Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
On Beulah Height
Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Reginald Hill
Class/Genre: Mystery Police Procedural
Series: Dalziel & Pascoe # 16
Delacorte, Jul 1998, $22.95, 352 pp.
Fifteen years have elapsed since the small Yorkshire village of Dendale of was flooded in order to create a reservoir. However, the orderly moving of the residents took a bizarre twist when three young girls disappeared and the prime suspect Benny Lightfoot vanished. Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel never closed the book on this case.
However, a drought has occurred, leaving the reservoir at an all time low. The village has begun to reappear. At the same time, graffiti proclaims the return of Lightfoot and a girl has been reported missing. This time around Dalziel and his partner, Chief Inspector Peter Pascoe, hope they capture the culprit before anyone else disappears.
No review can do justice to the multi-layered, incredibly complex, but brilliantly written ON BEULAH HEIGHT. This novel has so many dimensions yet due to the tremendous talent of Reginald Hill, they all work and blend together so that the reader never feels lost. Instead, this fifteenth English village novel may be Hill's best and will be well mentioned when awards for 1998 come out. It's strongly recommend that fans read the entire series, but especially this masterpiece that showcases the mystery genre at its best.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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