Over the years, Hill has employed interesting-and sometimes jarring-narrative techniques, and the 24th installment (after The Price of Butcher's Meat) in his Yorkshire-set series featuring detectives Andy Dalziel and Pete Pascoe is no exception: the novel takes place in the course of a single day. Dalziel is still adjusting to being back at work after his injuries and long convalescence. He is asked to help Gina Wolfe, wife of long-missing detective Alex Wolfe. Dalziel quickly sees that the case is much more complicated than it appears, and he and the team spend a dizzying day uncovering leads and trying to protect Gina from dangerous characters from Alex's past. Verdict This complicated mystery with great characters and a fast pace will attract Hill's loyal following and fans of British police procedurals. Hill is a very talented wordsmith as well, and his works should appeal to those seeking out well-written, carefully crafted crime novels.-Beth Lindsay, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The short time frame of British author Hill's strong 24th Dalziel and Pascoe procedural (after 2008's The Price of Butcher's Meat) maximizes suspense without sacrificing either characterization or humor. Andy Dalziel, an irascible dinosaur of a police officer who's only just returned to the Mid-Yorkshire force after recovering from a serious injury, is tracked down by Gina Wolfe, whose policeman husband, Alex, has been missing for seven years. Alex disappeared while under investigation by internal affairs, who suspected him of leaking information to a major criminal target. Gina was on the verge of having Alex declared legally dead, until she received a recent magazine photo clearly showing Alex or his double. Dalziel's decision to assist Gina unofficially in finding out what became of Alex leads to his placing a colleague in jeopardy. Numerous subplots don't slow the pace, a testament to Hill's skill in putting all the pieces together. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Hill, who has won the UK's Cartier Diamond Dagger Award for his Dalziel and Pascoe novels, produces his twenty-fourth in the series about the two hard-bitten Yorkshire coppers, Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel and sidekick Detective Sergeant Peter Pascoe. The number 24 is reflected in the plot, which is compressed into a single day. Hill also references a musical fugue, or restatements of a theme, in a somewhat heavy-handed way by the time readers get to the ending, billed as con fuoco poi smorzando, they may have tired of the poorly explained conceit. But there's enough to keep fans of the series happy Dalziel, who has spent the past two books recovering from a terrorist bomb, is back at work full time. A woman contacts him she wants to make sure her husband, a London bobby gone missing for years, is actually dead. The case intensifies, crime spreads, Dalziel and Pascoe trade barbs, and some order has been restored to the world. A must for series fans.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2009 Booklist