Death's Jest Book cover art

Death's Jest Book

Dalziel and Pascoe Series, Book 20

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Death's Jest Book

By: Reginald Hill
Narrated by: Shaun Dooley
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About this listen

 Three times Detective Chief Inspector Pascoe has wrongly accused dead-pan joker Franny Roote. This time he's determined to leave no gravestone unturned as he tries to prove that the ex-con and aspiring academic is mad, bad, and dangerous to know. But over his investigation looms the huge form of Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel.© Reginald Hill; (P) W F Howes Ltd Crime Fiction Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Crime

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Critic reviews

"It's clever, involving and admirably resolved. No one does it better than Hill." ( The Guardian)
"Reginald Hill is probably the best living crime writer in the English-speaking world." ( The Independent)
All stars
Most relevant
Complex, twisting, beloved characters woven together through a cracking story. Modern writers would do well to study Hill. And Shaun Dooley was a worthy narrator. A great listen.

Hill at his best

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I love Reginald Hill's humour, particularly when he is doing the dialogue for Dalziel. The problem is Dalziel seems to appear less and less these days, great shame, he's the best bit

Not a bad listen, but Pascoe can be a bit of a self absorbed drip. He does get very obsessed and side tracked... I think he should be swapping places the gay motor biking sergeant who is far more interesting, and better at the job.

One the hole it wasn't a bad yarn

Where's Dalziel??

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When Peter Pascoe receives a long letter from an ex com shortly before Christmas, he is both angry and troubled. Then more arrive. This is an intricately woven, lengthy book about relationships, far more than that of just Pascoe and his letter writer, involving families and friendship, lovers and obsession, much of which is founded on an historical book and an unfinished later work by a murder academic. It is a magnificent read, fascinating, sometimes funny, at times breathtakingly sad as the superbly crafted characters become living, acting beings not just protagonists in a book. Plus, running through it all is the mystery..
A very fine addition to the Dalziel and Pascoe series (number 20), excellently performed by Sean Dooley and definitely recommended

"Fetch the cow."

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Reginald Hill does it again. The characters are always brilliant in this story ,like the rest of the series. Very well narrated.

Great storyline

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Perhaps the ending is a little convenient, but even so, I was fascinated by the unfolding of this tale. Shaun Dooley is different in style to previous readers but good at transmitting the energy of each character.

Always a great listen!

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