A Pinch of Snuff

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. show more 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. show less

There’s a new club in town, one that shows “blue movies” to a select clientele. All a bit of harmless fun, really, but when Detective Sergeant Peter Pascoe’s dentist suggests that one such film might have included some real violence to a woman, Pascoe feels obliged to follow through; before he can do too much, however, the dentist is accused of statutory rape, the owner of the club is killed and the club itself is wrecked. Somehow all these threads are linked, and Pascoe has to try to unravel them, without much support from Detective Superintendent Dalziel…. The story here is quite intricate and well constructed, with lots of red herrings and other diversions along the way. It was first published in 1984, though, and it’s show more quite shocking to modern readers to encounter the way domestic violence was treated in those days: basically a “shrug and forget it” from the police, and the community in general. Sensitive readers might be disconcerted, so only a mild recommendation from me. show less

A Pinch of Snuff by Reginald Hill is the fifth book in the Dalziel and Pascoe series of crime novels and was originally published in 1978. It very much brings back echoes of the late 1970s, both in setting, fashion and social behavior. The contrast between the two detectives is very much part of the appeal of the series. Dalziel is crude, tactless and appears to lack any manners, he seems to delight in acting the buffoon but in actuality, he is clever and very much aware of what is going on around him. Pascoe is more of a surface intellectual, empathetic and educated and tends to lead with his feelings and while these two make an excellent combination, the relationship is far from easy.

This particular case involves the pornographic film show more industry and involves murder as well as the rape of an underage young girl. When Pascoe’s dentist tells him about a film he saw at a private cinema club, he is sure that the film went too far and the woman in the picture was actually beaten or perhaps even killed. Pascoe starts to investigate and suddenly things start to escalate.

A Pinch of Snuff wasn’t an easy read. It’s subject matter of porn, violence to women, and child exploitation were difficult to read about especially as seen through the windshield of the 1970s. I can certainly see the appeal of these detectives as the author adds plenty of sardonic social commentary that kept me interested. One of my reading goals is to read as many of the 100 books that appear on H. R. F. Keating’s 100 Best Crime and Mystery Books so I am happy to be able to tick this one off. show less

Before I get into the meat and potatoes of my review, I have to admit that I did not realize that this was part of a series when I bought it and thus I have not read the first 4 installments. Luckily, this author has the good sense to give you enough on the main protagonists to make it feel like you haven't missed anything about them. Perhaps you would better understand Pascoe's relationship with his wife (girlfriend? I forget if he said if they were married or not) or Dalziel's boorish temperament, but I doubt it would be to the extent that it would make a major difference in the story.

Now that being said this whole story is a hot mess and a half. Though well written, the whole thing is a little all over the place. Dalziel seems, show more almost unperturbed at the alleged affair between the 12 year old Sandra Burkill and Dr. Shorter, but is constantly pressuring Pascoe to give him information on the alleged murder of a local porn movie house owner/operator. It feels as though his priorities are a bit skewed. Additionally, the reader gets the distinct feeling that Dalziel is trying to brush it under the rug and push straight to a conviction because he's buddy buddy with the father of the girl in question. It all comes together in the end with a neat little bow, but it felt as though things that would typically be more pressing were, ultimately, not. I also feel as though there were a lot of red herrings thrown in that really didn't add much to the story and were just there to confuse the readers idea of what happened with these crimes.

In short, it's not bad, but a bit haphazard for my liking. It's just not my cup of tea. show less

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 / show more 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. show less

Distasteful Dalziel
Review of the Grafton Books paperback edition (1987) of the Collins Crime Club hardcover original (1978)

I thought the fifth in the Dalziel (pronounced Dee-Ell) and Pascoe series treated its various distasteful themes of exploitation and violence too lightly. Pascoe is diligent enough in his investigation while it seems as if the odious inspector Dalziel is downplaying what seems like the common sense instincts of the junior detective. In the end Dalziel does come around and the gang of exploiters is arrested in a rather swift and disappointing finish.

I re-read A Pinch of Snuff due to a recent discovery of my old mystery paperbacks from the 1980s in a storage locker cleanout. I was also curious about the precedents show more for Mick Herron's Jackson Lamb in the Slough House espionage series in the personality of Reginald Hill's Chief Inspector Andy Dalziel, which Herron has acknowledged.

See photograph at https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZkxI4CXkAAu2sG?format=jpg&name=large
Book haul of the early Dalziel and Pascoe paperbacks, mostly from Grafton Books in the 1980s. Image sourced from Twitter.

Trivia and Link
A Pinch of Snuff was adapted as a separate 3-episode TV mini-series in 1994 before the later and better known TV series of Dalziel and Pascoe (1996-2007). Author Reginald Hill was so disappointed in the adaptation that he did not approve further adaptations with that cast. I could not find an online trailer or posting of the episodes. Information about the miniseries can be found on Wikipedia. show less

Up to the usual high standard of the Dalziel & Pascoe series but just shy of the cherry-on-top perfection of my all-time favourites. Reginald Hill's average writing is far better than most other writers' best, however.