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  • Child's Play

  • Dalziel and Pascoe Series, Book 9
  • By: Reginald Hill
  • Narrated by: Colin Buchanan
  • Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (174 ratings)
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Child's Play cover art

Child's Play

By: Reginald Hill
Narrated by: Colin Buchanan
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Summary

Andy Dalziel was preoccupied with the illegal book that one of his Sergeants was running on who was to be appointed as the new Chief Constable...and how to make sure his own bet paid off. But when a battered Ford Escort containing one very dead Italian turned up in the police car park, Peter Pascoe and his bloated superior were plunged into an investigation that made internal police politics look like child's play.
©2014 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A nicely plotted, smoothly written mystery on the top rung of the genre." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Narrator Colin Buchanan...brings a wealth of experience to his reading. His Dalziel is as close to Dalziel as a reader can get." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about Child's Play

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gruff of Sodding Greendale…

During the funeral of Gwendoline Huby, a stranger appears and then just as suddenly disappears again. Could this be the long lost son Mrs Huby had always hoped would one day return? Alexander Huby had gone missing in Italy in WW2 and, although the authorities and his father accepted that he had been killed in action, Mrs Huby never would. Now the rich old lady has complicated matters by leaving her wealth to her missing son, much to the annoyance of her extended family and of the three charities who will eventually get the money, but not until either many years have passed or Alexander is proved dead. There’s no mystery about Mrs Huby’s death – she died of old age. But when the funereal stranger turns up dead too not long after, Dalziel and Pascoe must confirm if he was indeed the missing son, and find out which of the other beneficiaries might have decided to cut short the wait for their inheritance. Meantime, Wieldy’s secret is in danger – a young man has turned up claiming to be the friend of Wield’s former lover, Maurice, and is threatening to tell the local papers that there is a gay man serving in the Mid Yorks CID.

Good grief! It seems so odd now that the idea of being outed as gay would have effectively ended Wield’s career as recently as 1986, but indeed I vividly remember the salacious outrage of the press whenever a police officer or anyone in a prominent position was found to be gay, and the vicious outing of people who were not ready to be outed into a society where homophobia was still legally sanctioned. Seems to me from memory that the public was way ahead of the authorities and the press on this one – actual people didn’t seem much to care, not ones of my generation anyway. Hill handles the issue with his usual compassion and sense of truth – Wield is a figure of neither fun nor pity, though we feel for him in his dilemma over whether to out himself before the press does it for him. This bit of the storyline also deepens the characterisation of Dalziel, letting us see a different side to him which he normally keeps well hidden behind his uncouth, strictly non-PC persona.

The actual murder plot is very good, with plenty of suspects all with strong motives. Mrs Huby’s family are a quirky bunch, from aspiring and not very good actor Rod, to little Lexie, whose diminutive form and quiet manner cover a steely determination to get what she wants out of life, to Lexie’s dad, John Huby, the comic relief whose dreams of a big inheritance have been shattered on learning that all he’d been left was Mrs Huby’s favourite dog, long ago deceased and stuffed, and known as Gruff of Greendale. There are also the representatives of the three charities and Mrs. Huby’s forbidding Danvers-like housekeeper-cum-companion, Miss Keach. Hill often has one of his regulars take the forefront with the others in the background, but in this one, Dalziel, Pascoe and Wield all have important roles, giving it added pleasure for me since all three are such great characters.

I listened to the audiobook version – my second experience of Colin Buchanan narrating. I must say that none of the issues I had with the last book troubled me this time – his Yorkshire accents sounded more Yorkshire, his Dalziel seemed more in tune with how I’d expect Dalziel to sound, and he doesn’t seem to race through the narration at quite the same speed. I don’t know whether it was really better or if I’ve just got used to his style, but either way I enjoyed his performance considerably more in this one.

By this point Hill is beginning to play with light-hearted literary references, as he would do more and more as the series progresses, and this one is presented as a three-act tragicomedy. The underlying story is quite dark and Wieldy’s dilemma certainly has an air of tragedy, but overall I find this one quite light in tone, with a lot of humour in it. Again in terms of plot it would work fine as a standalone, but knowing the three lead characters from the earlier books makes the interactions between them more satisfying. As always with this series, highly recommended.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Nice book ...

... shame about the narration. I did enjoy this book and finished it, but was regularly rewinding to catch all of the diction from the narrators very fast reading of this book. I'd definitely read another Dalziel abnd Pascoe, who were both evocatively written, but would prefer a different reader. Might just be me ...

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An excellent listen.

Loved the unusual twists. Colin Buchanan reads it with the prover fashion. I can àlmost picture it all happening.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

More of the same

If you enjoy Dalziel and Pascoe on TV you'll love this, and Colin Buchannon gives a bravura performance as Peter Pascoe, Dalziel and Wieldy during the reading.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic story, well read too

Great story, lots of intrigue and diversion. Well read (acted) by Colin Buchanan too (who played Pascoe in the TV series)

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good Crime Story

There are some important themes here around homophobia and racism woven around an intriguing story about a will. I found the ending (the whodunnit) slightly unbelievable and dissatistifying, however, there are some really interesting characters who play key roles in the plot. I also liked the fact it wasn't quite as gruesome or dark as some crime stories. As ever, the lead duo are engaging and the narrator brings it all together really well.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best

A great entry in the series. Full and complex plot with satisfying characters and lots of entertainment. Fascinating to see the period's open racism, homophobia and sexism as something mediated and quietly negotiated with by the good characters to several very satisfying endings (not without horror along the way).

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

"It's personal."

Reginald Hill can be relied upon to always write an excellent story and this, the ninth in his Dalziel and Pascoe series, is a police procedural packed with larger than life characters, greed and ambition, scheming and plotting, the outing of Wieldi and a rattling good story so convoluted at times it's easy to lose the direction. But all is revealed at the end.
Narration is again by Colin Buchanan, the T.V. Pascoe, who performs skilfully, giving new voice to each of the numerous protagonists as well as reading with a real feeling for both text and characters, constantly entertaining and engaging.

A real pleasure to read

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story!

I really enjoyed this one, it has lot of twists in the plot. The characters are believable and busy. Lots to keep you entertained. Brilliantly narrated.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

another great story

loved it another Dalziel and pasco jaunt they work so well together I know I'm not listening to them in sequence but I don't care I'm sure when I've finished and read them all again maybe I'll get that right in the meantime onwards and upwards xxx

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