Customer Reviews

Singing the Sadness: A P.I. Joe Sixsmith Mystery

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4 star:		(2)
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Private Investigator Joe Sixsmith looks forward to singing along with his fellow church choir members at a Welsh festival. On the way to Llanffugiol, Joe and his bus mates see a burning summer cottage. Joe rushes inside to save a trapped person. Joe is slightly hurt from his daring do and will miss the competition. However, the individual he rescued suffers much greater injuries. No one local or form the bus knows who she is or why she was in Copa Cottage.

The cottage owners, Fran and Franny Haggard arrive from Islington, denying they know the victim. Fran hires Joe to learn the identity of the injured party. Franny also employs Joe to learn if the victim was her spouse's mistress. As Joe begins his inquiries, he quickly realizes that several other people have vested interests in his investigation way beyond just a natural curiosity. As he digs deeper, he begins to uncover crimes from years ago that someone wants to remain secret, even at the cost of Joe's life.

SINGING THE SADNESS, the fourth Sixsmith who-done-it, is an entertaining mystery that centers on several eccentric characters and the Welsh countryside. The investigation is entertaining and Joe and his cohorts retain the freshness that made the previous tales charming. However, this time around, Reginald Hill shows his talent to scribe an enjoyable mystery that his myriad of fans will gain much pleasure from it. However, it still lacks the bite of the other Sixsmith novels.

Harriet Klausner

I enjoyed this book very much and can't wait to read about Joe's further adventures!

Joe Sixsmith is a new character for me from Hill, though other reviewers say he's written with him before. A thoroughly enjoyable man who manages to get himself involved in other people's problems even if he weren't a PI. Joe has a bit of a heroic death-wish in this book. He keeps plunging into flaming houses to rescue people. In the process, he not only saves two women (one who deserves saving, the other who doesn't) but he opens a rancid can of worms in the form of people. I won't say any more so as not to give the plots away, not one of my favorite topics...but Hill handles it well and with minimal gratuitous violence or other types of behavior.

Hill's ability to use words is always a pleasure to read. Joe is an educated man, with an appreciation (and healthy fear) of his aunt who raised him and for many of the worthy traits she taught him. He is going to sing with his church's choir down at a Welsh exhibition/contest, which falls apart due to the shenanigans of a variety of Welsh characters. It's always interesting to read concerning areas of the world I have no experience in, and Hill inspires a desire to see Wales for the countryside and the people.

Hope to see more of Sixsmith...he's a pleasant fellow.