Recently my reading group tried some books by Reginald Hill.
I didn’t think the book I read was especially gripping or well-written but I knew that in 1995 Hill had won the Crime Writers’ Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement and thought I should give the author another try. I decided to read one of the novels from the author’s long-running series focusing on crimes investigated by detectives Dalziel and Pascoe, which is the series Hill’s best known for and, when he died early in 2012, many fans were saddened that he would not be able to continue writing it. Having never seen the TV adaptations, I settled down to read with no preconceptions.
The premise
Two entries to a local writing competition catch the attention of the judges for their uncanny similarity to recent deaths reported in the local paper. At first they seem to be simply jokes in bad taste. After all, the two reported deaths were accidents: a drowning and a motorcycle crash. Except that, according to the stories, both deaths were caused by the writer, who now recognises their purpose in life, which seems to be linked to killing innocent people. Crucially, it seems the stories were written before the newspaper published either article…
Hat Bowler, the detective given initial charge of the ‘case’ doesn’t take it very seriously – although he pretends to, as he quite fancies one of the librarians – but when a third death occurs, which is definitely a murder, more senior detectives Dalziel and Pascoe are forced to get involved. After this, death follows death and story follows story. Will they ever work out the identity of the mysterious writer?
My thoughts
The premise sounded interesting, especially the idea that the writer was claiming responsibility for deaths that had been ruled accidental. I was intrigued to know why somebody would want to do that, especially as by confessing in written form they were creating a record to convict themself with.
Before chapter 1 there are three ‘quotations’, from the OED and two from writers who are referenced later in the book. These are all rather literary and set the tone for much of the book, which is about Hill’s love of language at least as much as it is about a series of murders. As a keen reader and a teacher, I am used to thinking of myself as being reasonably literate, but in this word-focused murder mystery Hill used a number of words that I had to look up in a dictionary. On the one hand, I found this quite a pleasant challenge – especially as some of the words turned out to be invented by the characters! – but it did also make me feel a little like I was working too hard at reading what I had expected to be a gripping crime story. Some readers might find the word-play off-putting, in which case they would definitely be advised to avoid this book.
The first chapter is the first story from the murderer, which they call a ‘dialogue’. This instantly begs the question: who are they trying to communicate with? The conversational tone made me feel a little bit uncomfortable as the story developed and it became clear that the speaker trying to gain my confidence was, in fact, quite mad. I think this opening prepares readers well for the rest of the book, which contains a number of these dialogues and sustained analysis of them by detectives and language experts. If the opening doesn’t interest you, you might be tempted to put the book down there and then but it’s worth sticking with. Personally, I didn’t find the dialogues interesting, and actually found myself skimming the later ones. (I can appreciate that a character is mad without needing to bathe in the evidence of their madness.) Fortunately, I found the other chapters more appealing. The dialogues are relevant and necessary as they provide many of the clues the detectives investigate, but I wasn’t really interested enough in the writer’s use of language to enjoy reading them.
Any problems?
This is quite a lengthy book. It isn’t ’til page one hundred that the third death – the first real murder – takes place, and the book has 558 pages all told, although the chapters are relatively short which makes this easy to read. I don’t object to the length of it, but it does mean that the pace can feel quite slow, even though there are a number of deaths. In particular, I found the first hundred pages or so quite ‘quiet’ as the librarians discuss the dialogues and the police consider other matters. Some readers may prefer a quicker pace and feel that everything is moving rather too slowly. In fact, discussion really takes up the heart of the book. There is very little ‘crime solving’ in the sense of forensics or even interviewing of suspects. Most of the discussion with suspects happens in public and through veiled barbs in conversation. This is what I found sustained my reading: I quite liked the interactions between the characters, especially between Dalziel and anyone else. I chuckled out loud on a number of occasions. If it wasn’t for the quality of the interactions, I think I would have found the story itself quite dull.
This is especially true as the victims seem to be selected at random. (They aren’t, but I defy you to spot the connection before it’s revealed.) This meant that I couldn’t predict who would die next (with the exception of the third victim who essentially offers herself to the killer) or even begin to construct a motive. This is normally part of the enjoyment I find in reading a crime novel, so I was disappointed that this element was absent.
Worse, there is a twist at the end which I found completely ridiculous. The entire final chapter is a revelation of the killer’s motivations and actions, which I found to be completely ludicrous and, worse, which I didn’t feel fit comfortably with what had gone before. That said, I am sure many readers would find it plausible and therefore enjoyable, but I felt that everything was twisted in an often incredible way to try and make a square peg fit in a round hole. This also allows Hill to create a huge cliff-hanger that tries to force the reader to buy his next book (which you would need to read this one in order to understand). I never like when authors do this as I feel they should rely on the reader’s level of enjoyment to ensure that they come back for more, rather than needing to hook them with a dramatic final curtain. I was very disappointed with the ending, though I recognise that some readers might think it is quite clever.
Conclusions
I read this as a standalone book and felt that it worked reasonably well that way. When background information was needed it was given concisely and without detracting from the plot. I didn’t feel that I needed to know more about any of the characters or their histories. Obviously, readers who are familiar with the characters would probably get more enjoyment from this book as they see the detectives’ personal lives developing. I was relieved that there wasn’t a strong focus on them and also that they all seemed to be reasonably happy with their lot. The jaded, alcoholic detective is nowhere to be seen here, though there is an interesting subplot about a detective about to retire whose past is coming back to haunt him. Pascoe has a fixation on one of the characters, Franny Roote, which I imagine would please fans of the series as this clearly develops from a previous storyline. Again, as a newcomer, I felt sufficiently informed to be able to follow events without having read the previous books.
I think this could have been a little pacier. Hill seems quite indulgent here: he likes words and is determined to play with them. If you also like words, this could appeal very strongly to you. I did find this aspect of the story interesting, though not as fascinating as the killer or many of the other characters did! I liked that this worked as a standalone book as well as being part of a well-established series and I enjoyed the interactions between the characters, especially any scene involving Dalziel. I thought the ending was very disappointing and that the motivation of the killer was bizarre, although it was certainly fitting for their character, so perhaps I am being too harsh here.
Overall I found this mildly enjoyable to read, but rather more literary than I had anticipated and certainly not gripping as the events all felt a little too random. I would read another book in the series, but won’t be rushing to find one.
Dalziel & Pascoe fans – am I missing something?
‘Dialogues of the Dead’, Reginald Hill, Harper, 2009, paperback