Customer Reviews

Arms and the Women

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I always enjoy a Dalziel and Pascoe. As a mystery, this one was good, albeit a little far-fetched. But I found the excerpts from Ellie's book annoying.

If there is something that remains to be written, that is a bad Dalziel-Pascoe book. Those of us who have become fans of Hill's intricate and witty style will not necessarily be disappointed by this latest entry. In my own personal case, however, I doubt that this one will be counted among my favorites. It is true that there is not enough of Dalziel, that most loveable of all fiction detectives (his appearance under the guise of Odysseus, with Pascoe as Aeneas, in Ellie Pascoe's mock novel is not nearly enough), but the real problem, I think, is the plot itself, which is more overwrought than complicated, and not nearly as interesting as one has got to expect from this series. Also, I guess newcomers will be totally bewildered, not only because it is taken for granted that you already know the main characters very well, but also, characters from previous books show up unannounced, and even us followers of the series can't remember all of them (I know at least that I don't). I am only grateful that this was not the first book in the series I've ever read, because I don't think I would have been tempted to follow it, and that would be my loss! To those of you who have never heard of Dalziel and Pascoe, please read first some other book in the series, such as On Beulah Height, Deadheads or Recalled to Life.

Disjointed, convoluted, erratic--all come as a disappointment to Reginald Hill's fans who read this book thinking they are lapping up another Dalziel/Pascoe story. Perseverance will get the reader to the end of the book, with a "what's new" shrug of the sholders, and a feeling that Hill was impressed with his own cuteness and, as one reviewer says, "erudition". While obviously a side trip from the usual, this story needs to go back to the editor for tuning up. Disappointing!

I enjoy Reginald Hill and I have liked every other Dalziel/Pascoe mystery, but this one disappointed me. The plot here seemed very obvious and why has Weild been elevated to sainthood? I will certainly read Hill's next book, but Ellie needs to take a long writer's vacation to the Lake Country and Dalziel needs to come back front and center.

Picking up a new Dalziel/Pascoe mystery can be doubly rewarding. First, it's guaranteed that I'll like the writing and the central characters, because I always have. But sometimes Hill throws in a bonus - an element you wouldn't expect to find that weaves through the main plot with illuminating results. This time it's shades of Homer. (Not Simpson - the other guy, although the prospect of Andy hoisting a few Duffs with Bart's dad has definite appeal.) The story begins with glimpses into several unidentified characters' minds. Who are these people? What are they going on about? It's confusing but not frustrating because we know Hill will ultimately lock all the puzzle pieces into place and show us the big picture. This time it's downright epic with the raging sea playing one of its most pivotal roles since the Odyssey, and the women finding resources that would have made Aeschylus proud. Not that Dalziel and Pascal are ever far away. When they're not on stage as themselves, they're there in the characters of Odysseus and Aeneas, as written by Ellie with perception, humor and surprising (in one case) affection. Hill can get inside the minds of not only his heroes - but women, children, Greeks, cats, killers, and thankfully readers.

In my opinion this is the best so far of the Dalziel and Pascoe novels. The style is slightly different from usual but, unlike the reviewer who thought the book "convoluted", I would say the book is pieced together in a pleasing and masterful way. Right up to the very last "two words" the book did an excellent job of entertaining me and the focus on Ellie is done very well, especially her story within the story. If you want to be entertained then this book should do the trick.

The opening chapters of Hill's latest Dalziel & Pascoe are an onslaught much like the storm at the close of the book. People and plots come howling in from all directions. I felt rather "gobsmacked" by all of it, but I kept on slogging through until it began to come together into a cohesive story.

Hill has the extraordinary ability to shift consciousness from one character to the next, and I suppose that's what kept me off balance. From Ellie Pascoe, to DC Novello, to the writer "Spelt from Sybil's Leaves," Hill proves that he understands the insides of people, the private side they keep to themselves. This novel is told primarily from the perspective of the women who drive it forward. Hill grasps the confusion of midlife, the roles of wife and mother, the longing for belonging of singlehood. After these things, the mystery plot itself is only a frame on which to project the people.

While Ellie Pascoe thwarts an attempted abduction, she leads the rest of the cast on an odyssey as she continues to seek comfort and meaning in her life. That we end up in a "cleansing" storm at the end of these Herculean labors is fitting.

I am a huge fan of Hill in general, and enjoy all his books, from the Patrick Ruel thrillers to the seriocomic Joe Sixsmith series. I'm constantly amazed that the man can be so prolific, so diverse--and so blindingly _good_, all at the same time. One thing I particularly enjoy about his work is that he doesn't--as all too many authors do--write the same book over and over, with minor alterations of character or plot. Every one of his novels is a true original, and this one is one of the _most_ original. Aside from its sheer entertainment value and the wit of its erudition, I admired it for the sheer writerly virtuosity of its construction. I'd read any of the Dalziel/Pascoe books or the Joe Sixsmith books again for fun--I'd read this one again to learn from.

With Reginald Hill and his Dalziel and Pascoe series, one can usually expect an exciting police procedural thriller. In "Arms and the Women," Hill continues, this time setting up his own odyssey (without all those years coming and going) of sorts, this time taking on the IRA, South American drug lords, international terrorists, his government's intelligence agency, to name a few.

Pascoe's wife Ellie foils an attempted abduction, with more threats to follow. It is up to the Fat Man, Dalziel, to sort it all out and to direct us, in his inimitable fashion, to the conclusion. He describes Dalziel with the typical Hill wit: "Then he (Dalziel) smiled benevolently around the listening room like a medieval pope after a good burning and said, 'Nice to meet old friends, isn't it?'"

Along the way, of course, we get caught up in Hill's literary libations (mainly through Ellie Pascoe's Comfort Blanket, a for-her-eyes-only "mock epic" featuring, no less, Odysseus and Aeneas in the same story!). The author borrows not only from Homer and Virgil but from Charles Dickens, as his drama sometimes becomes melodrama, and all the myriad "loose ends" he's created them are neatly packaged by the time the novel ends.

Still, Hill's characters--helped along by the British TV series--are memorable ones and the author certainly holds his own in that pantheon of contemporary British mystery writers. "Arms and the Women" is a compelling read (Ellie's Comfort

Blanket is WELL worth the read! One could simply read it as a separate novel and it would work!) and not one to be missed. Olympian laurels to Hill!

Billyjhobbs@tyler.net

The latest from Reginald Hill. He's managed to avoid the trap of seeing everything throught the prism of the television series and is still writing for readers. The novel is a complex weaving of a number of different threads and contains a delightful story within a story written by Ellie Pascoe. Although the central male characters are not so much of a presence in the main story their characters are transmuted to the characters in Ellie's stories so readers can still get their fix of the banter between "Dalziel and Pascoe". In the manner of many writers of series novels Hill is obviously becoming more interested in the characters themselves rather than the crime and that is where the focus of this book is. Echoes exist from the previous novel in the series but it is not necessary to have read it to enjoy this book. Which I certainly did.