Reginald Hill: Blood Sympathy (UK 2010)

From the Publisher:
PI can mean many things, but can it really mean a balding, middle-agd redundant lathe operator from a high rise in Luton, Beds? Joe Sixsmith thinks it can. His Aunt Mirabelle thinks you'd have to be crazy to hire him, and Joe's current clients certainly fit the bill. One seems to be confessing to the brutal murder of his whole family; another thinks she's a witch. Alongside them, the two heavies who believe Joe is hiding their illicit drugs seem almost normal.

In the past Reginald Hill has brought wit, style and compassion to police investigation. Now he does the same for the private sector, and -- in perhaps his greatest feat of creation -- reinvents Luton in the process.

Reginald Hill: Blood Sympathy. HarperCollins, ISBN: 9780007334865 (April, 2010), 224 p., £7.99.

Reginald Hill: Blood Sympathy (USA 1996)

From the Publisher:
It's feast or famine for ex-machinist turned private investigator Joe Sixsmith. One minute he's dozing in his office, the next he's been hired by a self-proclaimed dabbler in the dark arts to retrieve a stolen locket. There's also a man who dreams he has murdered his entire family, and two thugs who seem to think Joe's in possession of several kilos of heroin. But for a private eye with admittedly more wits than guts, a bit of luck may just keep him alive.

Reginald Hill: Blood Sympathy. Harlequin, ISBN: 0373262108 (July, 1996), 251 p., $4.99.

Reginald Hill: Blood Sympathy (UK 1994)

From the Publisher:
PI can mean many things, but can it really mean a balding, middle-agd redundant lathe operator from a high rise in Luton, Beds? Joe Sixsmith thinks it can. His Aunt Mirabelle thinks you'd have to be crazy to hire him, and Joe's current clients certainly fit the bill. One seems to be confessing to the brutal murder of his whole family; another thinks she's a witch. Alongside them, the two heavies who believe Joe is hiding their illicit drugs seem almost normal.

In the past Reginald Hill has brought wit, style and compassion to police investigation. Now he does the same for the private sector, and - in perhaps his greatest feat of creation - reinvents Luton in the process.

Reginald Hill: Blood Sympathy. HarperCollins, ISBN: 0586218513 (August, 1994), 224 p., £5.99.