Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Fell Of Dark by Reginald Hill


When Harry Bentink decides to go on a hiking vacation with his best friend from college, he had several reasons.  First, his friend, Peter Thorne, had just been through a rough patch in which he had lost his job and then ended up hospitalized for a nervous breakdown.  Second, Harry's marriage is in trouble and some distance seems like a good idea.

Things start off well.  Peter seems better and the company and travel bring him joy.  But things take a major turn for the worst when two girls are raped and murdered on the trail and the two men have been seen talking with them shortly before the crime.  Now the pair are under suspicion and Harry is astounded to hear that Peter has confessed to the crimes.  He is sure that Peter's confession is nothing more than a way to avoid the stress of interrogation but Harry isn't about to confess to something he hasn't done.  He escapes from the police station and decides to investigate the crime himself, all while eluding the police search for him.  Can he find the killer and retrieve his friendship with Peter?

I'm a huge Reginald Hill fan.  His Dalziel and Pascoe series is one of the best in the mystery genre of partnership mysteries.  But this novel was one of Hill's weaker efforts.  The killer's identity is easily guessed and the wit and humor in his other novels is missing.  On top of that, every woman Harry meets is apparently desperate to have sex with him which adds another layer of incredibility to the effort.  This book is written for mystery readers.

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