Customer Reviews

Recalled to Life

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

 

 

The year was 1963 and the Macmillan government in Britain was being hit with the fallout of the scandal of the century in the form of the salacious and treacherous revelations of the Profumo Affair.With this in the foreground, a little known case from the distant past involving the alleged murder of a Mrs. Westropp by her lover, Lord Mickledore, at his country estate resurfaces with a whole lot of unanswered questions. There are some obvious injustices that have to be addressed because one of the parties wrongfully convicted and punished for the crime has now been released and has a story to tell. This is where the dangerous dual of Dalziel(old cop) and Pascoe(new cop) come to the rescue to get to the bottom of this case that cries out for answers. One man has been hanged for the homicide, a nanny for the Westropp children has served a lengthy jail sentence for being party to it, and various involved parties are staking each other's moves out as to what they actually know about the offence. There is that niggling question that hangs over the whole story: who killed Westropp's wife and why. These two detectives will go on an extensive and engrossing hunt to find answers to questions that got brushed over in the earlier investigation. Hill produces both a serious and funny account of how these two private detectives go about their business, ruffling feathers, gently teasing and coaxing out evidence that brings them to the beside of the real culprit some years later. To echo a famous chapter in "Tale of Two Cities", Hill definitely creates a very believable recalling to life, through the dogged and clever efforts of these two private-eyes, of a part of the past that many of the main characters would rather forget. This book and its series is worth reading for the story along.

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

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

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.

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.