Midnight Fugue: A Dalziel and Pascoe Mystery (Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries) Summary and Reviews

Midnight Fugue: A Dalziel and Pascoe Mystery (Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries)
by Reginald Hill

Midnight Fugue: A Dalziel and Pascoe Mystery (Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Reginald Hill
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-10-06
ISBN: 0061451967
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Harper

Book Reviews of Midnight Fugue: A Dalziel and Pascoe Mystery (Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries)

Book Review: "We've all got things to hide."
Summary: 4 Stars

In Reginald Hill's "Midnight Fugue," the Fat Man, Superintendent Andy Dalziel, is ready to resume his old responsibilities at the Mid-Yorkshire station--or is he? He's a bit off his stride and is disconcerted to learn that his colleagues appear not to have missed him. In the past, "Andy...used his weight to roll over everybody who got in his way," but now, his subordinate, DCI Pascoe, has gotten used to giving orders instead of taking them. Meanwhile, as a favor to an old acquaintance, Andy gets involved in a tricky case involving a woman named Gina Wolfe. Seven years earlier, Gina's husband, DI Alex Wolfe, disappeared after a family tragedy and an internal affairs investigation threatened to derail his marriage and career. Gina wants Dalziel to find out if Wolfe is still alive, and if so, what happened to him. Also interested in Alex's whereabouts is an influential and clever criminal who has sent his lackeys to keep Gina and Andy under surveillance.

Reginald Hill is a literate author whose smooth prose, amusing and carefully crafted dialogue, and intriguing story lines have earned him well-deserved accolades among fans of British police procedurals. Dalziel's Yorkshire dialect is a bit off-putting as are his imperious attitude, racism, and male chauvinism. However, he does have redeeming qualities, including an innate passion for justice, a good grasp of how the pieces of an intricate puzzle fit together, and a willingness to stick his neck out. He is funny (not always intentionally), sarcastic, and quick-witted, although his tendency to indulge in too much food and drink sometimes impair his mental acuity.

Alas, this is not one of Hill's most accomplished works. It is too rambling, the convoluted narrative unfolds at a glacial pace, and the surprise ending is a bit too neat. On the other hand, the author is a skillful satirist who skewers such targets as egotistical politicians and predatory journalists, and his large cast of characters is vivid and well-delineated. They include Goldie Gidman, a kingpin who takes great pains to make sure that all of his bases are covered; David the Third, Gidman's son, who has lofty political ambitions that could be derailed by his fondness for the females; Vince and Fleur Delay, an unlikely pair of enforcers; and Gwyn Jones, a Welsh-born newspaperman who is desperate for his next big scoop. The lives of these and others are destined to intersect in strange and unpredictable ways. "Midnight Fugue" (a title that has multiple meanings) explores the idea so concisely expressed by William Faulkner: "The past is never dead. It's not even past." Sooner or later, we all must all face the music for what we have done.

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