless you've read at least some of the books written before this one since it would be difficult to follow and wouldn't put readers into the picture as the "world according to Andy" that is so wonderfully portayed in this book.

I love Reginald Hill's work and I think this is the best of the Dalziel-Pascoe series. The story centers around a woman convicted of the murder of her employer many years before, a murder for which her "accomplice" hung. The levels of mystery and the relationship of Dalziel to the murder kept me very interested, and Hill's humor comes through the sad and sordid plots and subplots.

I like British murder mysteries, and this book, and others by Reginald Hill are right at the top of my personal list of favorites, just after anything written by Dorothy Sayers.