Monday, September 20, 2010

A Cure For All Diseases by Reginald Hill

Sandytown is the perfect seaside resort.  It's newest venture is advertising itself as a health resort.  There is already a world-class clinic, and a local group is bringing in alternative therapists also.  There's a plan to turn the local manor house into a luxury hotel/spa and all seems ducky.  The main partners in the venture are Lady Denham, who is the local gentry, and Tom Parker, who is interested in the alternative therapies and is the general cheerleader for the project.

All's well until a local gathering is interrupted by the discovery of the body of Lady Denham.  It seems there are a myriad of suspects.  In addition to Tom Parker, Lady Denham had several relatives who wanted to be her heirs.  There are also local characters who she has insulted or treated shabbily.  On top of this, there are secrets with some of the alternative healers.

The case falls to Peter Pascoe, who is heading up Yorkshire police in the absence of Andy Danziel.  But Daziel is on the spot---he's recuperating from a terrorist bombing at the clinic.  The entire cast of characters from this series are on the spot, along with some former villians and new intriguing characters.

The Dalziel-Pascoe series in one of my absolute favorites.  Hill writes breezily and humour comes through in the speeches of his characters.  The mysteries are densely plotted, and the reader is usually surprised by the ending.  This book is highly recommended for all mystery lovers, and if you haven't read any of the series, you'll want to go back and read them all!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like something I'd love to read but does it stand alone even though it's part of a series?
God bless,
Helen(grammea)
grammea22@verizon.net

Sandie said...

Yes, you can jump in on any of the books in the series and it will be great. But half the fun with Reginald Hill is getting to know the characters.