This really is a great one, if you love Dalziel and Pascoe. I truly enjoyed seeing the Fat Man trying to adjust to New York, and I think Hill must have had some fun with the alternating viewpoints, moving between Britain and USA, and deciding exactly how much of a Crocodile Dalziel he could make out of the Fat Man. The mystery is a very solid one. I didn't guess. Usually I do, so this pleased me very much. Good characterization, problems in the Pascoe household that must have happened after an earlier book I read, whose ending I recall as being totally believably traumatizing to Peter. I like it that characters move from one book to the next, carrying burdens with them. I must admit, I've not been happy with some of Hill's latest work. They seem determined to be too long, and silly, getting the women/wives involved in an awkward way. I don't like Ellie Pascoe much, which makes those books hard for me. But this is an earlier Dalziel and Pascoe, from 1992. I don't know how I missed it then, but I'm glad to have found it now. If it were only for his thrillers and these earlier Dalziel and Pascoe books, and Joe Sixsmith who hasn't taken off but is a really interesting and funny detective, I'd be a fan of Hill's.
This audio book was read by Brian Glover, who plays Dalziel in the television series. While Glover does Dalziel's and Pascoe's voices (and the other males) well, his women's voices leave a lot to be desired. Also, Glover rushes through the non-dialogue parts so that they come out as matter-of-fact. This is not the first audio Dalziel and Pascoe I have listened to and the pattern has been the same.It's a complicated story, one that I found difficult to follow at times, but my favorite part was Andy's experience in Colonial Williamsburg (yes, Dalziel in America). America, he said, would be fine once they "finish it."
What do You think about Recalled To Life (1993)?
With most crime series there is inevitably the book that looks back at an old case and Recalled To Life is the history case in the Dalziel & Pascoe series. I'm familiar with the series but this is the first I've read. It was OK and that was about it.The writing was confusing and all over the place, making it difficult to follow the story. One had to go back and read parts to understand what was happening. In the end there were many unanswered questions. So much so as to make it not an enjoyable read. The writer's love of big and obscure words was very distracting and just didn't fit some of the characters. They might have been words used by the author, but I could just not accept some characters using them.A side note: this book was an ebook, but I did not buy Recalled To Life, I bought Report For Murder by Val McDermid. Even though the cover and ISBN were for Report For Murder the actual content of the book was Recalled To Life. So I only read this by accident, it was not my intent.
—Balthazar Lawson
