'Few writers in the genre today have Hill's gifts: formidable intelligence, quick humour, compassion and a prose style that blends elegance and grace' Sunday Times Joe Sixsmith is going west. But only as far as Wales where they keep a welcome in the hillside and the Boyling Corner Choir has been invited to the Llanfugiol Choral Festival. Trouble is, no one seems to have heard of Llanfugiol. And instead of a welcome, all they find on the hillside is a burning house with a mysterious woman trapped inside. Add to this in rapid succession an aggressively suspicious policeman, a patronizing headmaster, a drug-dealing student, a gang of disaffected locals bent on sabotaging the festival, and a caretaker's daughter who seems ready to go to extraordinary lengths to take care of Joe, and what we have is the kind of criminous confusion which the famous Sixsmith detective technique soon turns to utter chaos. But Joe is no quitter. Doggedly, aided by little more than that instinct for truth which is his unique talent, he moves forward over the spae of a single weekend to uncover crimes which have been buried for years. Written with all its predecessors' humour and verve, Singing the Sadness takes Joe Sixsmith into a new dimension where morality is blurred and even the light of truth is only a very faint glimmer on a very dark hillside.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
'Hill is an instinctive and complete novelist who is blessed with a spontaneous storytelling gift' Frances Fyfield, Mail on Sunday 'Reginald Hill stands head and shoulders above any other writer of homebred crime fiction' Observer 'Their double act [Dalziel and Pascoe's] is one of the delights of English crime fiction' The Times 'So far out in front that he need not bother looking over his shoulder' Sunday Telegraph
Reginald Hill's detectives, Dalziel and Pascoe, have become among the best loved fixtures of the current crime scene. But Singing the Sadness may be his most entertaining novel yet - even though it's not a Dalziel and Pascoe book. Recently, Hill has created a new character, Joe Sixsmith. Born in a short story, Hill so much enjoyed writing about Joe that he decided to give his redundant lathe operator-turned-private eye his own series of novels. As in the earlier Sixsmith books, such as Blood Sympathy, Sixsmith proves to be a wonderfully laconic and winning personality: always up against it in both his personal and professional life, his half-haphazard, half-inspired piercing of some pretty sinister mysteries provides a very good time for the reader. In the new book, Joe is going west - but only as far as Wales, where his local choir has been invited to compete in the Llanffugiol Choral Festival. Joe has agreed to accompany them - but soon discovers that no one seems to have heard of Llanffugiol. And instead of a welcome in the hillside, all that he finds is a burning house, with a mysterious woman trapped inside. Soon, Joe is dealing with a strange and suspicious group of characters: a drug-dealing student, a supercilious headmaster and a deeply antagonistic policeman. And that's not to mention the disaffected locals who have decided to sabotage the Festival, along with the caretaker's daughter who seems prepared to go to some remarkable lengths to take care of Joe. Amidst all the chaos, Joe finds himself (over the space of a single weekend) uncovering crimes which have been buried for years. And soon, as often before, his own life is on the line. Written with all the sharp-edged humour and rich humanity that distinguishes his best work, this new development in Hill's much-acclaimed body of work promises to gain just as devoted a following as the Dalziel and Pascoe books, with Hill's prose style as keen as ever. (Kirkus UK)
If only the Boyling Corner Chapel Choir's bus hadn't broken down on its way to the first annual Llanffugiol Choral Festival; if only the road signs in Welsh and the few passersby hadn't been so equally unhelpful; if only they'd arrived ten minutes earlier or later at the site of Copa Cottage - then Luton p.i. Joe Sixsmith would be singing along with his mates instead of lying in Caerlindys Hospital nursing his larynx and some other tender bits, acclaimed as a hero for running into the burning cottage and rescuing a woman whose condition is still critical. And since Joe's already rescued her, what's more natural that being hired to identify her - first by London TV producer Fran Haggard, who owns the cottage; then by Fran's actress wife Franny, who wonders if the burn victim was Fran's bit on the side; and finally by Owain Lewis, the well-connected local schoolmaster's teenaged son, whose motives are too private to share with a private eye but whose cash looks just as good as that of his elders. There'll be much, much more, of course - rumors of a homosexual seduction that led to an innocent boy's dismissal from the school long ago, the collapse of the festival stage at an inopportune moment, Joe's tango with a pair of salt-and-coppers, and his manly refusal of an eager teenager's advances - before a final sad twist ties it all together. A charming postcard pendant to Joe's three more sociologically weighty adventures back home in Luton (Killing the Lawyers, 1997, etc.). (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reginald Hill's detectives, Dalziel and Pascoe, have become among the best loved fixtures of the current crime scene. But Singing the Sadness may be his most entertaining novel yet - even though it's not a Dalziel and Pascoe book. Recently, Hill has created a new character, Joe Sixsmith. Born in a short story, Hill so much enjoyed writing about Joe that he decided to give his redundant lathe operator-turned-private eye his own series of novels. As in the earlier Sixsmith books, such as Blood Sympathy, Sixsmith proves to be a wonderfully laconic and winning personality: always up against it in both his personal and professional life, his half-haphazard, half-inspired piercing of some pretty sinister mysteries provides a very good time for the reader. In the new book, Joe is going west - but only as far as Wales, where his local choir has been invited to compete in the Llanffugiol Choral Festival. Joe has agreed to accompany them - but soon discovers that no one seems to have heard of Llanffugiol. And instead of a welcome in the hillside, all that he finds is a burning house, with a mysterious woman trapped inside. Soon, Joe is dealing with a strange and suspicious group of characters: a drug-dealing student, a supercilious headmaster and a deeply antagonistic policeman. And that's not to mention the disaffected locals who have decided to sabotage the Festival, along with the caretaker's daughter who seems prepared to go to some remarkable lengths to take care of Joe. Amidst all the chaos, Joe finds himself (over the space of a single weekend) uncovering crimes which have been buried for years. And soon, as often before, his own life is on the line. Written with all the sharp-edged humour and rich humanity that distinguishes his best work, this new development in Hill's much-acclaimed body of work promises to gain just as devoted a following as the Dalziel and Pascoe books, with Hill's prose style as keen as ever. (Kirkus UK)
If only the Boyling Corner Chapel Choir's bus hadn't broken down on its way to the first annual Llanffugiol Choral Festival; if only the road signs in Welsh and the few passersby hadn't been so equally unhelpful; if only they'd arrived ten minutes earlier or later at the site of Copa Cottage - then Luton p.i. Joe Sixsmith would be singing along with his mates instead of lying in Caerlindys Hospital nursing his larynx and some other tender bits, acclaimed as a hero for running into the burning cottage and rescuing a woman whose condition is still critical. And since Joe's already rescued her, what's more natural that being hired to identify her - first by London TV producer Fran Haggard, who owns the cottage; then by Fran's actress wife Franny, who wonders if the burn victim was Fran's bit on the side; and finally by Owain Lewis, the well-connected local schoolmaster's teenaged son, whose motives are too private to share with a private eye but whose cash looks just as good as that of his elders. There'll be much, much more, of course - rumors of a homosexual seduction that led to an innocent boy's dismissal from the school long ago, the collapse of the festival stage at an inopportune moment, Joe's tango with a pair of salt-and-coppers, and his manly refusal of an eager teenager's advances - before a final sad twist ties it all together. A charming postcard pendant to Joe's three more sociologically weighty adventures back home in Luton (Killing the Lawyers, 1997, etc.). (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Reginald Hill was brought up in Cumbria, and has returned there after many years in Yorkshire. With his first crime novel, A Clubbable Woman, he was hailed as 'the crime novel's best hope' and twenty years on he has more than fulfilled that promise.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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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.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fully entertaining and satisfyhing mystery.,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Singing The Sadness (Worldwide Library Mysteries) (Paperback)
Private investigator Joe Sixsmith is in the Welsh town of Llanffugiol to take part of a church choir festival in Reginald Hill's Singing The Sadness. When a local cottage catches fire, Joe rushes in to rescue a young woman. Hailed as a hero, Joe considers the unanswered questions of how the fire started and the mysterious woman's identity. No less than three different people hire Joe to discover the answer to that questions -- but the answer could shatter this small Welsh village. Singing The Sadness is a superbly written, carefully constructed mystery that will fully entertain and satisfy fans of the mystery genre.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very well written, entertaining, but...,
By
This review is from: Singing The Sadness (Worldwide Library Mysteries) (Paperback)
Reginald Hill is a superb writer with an original, witty, poetic style that grows on you in a big way. I've enjoyed everything I've read by him, which till this book has been just the Dalziel/Pascoe mysteries. I'm happy that Hill has a new character, Joe Sixsmith, who's charming and likeable. But unfortunately, the slight whiff of a possibility of a stereotype kept me from total enjoyment. As a black character, does Joe have to be such a happy-go-lucky, act- and speak-before-you-think kind of guy? I hope I'm wrong and that I'm just being overly PC. At any rate, I'm looking forward to more from this writer.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as D&P, but still enjoyable.,
By RachelWalker "RachelW" (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Singing The Sadness (Worldwide Library Mysteries) (Paperback)
Joe Sixsmith novels aren't quite as good as his Dalziel and Pascoe ones, but they are still very enjoyable. There are much more overtly humorous than his other series, and at times that is refreshing. they are nice light reads. They don't take themselves very seriously. sometimes, this is great, but sometimes it doesn't work so well... the plots are nicely complex and Joe is a really likeable character. I would reccomend them, but peppered with Dazliel And Pascoe.
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