Reviewed By: Fiona Walker
Dialogues of the Dead
Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Reginald Hill
Class/Genre: Mystery Police Procedural
Series: Dalziel & Pascoe # 18
HarperCollins, 2001, 558pp
In the beginning…
…was the word.
And the word was sent in the form of a "dialogue", to the Mid- Yorkshire Gazette as entry into a short story competition. The author appears to be claiming responsibility for the death of a man recently discovered drowned. Shortly after, there follows another dialogue, this time attesting to the fact that the writer helped cause the death of a motorcyclist, also recently found dead, supposedly in a road accident.
DC "Hat" Bowler only pays attention to the dialogues in order to get into favour with librarian Rye Pomona, who is helping to judge the contest. But it is only when a third undeniable murder takes place that the investigation really begins. More vicious murders occur, as dialogues follows dialogue in what becomes a deadly word-game between the killer and the police.
For several reasons, this is, in my opinion, the best book ever written. There is a wonderful mix of the classic English detective story and the more contemporary serial killer novel, a brilliant underlying tone of humour (present in all his books), some excellent characters, and the actual plot (wonderfully labyrinthine and exquisitely clever as it is) holds breathtaking originality. As does the sting-in-the-tail ending, written so originally and shockingly that I was blown out of my socks, and left with only warm feelings about the book. Over all the action, Dalziel broods like a deity, trying to exercise his power in the face of blind love and murder, and a puzzle so complex and clever it could only have come from Reginald Hill. The relationships between all the characters are fascinating, as are the characters themselves. As a sort of side- note, I must say that anyone who loves words and language will ADORE this novel, because at heart this is a book about words and wordplay, with many delightfully perplexing lexical puzzles throughout, merged seamlessly into the storyline.
Stunningly original, with the most intriguing motive a killer could have, this is an absolutely marvellous puzzle. Hill’s ingenuity in this, his best (and THE best!) book in years, astounds. The way it all fits so smoothly into place during the small piece of perfection that is the final "dialogue" is magical. I was left in awe, knowing how lovingly Hill must have crafted his plot for it all to click so slickly. This is definitely the one I’m going to be cheering on for "Best Book of All Time". It’s the sort of novel that is so ingenious and well-written that it will cause aspiring writers all over the world to lay down their quills and weep for a lost dream.
Fiona Walker
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Fiona Walker
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