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April Shroud [Paperback]

Reginald Hill (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Book Description

Publication Date: 1987

'These novels last, like a grand malt whisky - rounded, rich, intoxicating . Here is an author at his formidable best' Frances Hegarty, Mail on Sunday

After seeing Inspector Pascoe off on his honeymoon with a few ill-chosen words, Superintendent Andy Dalziel soon runs into trouble and water on his own solitary holiday. Rescued by a bunch of somewhat cheerful mourners, he accompanies them back to their rundown mansion to dry off.

The owner of Lake House, Bonnie Fielding, seems less troubled by her husband's tragic death than by the problem of saving the family fortunes. Prompted not only by a professional curiosity but also by a more personal interest in Mrs Fielding's ample charms, Dalziel stays on.

By the time Pascoe reappears, there have been several more deaths and it looks as if the normally hard-headed Dalziel might have compromised himself beyond redemption.

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Fans of Hill's procedurals featuring Superintendent Dalziel and Inspector Pascoe may be startled at encountering Dalziel out of character. In the first U.S. publication of a 1975 work, Dalziel is mainly on his own, during Pascoe's honeymoon, and is, if not in love, at least in lust. Stranded in the country by heavy April rains, Dalziel is rescued by an odd funeral procesion led by new widow Bonnie Fielding. Dalziel is bothered by the mourners' casual airs and even more by the sensuously ripe Bonnie. Complications arise when he discovers the strange manner in which Bonnie's husband died, the possibility of an insurance scam, the mortal fear of Bonnie's father-in-law and the realization that all the Fieldings, including Bonnie, are suspects in a possible murder. The usually gruff, if not brutish, Dalziel begins an affair with Bonnie and when two more bodies are found he launches his own discreet investigation. Hill's high standards of humor and civilized characterization are intact here, and justice and ambiguity are served in satisfactory fashion.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'Few writers in the genre today have Hill's gifts: formidable intelligence, quick humour, compassion and a prose style that blends elegance and grace' Donna Leon, Sunday Times 'The finest male English contemporary crime writer' Val McDermid 'Reginald Hill's novels are really dances to the music of time, his heroes and villains interconnecting, their stories intertwining' Ian Rankin 'One of Britain's most consistently excellent crime novelists' The Times 'These novels last, like a grand malt whisky -- rounded, rich, intoxicating! Here is an author at his formidable best' Frances Fyfield, Mail on Sunday 'So far out in front that he need not bother looking over his shoulder' Sunday Telegraph 'He is probably the best living male crime writer in the English-speaking world' Andrew Taylor, Independent 'Reginald Hill stands head and shoulders above any other writer of homebred crime fiction' Tom Hiney, Observer
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Genesis of Fat Andy Jan 26 2001
By Mary L. Hutson
Format:Paperback
This is one of the earlier Dalziel/Pascoe books and is devoted largely to Andy Dalziel's exploits while he is "on holiday" at the same time Peter and Ellie Pascoe are on their honeymoon. Reginald Hill's series does an excellent job both in plotting and in character development, and if you are intrigued by Fat Andy, then you really need to read this to see a side of his character you may not have seen before.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 4.0 out of 5 stars  11 reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An offbeat story featuring fat Andy Dalziel. Sep 11 2006
By S. Schwartz - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This book is a little different than most in this series because it focuses on Andy Dalziel on his own. It also shows a side of Andy that we have never seen before. We see him at his most vulnerable - in the middle of a love affair with a widow. It is also a story set in an old crumbling country house (a la Agatha Christie). But there the similarity ends. This book has more twists in it than a small English country road. It is filled with wonderful eccentric characters and Dalziel knows that at least one of them is a murderer. He sets out to find out, hoping that his paramour is not the one. The book is also very funny. This is a must-read for any Dalziel and Pascoe fans. It gives the best picture of Andy Dalziel that you'll find in any of these books. Hill is a master storyteller, and he has used his considerable skills to pen a nice country manor mystery that isn't like any English country manor mystery that you'll find anywhere else.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A flood of great writing Aug 10 2008
By Patricia Tryon - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Ever seen a cortege of punts? From the truly bizarre scene at the river, through the Fat Man's unexpected romance, to the not quite satisfactory winding down of the tale, this book is one riveting read.

I would say that one of Reginald Hill's touchstones is the unflinching honesty of his two protagonists, Pascoe and Dalziel (read this book, by the way, to learn how to say the Fat Man's name; I haven't quite mastered it, but it's nice to have the phonetics at hand). He simply does not allow them to lie to themselves. And, when they are not quite up to deconstructing (or admitting) all that is to be known in the moment about their motives, he doesn't shirk from laying it out for the reader.

Hill refuses to blink, too, at his supporting cast. Even the characters who might be considered sympathetic (are ANY of Hill's characters people I'd like to know? I kind of doubt it, fascinated though I am by them) receive the full Hill treatment, i.e. any warts and sins well highlighted along with their wit and good grooming.

And then there's the superb writing. Beautiful sentences. Descriptions evocative, but never over-wrought. Dialog that sounds right in the reader's "ear".

The other books in the series I've read so far (I'm taking the series in order and am only a book or two beyond this one) show far less of Dalziel, the man. So if you've read later books without having yet picked up this one, this provides some back story you might find interesting. In fact, you might even go to the headwaters of this great series: A Clubbable Woman (Felony & Mayhem Mysteries)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful writing Aug 9 2008
By Patricia Tryon - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
From the truly bizarre scene at the river, through the Fat Man's unexpected romance, to the not quite satisfactory winding down of the tale, this book is one riveting read.

I would say that one of Reginald Hill's touchstones is the unflinching honesty of his two protagonists, Pascoe and Dalziel (read this book, by the way, to learn how to say the Fat Man's name; I haven't quite mastered it, but it's nice to have the phonetics at hand). He simply does not allow them to lie to themselves. And, when they are not quite up to deconstructing (or admitting) all that is to be known in the moment about their motives, he doesn't shirk from laying it out for the reader.

Hill refuses to blink, too, at his supporting cast. Even the characters who might be considered sympathetic (are ANY of Hill's characters people I'd like to know? I kind of doubt it, fascinated though I am by them) receive the full Hill treatment, i.e. any warts and sins well highlighted along with their wit and good grooming.

And then there's the superb writing. Beautiful sentences. Descriptions evocative, but never over-wrought. Dialog that sounds right in the reader's "ear".

The other books in the series I've read so far (I'm taking the series in order and am only a book or two beyond this one) show far less of Dalziel, the man. So if you've read later books without having yet picked up this one, this provides some back story you might find interesting.

If you read this book and love it as I did, no worries: there's plenty wonderful writing ahead in this grand series.
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