REGINALD HILL – Exit Lines. Collins Crime Club, UK, hardcover, 1984. Macmillan, US, hardcover, 1985. Reprint editions include: Signet, pb, 1986.

Genre:   Police procedural. Leading characters:  Dalziel & Pascoe; 8th in series. Setting:   England.

First Sentence:   On a cold and storm-racked November night, while Peter and Ellie Pascoe were still celebrating with wine and wassail the first birthday which their daughter Rose had greeted with huge indifference, three old men, who felt far from indifferent, died.

    The local population has been decreased by the death of three elderly gentlemen in one night; one died of exposure on a playing field, one having been attacked in his bath, and one after being struck by a car possibly driven by Andy Dalziel.

    It is always such fun to read a book by Hill. There is a great central cast of characters. In DS Andy Dalziel, Hill has created a highly offensive character and made him very likable. He is type the person you’d most want to avoid, yet there is innocence to his uncouthness and a heart beneath the girth.

   DI Peter Pascoe is the perfect counterpart with his university education and proper manner. He has come to be known as the murder specialist.

   Supported by their team, including the naive Constable Hector, Hill combines good police procedure and a touch of humor. When it comes to the victims, Hill is serious and presents the challenges and vulnerability of the aging with great respect and care.

   There are essentially five threads to Exit Lines: the three deaths, trying to figure out what Dalziel is doing, and Ellie Pascoe’s concern for her own aging father. I appreciated the realism of having the police investigate more than one case at a time and was stunned by the way they came together in the end.

   Hill is a wonderful writer, and Dalziel and Pascoe are a great combination, one I enjoy more with each book.

Rating:   Very Good.