January 31st, 2010
Book Review: Midnight Fugue by Reginald Hill
One of my Christmas presents this year was a lovely book, “Midnight Fugue” by Reginald Hill. He’s one of my favourite authors and he created the Dalziel and Pascoe police pairing often seen on TV.
The story is set over a twenty four hour period and Dalziel is back at work after recovering from a bomb blast, but is he back to form? He wants to prove to his team that he’s the boss but is Pascoe ready to give back his leadership role?
The story centres round businessman Goldie Gidman and his “business” involvement in the past. A policeman went missing seven years ago and now his wife, Gina Wolfe, wants to remarry another policeman, Mike Purdy. First she has to see if her husband actually died or is he still alive? Mike Purdy calls on his old friend Dalziel to help her out with the investigation.
None of them have any idea what this search will cause. A murderous sister and brother team set out on a mission and a high flying journalist sniffs the hint of a story. Pascoe gets drawn in and wonders at Dalziel’s capabilities, because some of Dalziel’s decisions are questionable.
Reginald Hill crafts believable characters and his books have a number of regulars who develop with each tale he tells. Reading his books is like visiting a familiar place, but this book is one of his best. It has a quick pace and little islands of humour among the action. The plot is more complex than I’ve indicated but describing the twists and turns might ruin the reading of the book.
Midnight Fugue is available from all good bookshops and published by HarperCollins. If you’ve read any good books lately, why not let us know. We’re always looking for book reviews.
