Death’s Jest-Book (Dalziel & Pascoe, Book 18) - Softcover

Three times DCI Pascoe has wrongly accused dead-pan joker Franny Roote. This time he?s determined to leave no gravestone unturned as he tries to prove that the ex-con and aspiring academic is mad, bad, and dangerous to know.

Meanwhile, Edgar Wield rides to the rescue of a child in danger, only to find he has a rent-boy with a priceless secret under his wing. DC Bowler is looking forward to a blissful New Year with the girl of his dreams. Unfortunately, her dreams are filled with a horror too terrible to tell . . .

And over all this activity broods the huge form of DS Andy Dalziel. As trouble builds, the Fat Man discovers (as have many deities before him) that omniscience can be more trouble than it?s worth and that sometimes all omnipotence means is that you can have any colour you want, as long as it?s black.
From the Hardcover edition.

“Hill’s novels are really dances to the music of time, his heroes and villains interconnecting, their stories entwining.” -- Ian Rankin

“An increasingly lyrical and always humorous writer. . . Hill is blessed with a spontaneous storytelling gift.” -- Frances Fyfield

“Reginald Hill is probably the best living male crime writer in the English-speaking world.” -- Andrew Taylor, The Independent

“He just keeps getting better and better. . . . Hill, a true master, never fails to shock and surprise.” -- Ian Rankin, Scotland on Sunday