Midnight Fugue (Dalziel and Pascoe, #24) by Reginald Hill

Midnight Fugue (Dalziel and Pascoe, #24) Reviews

• 
  Trish

  Reginald Hill is in a class of his own. His mystery series featuring Dalziel “the fat man” and Pascoe is a long-running masterpiece of British humor. Hill populates the series with many characters and much activity, but exhibits masterful control in keeping everyone doing…the wrong thing. Once again Dalziel, manages to extricate himself from an ambiguous-looking situation that would be career-ending for anyone else, and comes up accepting kudos from his coworkers—all except Pascoe, who thinks Dalziel might just as well retire before he does them all in. Dalziel knows he is not long for the force, but decides to hang on for the sheer cussedness of it, and the pain he knows it gives those who long to take his place.
  
  I did not read the series in order—Hill is incredibly prolific, and has written 24 books in the Dalziel and Pascoe series. In this novel, we learn that Dalziel has survived a bomb attack previously and is back on the job a little worse for wear. He has forgotten which day it is and ends up driving madcap to work early on a Sunday morning. Just as well, since he has two cars following him which he needs to sort out before he gets back into the maelstrom that is work.
  
  Dalziel is a “fat man,” but what we love about him are his appetites. He is enthusiastic, wily, generous, experienced, and has this case figured out long before he can prove anything. Hill even lets us into the secret, knowing full well that we have no way of uncovering information before he decides to share it with us. We love Dalziel because he is so much more incorrigible than we would ever allow ourselves to be, but he is that rare creature that always knows what justice is. We can reliably place ourselves in his hands and know that he’ll work out whatever trouble we face—though not without a few bumps and scrapes along the way.
  
  I listened to the audio version from Whole Story Audio Books, and thought Jonathan Keeble did a brilliant job of the reading by distinguishing characters by accent, and giving the whole a perfectly comprehensible pace.
• 
  Laura

  One of the things I love about this series is how Hill keeps the relationships fresh, and how the mysteries do not seem to repeat in tone or nature. Don't get me wrong, there are certain moments that you know will come, certain catch phrases (or catch phrasing) that will be there (eg, the fatness of Dalziel, the education of Pascoe, the ugliness of Wield), but they don't bother me as much as constantly hearing of Nero Wolfe's "eighth of an acre of yellow silk pajamas" did.
  
  And unlike in other series I've read, the characters really do grow. I can't remember another series in which the sidekick (in this case, Pascoe) has almost outgrown the master - it's a little like what they're trying to do with the Inspector Morse series, now that Colin Dexter has stopped writing (and Morse/John Thaw is dead). But in that case is feels like trying to repeat the original, while here it feels like natural growth.
  
  As with the Lynley/Havers mysteries, it's not always Dalziel front-and-center. Here, Pascoe's almost an interfering parent figure to Dalziel's teenager, with Ivor having a larger role than usual and Hat and Wield almost totally off stage. One of my friends didn't like the lack of time together between the Unholy Trinity (as they're known), and while I'd like to see more of them I think the book is still very strong and it's only my sentimental attachment that wants that relationship to shine.
  
  They mystery itself is relatively predictable, resolving itself into two different "problems". The solutions weren't completely telegraphed (always a good thing), even though Hill gave the characters one day to figure it all out. What puzzled me is that the "24 hours in which to do it" seems more dust jacket nonsense, as there was nothing in the book that suggested that if this wasn't solved that quickly something worse would occur.
  
  This is a far more filmable book than the previous Dalziel/Pascoe mysteries, but I really hope that it doesn't get made (and not just because I think the roles have been miscast). It's the arc of the relationship between Dalziel and Pascoe that will get lost (having skipped a few "episodes") and that's a pity.
• 
  Jill Hutchinson

  Dalziel is back after his near miss in "Death Comes For the Fat Man" and he is starting to doubt his detecting prowess, as are his underlings, Pascoe included. He starts this adventure on rather shaky legs but never fear. He finds his legs before the story ends and he returns to his obnoxious, lovable self.
  This is a tale of murder, political power and old sins coming home to roost. It's complex, as all of Hill's books tend to be but not so complex as to cause the reader to lose interest. The villains are interesting and not exactly what they appear and the ending comes as somewhat of a surprise. This is a series that never grows old or repetitive. Hill is a master storyteller and although this may not be one of his best, it is still a dandy!!!
• 
  Koeeoaddi

  I read this out of order and I probably shouldn't have, but I don't think it really works as a stand alone novel. Besides the backstories that a reader of the series would know (and I didn't) there were too many characters and only a few of them were interesting. There was also hardly any interaction between Dalziel and Pascoe at all, which was disappointing. It's a 2.5 star book, but I'm giving it 3. How could a book with the following sentence rate less?
  
  She wouldn’t have expected anything so fat to move so fast. He slid into his car like a tarantula going down a drain-hole...
• 
  Marlyn

  A new Dalziel and Pascoe novel is always a cause of happiness for me. This one did not disappoint.
  
  After a severe injury that left him in a coma, Andy Dalziel has decided to return to work sooner than advised. He's sure that everyone will be judging him to see if he's really ready, and thinking that he should just give up and retire. He gets a call from an old colleague, Mick Purdy, asking him to take an unofficial look into the case of a policeman who disappeared seven years earlier.
  
  Dalziel bumbles a bit at first, and when one of his officers is injured, it seems that he should really have taken more time to rest. Pascoe and Wield begin to wonder if they'll continually have to mop up his messes, as is the reader.
  
  This is a complicated tale of greed, mistaken (or maybe not?) identity, and possible police corruption.
  
  Hill's prose is a treat to read, and as usual, I was torn between wanting to find out how the book ended and prolonging my enjoyment. I managed a happy medium, and although I thought the ending was too coincidental, it was nonetheless satisfying.
• 
  Lisa Stammers

  No more Ivor. No more Hat. No more Seymour. No more Wieldly ( sigh!) No more Peter ( sob!) No more Andy ( say it isn't so!!!)
  This wonderful journey has come to an end and what a wonderful journey it has been. Characters to love. Stories to get lost in. A genius to admire.
  Bravo Mr Hill.
• 
  Rosalind

  Reg does 24! The ever-playful Reginald Hill comes up with yet another spin on the slightly surreal and delightful adventures of Fat Andy Dalziel and his unlikely sidekicks, know-all Pascoe who quotes Latin at him and granite-faced Wieldy who can break a suspect just by looking at him. This time we have a minute-by-minute account of an extraordinary Sunday in Mid-Yorkshire which begins with the improbable prospect of the Fat Man attending Morning Service in the Cathedral (the last time he was there he was playing God in the Mystery Plays) and experiencing a Bach fugue. The metaphor of the fugue is kept up through the day, with a string of bits of stories chasing each other until they disappear up their own arseholes, as Dalziel would probably put it. Or something like that anyway; to say more about those bits of stories would give too much away but of course they all collide in the end. As blackly funny as ever.
  
• 
  Tanja Berg

  Rating 2.4*. I almost upped this to three stars because of the fantastic epilogue. However, before that I had about 13 boring hours listening to a mystery that repeatedly failed to hold my attention. I struggled to keep the characters apart and even more to get in any way engaged in their lives.
• 
  Shannon M

  I'm a late-comer to the Dalziel and Pascoe mystery series, but after reading Midnight Fugue, I've become a convert. This last book is a good place for a newcomer to start because it is one of the best books published in 2009. The story interweaves multiple plot lines into an overall theme with a dexterity that will intrigue readers. The conclusion is very satisfying, so resist the urge to read the ending before completing the book.
• 
  Owlsinger

  So now it's done. Whether he knew it or not, Mr. Hill left us with the last of this series delivering a satisfying wrap-up. Everyone's back on board; the 3 DCs are all healthy, Peter's assumption of Dalziel's responsibilities are wearing on him, Wield is well aware and worried, and Andy's return seems to be a fait accompli. I'm glad he didn't end with a farewell, riding off into the sunset summation. Now to see if he wrote other series...
• 
  Jon

  I think I've read every installment in this series and have now come to the last one. It is a worthy ending, suitably complex, funny, literary, with new tensions between Dalziel and Pascoe as Dalziel (with very mixed emotions) begins to admit to himself that he's going to have to retire soon, and Pascoe will be replacing him. I'm glad both detectives made it all the way through to the end, despite the title of #22 "Death Comes for the Fat Man." This is one of the best, most elegant, most consistently inventive series in crime fiction, probably best read in order if possible, since the relationships develop and several non-central characters reappear in later books. All of them are interesting with the possible exception of Franny Roote, who for me became tedious long before the author was done with him.
• 
  Sandi

  Another great entry in the Dalziel & Pascoe series. The action takes place over the course of one very eventful day. I love how Hill always keeps this series fresh and worth reading.
• 
  Mike

  A terrific read, with a number of characters' lives moving piece by piece towards a grand climax. One of Hill's grimmer Dalziel and Pascoe titles, but strongly plotted and with some very unpleasant people involved. There is still humour, especially in the somewhat different relationship that forms between the series' two main characters as a result of Dalziel having been in hospital and on leave for a period (the result of being in an explosion in the previous story).
  There's a nice unity to the story, with it taking place over a day, and being timed in the chapter headings to the minute.
  The frank sexual language is perhaps true to the kinds of characters in the story, but it doesn't make for pleasant reading, and I could have done without it. The explanation for why the character who's been missing for seven years doesn't quite ring true to me, and seems just a little improbable.
  
• 
  Josephine Quealy

  Now I’m not the kind of person to celebrate the death of another human in any way (celebrate in any way AND I guess any way of death)...but... ALL I’M SAYING is that if the Dalziel & Pascoe books had entered an irreversible decline, then maybe it’s a good thing that this was the last of them and Reginald Hill can’t write anymore. Because he’s dead. Which I’m not celebrating. IN ANY WAY.
  
  For a Dalziel & Pascoe it really was a bit of a shocker - some fairly contrived coincidences and strained efforts at humour. But it would still manage to crap over yer bog standard police procedural any day. And saved by a satisfyingly neat ending.
• 
  J. Carter Merwin

  You know I love Reginald Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe mysteries but after about 50 pages...I dont know, it went so slowly and I was un-impressed by the villains. Couldn't keep with it.
• 
  Rob Kitchin

  Midnight Fugue is the twenty-second Dalziel and Pascoe book. The series has lost none of freshness, wit and verve. The story starts at a brisk pace and never lets up to the end. There are three main strengths to the book. First, the characterisation is excellent, and despite there being a large cast, each character is fully fleshed out and realised. Dalziel is a wonderful creation, possessing a number of negative traits, yet the reader can’t help but warm to his political incorrectness and bullying manner due to his generally good disposition. Second, the plotting, whilst quite complex and intricate, involving the intersection of several subplots, is very well done. Hill weaves the various strands together, whilst making sure the reader never gets lost, and there are two nice climaxes to the tale. It’s always difficult to avoid plot devices and the only let down to the telling were the use of two weak ones – both involving laptops and neither likely. Third, the storytelling and prose has verve and style. Hill manages to blend a serious crime story with farce, balancing seriousness with wit. It’s a difficult trick and he manages to pull it off with aplomb. And whilst the telling is so rich in detail and the plot reasonably complex, this is no doorstop of a book, and yet it does not seem rushed. The overall effect is a very enjoyable police procedural written by an author at the top of his game.
• 
  Anastasia Hobbet

  I read this on a trip to England, so the atmosphere appealed to me, but the plot is overdrawn, with coincidences packed in so tight that they become absurd. This response may be due tot he fact that this is my first Reginald Hill, and he's written more than 20 other books in this series. Does this one stand alone? Not if you're not already addicted. Characterizations are thin-to-nothing, especially the poor women, and the depiction of that vaunted team of Dalziel and Pascoe evidently relies on characterizations from the past that still gleam in the reader's eye. I'm persuaded to believe that Hill is thoroughly sick of these two and posed this book as a sort of exercise for himself, to see how much intricate, outlandish nonsense he could pack into a single day of novel-time. I plan to read an earlier novel to balance my response to this one. Hill doesn't have millions of fans for nothing.
• 
  Carol

  I love the Dalziel/Pascoe mysteries and have read them all. This one was particularly interesting as the great Dalziel actually begins (following a serious injury and hospitalization) to doubt his nearly godlike abilities and Pascoe, in the absence of his old boss, has begun to assume more authority over the force. Both men were humanized by their changing roles and relationships and it added a lot to the book. Midnight Fugue also had one of the most interesting, chilling, and charming villains I can remember--a self-made immigrant, a thug who became a master of finance and an ally of Tory politicians, a devoted husband and father, and a cold-blooded killer. Even the minor characters, especially the competing investigative reporters, were compelling and very real. If you like classic British mysteries and aren't familiar with Reginald Hill, I recommend these strongly.
• 
  Jan

  My first Reginald Hill, and not my last. Not many police procedurals/detective stories successfully incorporate humor. I appreciate those that do. I chuckled often even though the story is a serious one.
  
  I love Mick Herron’s series on the Slow Horses. In an interview, Mr. Herron said his character Jackson Lamb was inspired by Mr. Hill’s Dalziel, so of course I had to read one.
  
  I picked a good one to start with. The story happens in 24 hours, and each chapter starts with the time duration for that chapter’s events. This is a great way to say “meanwhile”. Although it’s the 24th in the Dalziel & Pascoe series, I was not at a loss learning about the different characters and their idiosyncrasies built up over the series.
  
  Looking forward to another Dalziel & Pascoe. And, perhaps I’ll watch some of the series.
• 
  Brooke

  The Dalziel/Pascoe are my favorite of any English mysteries series. Hill manages to always include some humor throughout. However, in years past, it has seemed that Hill had begun to take himself a bit too seriously and was missing the laughs that made me fall in love with the series so many years ago. Midnight Fugue is an absolute breath of fresh air. First of all, the entire story centers around the fat man. Dalziel's point of view is wonderful, always honest, often offensive and usually funny. (Pascoe, the original protagonist of the series, has--in my mind--turned into a bit of a poncy wanker.) Midnight Fugue is thoroughly entertaining throughout.
• 
  Dana Stabenow

  Hill still at the top of his game, maybe even more so in this stripped-down tale of Dalziel's first case after getting blown up by a bomb in The Death of Dalziel. All of the action takes place over one fraught day, and all the usual suspects, Pascoe, Wieldy, Ellie, even the idiot Hector are present and accounted for, along with a handful of new characters equally well drawn and a bait-and-switch plot that keeps you guessing right to the end. Of course the real question is, is the Fat Man back, or is he on his way to the knacker's yard?
• 
  Barbara

  Not one of my absolute favourite Dalziel and Pascoes but Reginald Hill has never disappointed me. Reading, and re-reading, his mysteries is always pleasurable because of the complexity, humanity, the literary and musical allusions and the humour. Dalziel was the central character of Midnight Fugue - getting back to his old, entertainingly outrageous form - I was going to quote some of his bon mots but better that anybody who reads this review should come across them for themselves.
  
  I give the first half of the book a five. But I found the denouement a bit too sudden so, overall, a four.
  
  
• 
  Cece

  I gave this book over 100 pages, but when I was asked about a character and could not remember whether she was the damsel in distress, the mother, the lover, the personal assistant or the detective, I realized that this book was not engaging my interest on any level. With a mile-long TBR list, I'm throwing this one back.
• 
  Susan

  After recovering from a coma, Superintendent Andy Dalziel has started back to work. But a friend's request for help puts him at cross-purposes with his police colleagues. While it is interesting (and sometimes amusing) to see Dalziel so much on his own, I would have enjoyed a few more Pascoe appearances.
• 
  Colin Mitchell

  A day in the life of Dalzeil as he sets out to re-establish himself in the team and Mid-Yorkshire CID. A fast pace drives through the book as events try to runaway from him. Murder, old friends from London, corrupt policemen and dubious political funding are all here. The last full novel in the series.
• 
  Rebecca Carey

  I needed something not-too-taxing when I arrived in the States as my system was on overload from the move, and this really hit the spot - well plotted, well told.
• 
  Helen

  This book seriously interfered with my study time for my final exam! I love the Dalziel character and highly recommend this series of police procedurals. Begin with the earlier ones though.