Reginald Hill: An April Shroud (USA 2009)

From the Publisher:
A country-house mystery.
The phrase evokes an image of 1930s fops in dinner jackets, starched family retainers, pale fingers dripping strychnine in the gin. It does not evoke an image of the belching Andy Dalziel, and yet there he is, on an enforced holiday, fetched up at a crumbling country manor, and sticking his bulbous nose into circumstances surrounding the late owner’s unusual demise. As this is 1972, rather than 1932, the fops are sporting t-shirts and excessive facial hair, and the family retainer is knocking ash in the microwaved stew. But there is a femme, and while she may or may not be fatale, she’s fabulous enough to waken even Dalziel’s long dormant romantic dreams. Peter Pascoe could apply the brakes, but he’s on his honeymoon, establishing his own romantic dreams with Ellie. For good or ill, love is in the air.

Reginald Hill: An April Shroud. Felony & Mayhem, ISBN 9781934609323 (July, 2009), 260 p., $14.95.

Reginald Hill: An April Shroud (UK 2009)

From the Publisher:
Superintendent Dalziel falls for the recently bereaved Mrs Fielding's ample charms, and has to be rescued from a litter of fresh corpses by Inspector Pascoe. After seeing Inspector Pascoe off on his honeymoon with a few ill-chosen words, Superintendent Andy Dalziel soon runs into trouble and water on his own solitary holiday. Rescued by a bunch of somewhat cheerful mourners, he accompanies them back to their rundown mansion to dry off. The owner of Lake House, Bonnie Fielding, seems less troubled by her husband's tragic death than by the problem of saving the family fortunes. Prompted not only by a professional curiosity but also by a more personal interest in Mrs Fielding's ample charms, Dalziel stays on. By the time Pascoe reappears, there have been several more deaths and it looks as if the normally hard-headed Dalziel might have compromised himself beyond redemption!

Reginald Hill: An April Shroud. A Dalziel & Pascoe Novel. HarperCollins, ISBN 9780007313051 (June, 2009), 336 p., £7.99.

Reginald Hill: An April Shroud (UK 2004)

From the Publisher:
After seeing Inspector Pascoe off on his honeymoon with a few ill-chosen words, Superintendent Andy Dalziel soon runs into trouble and water on his own solitary holiday. Rescued by a bunch of somewhat cheerful mourners, he accompanies them back to their rundown mansion to dry off.

The owner of Lake House, Bonnie Fielding, seems less troubled by her husband's tragic death than by the problem of finishing the half-completed Banqueting Hall which is to save her family fortunes. Prompted not only by a professional curiosity - why for instance would anyone keep a dead rat in the freezer? - but also by a more personal interest in Mrs Fielding's ample charms, Dalziel stays on.

By the time Pascoe reappears, there have been several more deaths and it looks as if his normally hard-headed boss might have compromised himself beyond redemption.

Reginald Hill: An April Shroud. A Dalziel & Pascoe Novel. HarperCollins, ISBN 0586072616 (January, 2004), 269 p., £6.99.

Reginald Hill: An April Shroud (UK 1996)

From the Publisher:
After seeing Inspector Pascoe off on his honeymoon with a few ill-chosen words, Superintendent Andy Dalziel soon runs into trouble and water on his own solitary holiday. Rescued by a bunch of somewhat cheerful mourners, he accompanies them back to their rundown mansion to dry off.

The owner of Lake House, Bonnie Fielding, seems less troubled by her husband's tragic death than by the problem of finishing the half-completed Banqueting Hall which is to save her family fortunes. Prompted not only by a professional curiosity - why for instance would anyone keep a dead rat in the freezer? - but also by a more personal interest in Mrs Fielding's ample charms, Dalziel stays on.

By the time Pascoe reappears, there have been several more deaths and it looks as if his normally hard-headed boss might have compromised himself beyond redemption.

Reginald Hill: An April Shroud. A Dalziel & Pascoe Novel. HarperCollins, ISBN 0006498604 (February, 1996), 272 p., £5.99 (?).