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Dalziel & Pascoe
Pascoe's Ghost and Other Brief Chronicles of Crime
A man whose wife has been missing for a year gets some strange phone calls—as well as a visit from Detective Inspector Pascoe—in a novella that pays homage to Edgar Allan Poe.
A female journalist faces skepticism from the police when she reports an assault, and finds she may have to confront the attacker herself.
A family man wonders what sort of trouble the previous occupants of his new house were mixed up in—and finds some clues that were left behind in the move.
These stories—and four more—from the author of the series starring Inspector Peter Pascoe and Superintendent Andrew Dalziel take us on a tour of the shadowy corners of Yorkshire, England, from a stormy churchyard to a gloomy attic, with tales of lust, greed, envy, and, of course, murder.
A female journalist faces skepticism from the police when she reports an assault, and finds she may have to confront the attacker herself.
A family man wonders what sort of trouble the previous occupants of his new house were mixed up in—and finds some clues that were left behind in the move.
These stories—and four more—from the author of the series starring Inspector Peter Pascoe and Superintendent Andrew Dalziel take us on a tour of the shadowy corners of Yorkshire, England, from a stormy churchyard to a gloomy attic, with tales of lust, greed, envy, and, of course, murder.
222 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
23 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
About the author
Reginald Hill
153 books505 followersReginald Charles Hill was a contemporary English crime writer, and the winner in 1995 of the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement.
After National Service (1955-57) and studying English at St Catherine's College, Oxford University (1957-60) he worked as a teacher for many years, rising to Senior Lecturer at Doncaster College of Education. In 1980 he retired from salaried work in order to devote himself full-time to writing.
Hill is best known for his more than 20 novels featuring the Yorkshire detectives Andrew Dalziel, Peter Pascoe and Edgar Wield. He has also written more than 30 other novels, including five featuring Joe Sixsmith, a black machine operator turned private detective in a fictional Luton. Novels originally published under the pseudonyms of Patrick Ruell, Dick Morland, and Charles Underhill have now appeared under his own name. Hill is also a writer of short stories, and ghost tales.
After National Service (1955-57) and studying English at St Catherine's College, Oxford University (1957-60) he worked as a teacher for many years, rising to Senior Lecturer at Doncaster College of Education. In 1980 he retired from salaried work in order to devote himself full-time to writing.
Hill is best known for his more than 20 novels featuring the Yorkshire detectives Andrew Dalziel, Peter Pascoe and Edgar Wield. He has also written more than 30 other novels, including five featuring Joe Sixsmith, a black machine operator turned private detective in a fictional Luton. Novels originally published under the pseudonyms of Patrick Ruell, Dick Morland, and Charles Underhill have now appeared under his own name. Hill is also a writer of short stories, and ghost tales.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 20, 2018
An enjoyable collection of stories all with Hill's unique voice but otherwise quite different. "Pascoe's Ghost" and "Dalziel's Ghost" kick off and close the book with traditional yet somewhat quirky mystery, and the stories in between provide more variety, of which the puzzling and suspenseful escape tale, "Exit Lines", is the most original and impressive.
October 15, 2018
The two ghosts, Pascoe’s and Dalziel’s, were typical Hill, excellent. The story concerning rape continuously made me think it was written by a woman, tho I knew better. Once, I closed the book to check the authors name. I believe that must signify a great amount of literary dexterity. The “Trunk in the Attic” was delightful and, if a football call, would have been a “reverse”. The other two stories ended with a “twist”, but by the second of the two, I was certain that, once again, not all would be as it seemed. The non-Dalziel stories became very slightly predictable, but entirely enjoyable.
February 28, 2020
A miscellany of short stories. I especially enjoyed the sneaky craft of Hill's narrator in "The Rio de Janeiro Paper," a nifty little tale of University politics, much in the style of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents."
Hill's prose is energetic and precise, and I like reading him. But perhaps I met Dalziel and Pascoe after having seen too many gruff-but-brilliant over-detectives with intelligent-highly-educated sergeant-detectives. D-and-P's schtick doesn't charm me. They appear on most of the other pages in the volume.
Hill's prose is energetic and precise, and I like reading him. But perhaps I met Dalziel and Pascoe after having seen too many gruff-but-brilliant over-detectives with intelligent-highly-educated sergeant-detectives. D-and-P's schtick doesn't charm me. They appear on most of the other pages in the volume.
August 15, 2022
The first and last of these stories dealt with Dalziel and Pascoe. I'd never read anything by Reginald Hill except D & P, but I really enjoyed these other stories. They dealt with crimes and scenarios that were very imaginative and clever.
March 25, 2017
A small collection - one novella (Pascoe's Ghost) and several short stories. Only the last story (Dalziel's Ghost) was at all worth reading, in my assessment. None of the other stories involved Dalziel or Pascoe.
March 31, 2019
So many characters for such a short tale.
November 20, 2024
not my cup of tea.
Stories with no end. No purpose I could figure out. I’ve never seen the show so don’t know how to compare, also never read a full,book. Now I won’t bother
Stories with no end. No purpose I could figure out. I’ve never seen the show so don’t know how to compare, also never read a full,book. Now I won’t bother
January 2, 2023
This book includes:
Pascoe's Ghost A woman vanished a year previously and everyone thinks she is dead. Her brother is convinced her ghost haunts the local graveyard. The suspects: her husband and his lover and all her previous friends. I was really cross with Pascoe in this one.
The Trunk in the Attic Exactly what the title says. A great little story.
The Rio de Janeiro Paper A criminologist gives a speech at a conference in South America hypothesizing on a possible crime.
Threatened Species Really clever.
Snowball One thing leads to another. This is such a good story.
Exit Line They think they know what the end is, but it isn't the exit they expected.
Dalziel's Ghost The first time I laughed so this is the best story.
Pascoe's Ghost A woman vanished a year previously and everyone thinks she is dead. Her brother is convinced her ghost haunts the local graveyard. The suspects: her husband and his lover and all her previous friends. I was really cross with Pascoe in this one.
The Trunk in the Attic Exactly what the title says. A great little story.
The Rio de Janeiro Paper A criminologist gives a speech at a conference in South America hypothesizing on a possible crime.
Threatened Species Really clever.
Snowball One thing leads to another. This is such a good story.
Exit Line They think they know what the end is, but it isn't the exit they expected.
Dalziel's Ghost The first time I laughed so this is the best story.
November 17, 2024
Meh!
I couldn't get into any of the stories except maybe the last one.
And the first two were awful. I've never seen writing like this from Hill before and hope to never see it again.
When I first wrote this review all I could remember were those 3 stories. I looked at this book again - I was sure the index had shown more stories than that but my e-book is getting old and very well used so it skips around sometimes, so I looked again. Yes, there were several more stories, obviously all in the class of perfectly forgettable. Sad.
I couldn't get into any of the stories except maybe the last one.
And the first two were awful. I've never seen writing like this from Hill before and hope to never see it again.
When I first wrote this review all I could remember were those 3 stories. I looked at this book again - I was sure the index had shown more stories than that but my e-book is getting old and very well used so it skips around sometimes, so I looked again. Yes, there were several more stories, obviously all in the class of perfectly forgettable. Sad.
August 18, 2012
A collection of seven Reginald Hill short stories. Two of them involve series celebtities Superintendent Andrew Dalziel and Sergeant (later Inspector) Peter Pascoe.
SS - Pascoe's Ghost and Other Brief Chronicles of Crime
1."Pascoe's Ghost" # (A Dalziel and Pascoe story); 2."The Trunk in the Attic"; 3."The Rio de Janeiro Paper"; 4."Threatened Species"; 5. "Snowball"; 6."Exit Line"; and, 7."Dalziel's Ghost" (A Dalziel and Pascoe story)
SS - Pascoe's Ghost and Other Brief Chronicles of Crime
1."Pascoe's Ghost" # (A Dalziel and Pascoe story); 2."The Trunk in the Attic"; 3."The Rio de Janeiro Paper"; 4."Threatened Species"; 5. "Snowball"; 6."Exit Line"; and, 7."Dalziel's Ghost" (A Dalziel and Pascoe story)
Want to read
April 2, 2025Read so far:
Pascoe's ghost
The trunk in the attic
The Rio de Janeiro Paper
Threatened species
Snowball
*Exit line
Dalziel's ghost --2
***
Bring back the cat
A candle for Christmas
The game of dog--3
On the psychiatrist's couch
The perfect murder club
Proxime Accessit
A shameful eating
The thaw
True Thomas
Uncle Harry
Where are all the naughty people? --3
Where the snow lay dinted
The worst crime known to man--4
Pascoe's ghost
The trunk in the attic
The Rio de Janeiro Paper
Threatened species
Snowball
*Exit line
Dalziel's ghost --2
***
Bring back the cat
A candle for Christmas
The game of dog--3
On the psychiatrist's couch
The perfect murder club
Proxime Accessit
A shameful eating
The thaw
True Thomas
Uncle Harry
Where are all the naughty people? --3
Where the snow lay dinted
The worst crime known to man--4
May 16, 2020
In 1996 two of these stories "Pascoe's ghost" and "Dalziel's ghost" would be reprinted in "Asking for the moon".
March 31, 2011
Novella, SS, okay plots funny moments
August 6, 2013
These are early stories, written with Hill's trademark wry humor and very readable.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews