Ruling Passion

This third entry in the Dalziel and Pascoe series features a very personal case for Pascoe. He and Ellie are heading to a quiet English village for a reunion weekend with four friends, but when they arrive on Saturday morning they find three of the friends murdered and the fourth missing (and naturally being the most likely suspect). Pascoe must wrestle with his personal feelings and his professional detachment while helping the local police solve the case.

Overall this was a very good book. Even though we know what will happen to the friends (assuming we've read the dust jacket), the way Hill structures the first couple of scenes lends an air of suspense to the proceedings. The writing, as usual, is superb, and Dalziel's uncensored show more pronouncements always bring a smile to the face. The characters are quite engaging too, even when you disagree with them, as I did with Ellie. She was cross with Pascoe because they were supposed to be at their friends' place on Friday night, but his work prevented them from going. Her thinking is, if they had been there on Friday night, they might have prevented the carnage or at least managed to save one of the friends. I didn't see it that way, though -- it's very lucky that they weren't there, because they were still alive and could bring the murderer to justice. If they had been there they might just have been killed too, and where would that leave everyone? Vexingly, nobody else seemed to point that out.

Warning: the following paragraph may be a spoiler.

Like most D+P novels, this is a fairly timeless read, in that it's not filled with dated pop culture references, but I'd suggest taking the section about diabetes with a grain of salt. After all, this was published in 1973, and I'm pretty sure we don't refer to the types as Type A, Type B and Type AB anymore. Also "stress diabetes" is not really the term in use these days -- it's "stress hyperglycemia" and is a temporary elevation in blood glucose levels due to the stress of illness. If you're referring to three main types of diabetes these days it's usually Type I (insulin injections required), Type II (oral remedies), and gestational (during pregnancy). But that's just me being pedantic. Perhaps a newer edition of the book has different information? My copy is fairly old.

Okay, it's safe to look now.

But all in all this is another good read for Dalziel and Pascoe fans. Worth hunting up. show less

One of the early D&P books where Pasco is still a sergeant and not yet married to Ellie and the main method of communication is a public telephone. Pasco and Ellie go away for the weekend to stay with old college friends and find several dead bodies. Meanwhile back in Yorkshire, a series of burglaries is baffling Dalziel and about to turn fatal. As usual amusing, if un-PC, dialogue as each suspect is analyzed, with enough red herrings to keep readers on their toes. Enjoyable retro crime fiction.

Detective Sergeant Peter Pascoe and his girlfriend Ellie are heading to a small village to visit friends, but when they arrive they find three of their friends dead and the fourth missing, presumed guilty of the crime by the local police. Pascoe has to serve as a witness rather than being involved in the investigation, but of course it is impossible for him not to go looking for answers, no matter the price….I don’t know how I managed to miss this, the third book in the Dalziel and Pascoe series, given that I’ve been reading them in order for about the last 2 years and have had this book on my shelf for ages. It’s a bit strange going so far back in the series, particularly as the last Dalziel and Pascoe book that I read was the show more next-to-last in the series as a whole; while Pascoe seems pretty fully characterized here (and Dalziel too, though in a much smaller role), Ellie doesn’t seem nearly as fierce as we know she is! Still, a good read as ever; recommended! show less

Loved the writing style - smart, funny and visual. This is the first of the series that I've read (#3 in the series) and will definitely read more from this author. FInally good writing, great character development and the perfect English countryside landscape. Terrific book

This story describes the development of the relationship between Dalziel and Pascoe as well as with Pascoe and Ellie. The crime had a personal element for Pascoe and he struggled to remain professional. But although it begins well, the story became somewhat muddled and lost impetus. Not Hill’s best work.

Third of the Dalziel and Pascoe books. At the end of the last book Peter Pascoe had got back together with old flame Ellie, and now they're invited to spend a weekend with four of their old university friends. They're late because Peter's been tied up with a serial burglary case that looks as if it's escalating to violence.

What they find when they finally arrive is a scene of carnage. Three people are dead, the fourth is missing in circumstances that lead the local police to make him chief suspect. Pascoe's involvement in the case is officially as a witness, but he can't help but get involved in the investigation, even if unofficially. These are his friends, after all, and he can't believe that one of them could really have changed so show more much as to commit murder. As the case progresses, Pascoe finds his ambiguous status of use to the official investigation, but an ever increasing source of frustration for himself. And Dalziel wants him back in Yorkshire, the more urgently because the burglary case has turned very nasty indeed.

The nature of the plot means that the book focuses strongly on Pascoe, with Dalziel largely present as a supporting role. It nevertheless shows the growth in the relationship between the two men, in a story that twists and turns until the various plot strands finally come together. This is a superb study of a policeman struggling and frequently failing to retain his professional detachment in the face of a crime that strikes only too close to home. show less

Just okay, really. It started well, but then slowed down and grew muddled. Keeping the two main detectives separated didn't really help, either. Having read some later books in the series, I know better is coming.