A Pinch of Snuff (1978)

An excellent Dalziel and Pascoe mystery. The subject matter is rather naughty -- a local film group that shows pornos, one of which is suspected to have an element of snuff film to it. This allegation is brought to the attention of Pascoe by his dentist. Pascoe checks it out and initially thinks there isn't much of a case to be brought, when the cinema club building is torched and vandalized and its proprietor beaten to death. The dentist, meanwhile, is accused of raping one of his underage patients. A steamy, rather twisted tale to be sure, but Dalziel and Pascoe will see it through.

This was a very good story overall. Hill provided enough description to give you an idea of what was going on without going into the realm of sordidness. Dalziel had many crude and amusing one-liners, and the narration was its usual wry self. There was even a bit of social commentary thrown in, but nothing heavy.The story kept twisting and turning -- I was never quite sure what would happen next, and the solution was quite a surprise. A worthy addition to any D+P fan's bookshelf. ( )

Very good as every installment that I have read so far. ( )

Detective Inspector Peter Pascoe's dentist, who is used to seeing broken jaws and broken teeth, tells Pascoe that a scene in an X-rated film where a women is beaten is real, not staged. This leads Peter and his wife Ellie to check out the Calliope Kinema Club, a trendy venue for soft-core porn in an otherwise proper and well-to-do neighborhood.

Sergeant Wield already has the place under surveillance, due to neighborhood complaints and scandalized locals, but Wield and Pascoe's Boss Superintendant Dalziel is skeptical that anyone is guilty of anything more than voyeurism until an indisputable murder turns up the heat.

The series is known for the two leads, Dalziel and Pascoe . However, the four key characters (Peter Pascoe / Ellie Pascoe / Edgar Wield / Andy Dalziel) all four characters get to shine in this one. Not as innovative as most of the later books in the series, but still an excellent police procedural, and well as showing much of the sly humor and characterization that makes Hill's books so enjoyable. ( )

In the fifth book of the series, Dalziel and Pascoe have been working together long enough to have formed a good partnership. So Peter Pascoe is surprised when Dalziel dismisses a lead Pascoe is given on a porn film that may be more than it seems. Pascoe's dentist is convinced that one scene in the current offering at the local private film club was not achieved by special effects, but showed a genuine beating--one severe enough that the actress might well have died as a result.

Pascoe pursues the matter in spite of Dalziel's disinterest, and won't drop it even when the dentist is accused of molesting an underage patient. When the elderly owner of the film club is found beaten to death, Pascoe suspects a link with his investigation of the possible snuff film. As he digs deeper it becomes clear that there's something very nasty going on. But there are a good many threads to untangle before he uncovers the full story.

As usual with this series, this book is a well-crafted police procedure with stylish writing and a good deal of humour, though Hill never trivializes the crimes he describes. The book is self-contained and can be read without having first read any of the previous books. There's some development of the long term story of the main characters, with the introduction of Sergeant Wield, and a look at the early months of Peter and Ellie's marriage. Ideally the series should be read in order, but this entertaining and thoughtful book makes a good starting point if the earlier books aren't available.

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