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They'd moved everyone out of Dendale that long hot summer fifteen years ago. They needed a new reservoir and an old community seemed a cheap price to pay. They even dug up the dead and moved them too.But four inhabitants of the valley they couldn't move, for nobody knew where they were. Three little girls had gone missing, and the prime suspect in their disappearance, Benny Lightfoot. This was Andy Dalziel's worst case and now fifteen years on he looks set to relive it.It's another long hot show more summer. A child goes missing in the next valley, and old fears arise as someone sprays the deadly message on the wall of Danby: BENNY'S BACK!Music and myth mingle as the Mid-Yorkshire team delve into their pasts and into their own reserves of experience and endurance in search of answers which threaten to bring more pain than they resolve. show lessTags
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ehines Another drowned village emerges and another murder investigation is launched.
Member Reviews
One of the more disturbing books in the Dalziel and Pascoe series, in part because of the theme of serial child killing, but also because it shows that there are no easy answers. It's a complex and thought-provoking story, and one that easily supports re-reading. There is the mystery, yes, but there is also the psychological study of a village traumatised both by a series of unsolved child murders and by its forced relocation after its valley was drowned by a new water reservoir. It's also beautifully written by a master of prose. Hill brings his characters to full and vivid life, and they will linger with you for days.
Ideally the series should be read in order, and I think regular readers already familiar with the characters will get show more more out of this book, but it can be read as a standalone. For those familiar with the series, Hill continues to develop the story of his ongoing characters, deftly weaving it into the main plot of the book. Note that there are references to events in the previous book (The Wood Beyond) which are slight spoilers for that book. show less
Ideally the series should be read in order, and I think regular readers already familiar with the characters will get show more more out of this book, but it can be read as a standalone. For those familiar with the series, Hill continues to develop the story of his ongoing characters, deftly weaving it into the main plot of the book. Note that there are references to events in the previous book (The Wood Beyond) which are slight spoilers for that book. show less
Similar concept to Peter Robinson's In a Dry Season, handled very differently, though. Hill is really terrific at mixing high and low, comedic and the wrenchingly sad, and the ambiguous. His scope is . . . well, Shakespearean. Not the grand Shakespeare--more the Shakespeare of Henry IV. It is a tribute to Hill that he carries that scope so lightly and naturally.
Das kleine Dorf Dendale (bzw. das, was davon übriggeblieben ist), untergegangen in den Fluten eines Stausees zusammen mit dem Rätsel über drei verschwundene kleine Mädchen, taucht nach 15 Jahren nach einer langen Hitzeperiode wieder empor. Und mit ihm auch der damals verdächtige Benny? Graffity im benachbarten Ort Danby, wo die meisten der Bewohner Dendales nun leben, behaupten dies zumindest. Und als erneut ein kleines Mädchen verschwindet, scheint die Lage klar: Benny ist wieder da!
Superintendent Andrew Dalziel, der bereits mit dem Fall vor 15 Jahren beschäftigt war, macht seine damalige Erfolglosigkeit noch immer sehr zu schaffen ebenso wie vielen anderen seiner Kollegen. Es beginnt ein erneutes Hinterfragen der damaligen show more Vorgänge und scheinbar verheilte Wunden werden durch die neuen Untersuchungen wieder aufgerissen. Mit seinem unnachahmlichen Charme ('Ich denke, George...hat sein Gehirn über den Gesundheitsdienst bekommen, und jetzt wird's vom Immunsystem abgestoßen.') treibt Dalziel die Ermittlungen voran, um diese Fälle endlich zu klären.
Ein überaus fesselnder Krimi, der bemerkenswert unblutig daherkommt. Obwohl keinerlei Gewaltexzesse oder konkrete Bedrohungen beschrieben werden, steigt die düstere und angespannte Stimmung spürbar an. Hill gelingt es, den Druck und die Belastung, unter dem die Beamten wie auch die betroffenen Familien stehen, ebenso überzeugend darzustellen wie er bei Leserinnen und Lesern die Spannung erhöht, indem er sie auf die unterschiedlichsten Fährten führt. Als ob dies nicht schon mehr als genug wäre für eine gute Unterhaltung, lässt er seine Figuren über die wahren Werte des Lebens philosophieren und zeigt so ganz nebenbei, wie Menschen mit dem Verlust ihrer Heimat umgehen. All dies ist zudem noch in einem guten, leicht lesbaren und immer wieder auch amüsantem Stil verfasst, so dass man dieses Buch mit Fug und Recht als einen rundum gelungenenen Krimi bezeichnen kann. show less
Superintendent Andrew Dalziel, der bereits mit dem Fall vor 15 Jahren beschäftigt war, macht seine damalige Erfolglosigkeit noch immer sehr zu schaffen ebenso wie vielen anderen seiner Kollegen. Es beginnt ein erneutes Hinterfragen der damaligen show more Vorgänge und scheinbar verheilte Wunden werden durch die neuen Untersuchungen wieder aufgerissen. Mit seinem unnachahmlichen Charme ('Ich denke, George...hat sein Gehirn über den Gesundheitsdienst bekommen, und jetzt wird's vom Immunsystem abgestoßen.') treibt Dalziel die Ermittlungen voran, um diese Fälle endlich zu klären.
Ein überaus fesselnder Krimi, der bemerkenswert unblutig daherkommt. Obwohl keinerlei Gewaltexzesse oder konkrete Bedrohungen beschrieben werden, steigt die düstere und angespannte Stimmung spürbar an. Hill gelingt es, den Druck und die Belastung, unter dem die Beamten wie auch die betroffenen Familien stehen, ebenso überzeugend darzustellen wie er bei Leserinnen und Lesern die Spannung erhöht, indem er sie auf die unterschiedlichsten Fährten führt. Als ob dies nicht schon mehr als genug wäre für eine gute Unterhaltung, lässt er seine Figuren über die wahren Werte des Lebens philosophieren und zeigt so ganz nebenbei, wie Menschen mit dem Verlust ihrer Heimat umgehen. All dies ist zudem noch in einem guten, leicht lesbaren und immer wieder auch amüsantem Stil verfasst, so dass man dieses Buch mit Fug und Recht als einen rundum gelungenenen Krimi bezeichnen kann. show less
The country village of Dendale is being evacuated prior to its valley being flooded for a new reservoir, but before that can happen, three young girls go missing and the primary suspect, Benny Lightfoot, disappears too. Fifteen years later, another girl goes missing in the village to which Dendale residents had been relocated, and somebody has written “Benny’s Back” around the region. Dalziel failed to solve the case fifteen years ago; can the parallels help him to solve this one now?....This is the seventeenth Dalziel and Pascoe novel, and a very fine addition to the series. Not only do we have the past and present crimes to solve, but we spend a great deal of time with Pascoe, who is full of rage and fear after his daughter show more Rosie contracts a very serious illness. There’s both professional and domestic strife, and a mystery that kept me guessing right up to the very end; recommended! show less
Phew! This was a bit sober for the maestro. Yes, I did laugh out loud a few times, but equally, this book has moments to make a jester suicidal. The subject of child abduction and murder was never going to be light, but I was fascinated that his characters swear more in this book than in the rest put together. I wonder if this was skilful writing: our heroes showing their frustration and depression, or a sign of the author's feelings. Rosie's illness was a useful tool allowing Pascoe to empathize with the parents and Mr Hill's genius was that he managed to keep the whole opus on the right side of outright maudlin.
This is a cracking book and one that I would recommend anyone to read, but only at a time that life is being kind to you.
This is a cracking book and one that I would recommend anyone to read, but only at a time that life is being kind to you.
This installment of the Dalziel and Pascoe series was well structured, but it ran a bit long for me. I also did not enjoy the occasional flashes of gratuitous sexual content (Pascoe had an extremely inappropriate thought toward the end during the Poirot sort of "I have gathered you all here today to reveal the murderer" scene, and I nearly put down the book, I was so horrified).
On a more positive note, it is only now, decades after first picking up this series, that I've finally figured out the meaning behind Amanda Marvell's nickname of "Cap". I hadn't figured Dalziel for a Marvel Comics fan, but perhaps that's mentioned in another book. (I do also love that he calls Shirley Novello "Ivor".)
On a more positive note, it is only now, decades after first picking up this series, that I've finally figured out the meaning behind Amanda Marvell's nickname of "Cap". I hadn't figured Dalziel for a Marvel Comics fan, but perhaps that's mentioned in another book. (I do also love that he calls Shirley Novello "Ivor".)
"On Beulah Height" is the first book I've read by Reginald Hill. I came across it almost by accident - through a swap on PaperBackSwap.com. Another member wanted to do a trade and I couldn't find anything on her shelf that I recognized, so I decided to take a chance on this book, based on its synopsis.
Wow! I am so glad I did. Hill's work epitomizes everything that is good about British mysteries: a small village, eccentric characters, wry humor, flawed, but brilliant detectives, suspenseful, but with little or no graphic descriptions of violence. British mystery writers seem to be able to describe a crime with as much as they don't say as with what they do.
I didn't see the resolution of the mystery coming, even though it was there in show more front if me all of the time. And in my opinion, this is a good thing! I find it irritating when a writer resolves a mystery by introducing information at the end of the story that we weren't privy to at least somewhere before in the story. However, when a writer resolves a story in such a way that you say to yourself, "how could I have missed that?" And you want to read the book all over again, just so you can fully appreciate the clues that you misinterpreted or completely missed before - well, that is an excellent mystery in my book!
Hill's work is reminiscent of that of other British mystery writers I've enjoyed, such as Robert Barnard and Michael Gilbert. "On Beulah Height" reminds me once again why it's so important to take a risk with an author I'm not familiar with. Before this book, I'd been somewhat stuck in my reading, I'd read several books that were good, but not remarkable, and I wondered when I was going to come across that next really good book. "On Beulah Heights" was it and I'm so thankful that there are another 23 books in the Dalziel and Pascoe series I now can look forward to reading! show less
Wow! I am so glad I did. Hill's work epitomizes everything that is good about British mysteries: a small village, eccentric characters, wry humor, flawed, but brilliant detectives, suspenseful, but with little or no graphic descriptions of violence. British mystery writers seem to be able to describe a crime with as much as they don't say as with what they do.
I didn't see the resolution of the mystery coming, even though it was there in show more front if me all of the time. And in my opinion, this is a good thing! I find it irritating when a writer resolves a mystery by introducing information at the end of the story that we weren't privy to at least somewhere before in the story. However, when a writer resolves a story in such a way that you say to yourself, "how could I have missed that?" And you want to read the book all over again, just so you can fully appreciate the clues that you misinterpreted or completely missed before - well, that is an excellent mystery in my book!
Hill's work is reminiscent of that of other British mystery writers I've enjoyed, such as Robert Barnard and Michael Gilbert. "On Beulah Height" reminds me once again why it's so important to take a risk with an author I'm not familiar with. Before this book, I'd been somewhat stuck in my reading, I'd read several books that were good, but not remarkable, and I wondered when I was going to come across that next really good book. "On Beulah Heights" was it and I'm so thankful that there are another 23 books in the Dalziel and Pascoe series I now can look forward to reading! show less
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Author Information
84+ Works 18,495 Members
Reginald Hill has received Britain's most coveted mystery writers award, the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, as well as the Golden Dagger, for his Dalziel/Pascoe series. (Publisher Provided) Reginald Hill was born in Hartlepool, England on April 3, 1936. He received an English degree from St. Catherine's College, Oxford University and worked as a show more teacher until 1980, when he retired to become a full-time writer. His first novel, A Clubbable Woman, was published in 1970. During his lifetime, he wrote over 50 books that range from historical novels to science fiction including Fell of Dark, No Man's Land, The Spy's Wife, and The Woodcutter. He was best known for the Dalziel and Pascoe series and the Joe Sixsmith series. He also wrote under the pseudonyms of Patrick Ruell, Dick Morland, and Charles Underhill. He received the 1990 Golden Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year for Bones and Silence and the 1995 Cartier Diamond Dagger Award for lifetime achievement. He died from a brain tumor on January 12, 2012 at the age of 75. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Awards
Notable Lists
Series
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- On Beulah Height
- Original title
- On Beulah Height
- Original publication date
- 1998
- People/Characters
- Peter Pascoe; Andrew Dalziel; Edgar Wield; Shirley Novello; Amanda Marvell; Ellie Pascoe
- Important places
- Yorkshire, England, UK
- Related movies
- Dalziel and Pascoe (1996 | IMDb)
- Epigraph
- Silloin minä näin, että tie kävi helvettiin taivaan portiltakin.
JOHN BUNYAN: Kristityn vaellus
O where is tinye Hew?
And where is little Lenne?
And where is bonny Lu?
And Menie of the Glenne?
And where's the place of rest? —
The ever changing hame?
Is it the gowans's breast,
Or 'neath the bells o... (show all)f faem?
Ay, lu, lan, dil y'u
TUNTEMATON: The Gloamyne Buchte
Wir holen sie ein auf jenen Höh'n
im Sonnenschein.
Der Tag ist schön auf jenen Höh'n.
FRIEDRICH RÜCKERT: Kindertotenlieder IV - Dedication
- Allanille, vaeltavalle laulajalle!
For Allan a wandering minstrel, he! - First words
- Olin seitsemän vanha sinä päivänä kun Dendale hukutettiin veden alle.
The day they drowned Dendale I were seven years old. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Andy Dalzielin murahdettua lähtömerkin he kääntyivät katsomaan edessään kohoavaa rinnettä ja lähtivät tapaamiseen, joka heillä oli Beulahin kukkulalla.
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)At a grunted signal from Andy Dalziel, they turned their faces to the rising fell and went to keep their rendezvous on Beulah Height. - Publisher's editor
- Wisdom, Julia
- Original language
- English
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- Reviews
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- Rating
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- Languages
- 9 — Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 39
- ASINs
- 15
