All books are in clear copy here, and all files are secure so don't worry about it. Originally published by Carol Publishing Group in Deadheads is the 7th book in the Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
In this series View all. Book 8. Book 9. Book Book Book Buy the eBook. There's nothing to say about her. A man called us. He was angry because his car had been scratched. She didn't seem to care. Just wanted to jump in the car and go, without speaking to us.
She didn't have any. What's all this about, young Shady? Are you after Mr Dalziel's job already? All right, Sherlock Holmes? Is that enough for you? He wished Bradley wouldn't talk to him as if he were an annoying child. Nobody else was treated like that. Did they do it to him just because he was black? He would show Bradley! He would show them all just how good at his job he could be! What's strangest of all is that Elgood told us Aldermann had killed Bulmer and Eagles, but he's sure Burke's death was an accident.
He's playing some game. We'll find out sooner or later what it is. He gave me a blue rose. He's got a special sharp knife. He uses it so skilfully. I want to know how this man, who isn't very good at his job, has got so far. He may be about to join the Board of Directors of an important company. Dull, ordinary; wife and two children, nice house, nice garden. I expect he even has a dear old mother. Lives in London.
Why not Aldermann? Did she marry again? Patrick chose to take his great-uncle's name. She's never told anyone who Patrick's father was. Suddenly he burst out, 'Penny Highsmith! Did she live here? Patrick went to school here. I remember her well. She was a grand girl, full of fun. It must be her! A smile lit up his fat face.
I'll be away a couple of days. You can see what you can do with this business while I'm away. Don't waste time on it, though.
Now go away. I've got things to do. And they usually bang on your door asking for help just at dinner time! In fact, I did the cooking. Mummy died when I was just a child. The state should provide for their needs. You don't know a lot about human nature, do you? Everyone knew Daddy was a kind man, and he had plenty of money. Mummy came from a rich family, you see. It was awful. He had to go to Little Leven to inspect the church, because the tower needed repairing.
A stone fell on him and killed him. Fortunately, at that moment Rose plunged her hand into a chocolate cake, and Daphne's sad story was forgotten in the confusion. They talked for another hour before arranging to meet again the following week. Ellie and Peter Pascoe had a late dinner that night. He had been delayed by another burglary at a local country house, while she had a crying baby to keep her busy.
Over dinner she told him about Rose's adventure with the chocolate cake, and went on to talk about Daphne. He was an accountant in Harrogate, and did some work for her father's church. Thought she was too young. Then he died. I think she still feels guilty for upsetting him just before his death. A stone from Little Leven church tower fell on him. You're doing well! I was just having a nice gossip, not acting as a police informer. I thought you told me all the business about Patrick murdering people was just nonsense.
Ever since his visit to Rosemont with Sergeant Wield, he had been thinking about the case. He wanted so badly to do something right, to be a success as a policeman. Most of his old schoolfriends had no jobs. He supposed he was lucky, but at the moment he didn't feel it. Important men like Dalziel and Pascoe never noticed him, Sergeant Wield seemed to think he was a fool, and some of the others - well, he was sure they disliked him just because he was black. He looked at his watch. Time to go. Wedderburn would be waiting for him for more boring traffic control.
At that moment the lift doors opened and five youths got out. He knew two of them, Jonty Marsh and Mick Feaver. They had been in his class at school. You'll never catch anyone! The others are hidden, waiting. I've been sent out to have a word with you, because I said I knew you at school. Singh had suspected his old friends. Now he was becoming sure that they had done the damage. He went on, half proud of himself, half ashamed of his power over these boys. There's one car we're very interested in.
If you have any information about it, you'll be helping us, and we always try to be nice to people who do that.
What happened next was better than anything he could have expected. It was a big car, a BMW, and there was a man at the wheel. Peter Pascoe also found he couldn't stop thinking about the Aldermann case. It was nonsense, he was sure, but it fascinated him. Elgood must be suffering from overwork, and his imagination was working overtime. Pascoe knew all about stress, and the peculiar things it did to the mind.
He had no time to spare for this nonsense, he told himself, as he picked up the phone and asked for Detective Inspector Skelwith of Harrogate police. He asked him to find out if they had any information about Patrick Aldermann, who used to work as an accountant in Harrogate. It looks as if the burglars you've had in your area have been at work over here. My advice, if you want the whole story, is to go and see old Capstick. He's retired, now. His address is Church House, Little Leven.
The old man lay in a wheelchair, looking out of the window at his pretty garden, beyond which Pascoe could see a church. This must be the church where Daphne's father had been killed. Tea was served by a housekeeper, and Pascoe explained carefully that his enquiries were not really official; he only wanted to satisfy his own curiosity. I will tell you about Patrick. He came here as a young, newly qualified accountant. He was quiet, not particularly good at his job, but pleasant enough.
I knew his great-uncle Edward very well. He was a very successful accountant. He made enough money to buy that old house, Rosemont, and rebuild that wonderful garden. Patrick loved Eddie, loved to talk about him, although he had only met him a few times. You know he changed his name from Highsmith to Aldermann? He had Eddie's love of roses, too. Eddie planted some for me, more than thirty years ago.
I've got just one of those left now. Patrick replaced the rest for me when they got too old. Roses grow old, Mr Pascoe, just like people. Patrick said the old must give way to the new, but the new must deserve their place. Look at them. Aren't they beautiful? The old man looked sad. Quite unexpected. A terrible shock to me. You see, there was an old lady, Mrs McNeil.
She had a lot of money, and she wanted Patrick to manage it for her. He's very charming, you see, and she trusted him. She thought he was wonderful. Then one day he was not in the office when she called. There was a lot of flu around at the time, and he had caught it.
Mrs McNeil wanted something, and I had to look at the books. Then I discovered what he had been doing. For three or four years, Mr Pascoe, he had been carefully and steadily stealing her money. He didn't deny it, just listened to me quietly.
Bur I had no opportunity. Patrick was soon well again, but Mrs McNeil had also got the flu. She was an old lady, and it was enough to kill her. So she died, you see, before I could tell her. In the end, I decided, there was no point in going to the police. I told him to leave, and I said I intended never to see him again.
I miss him sometimes,' he added sadly. Daphne Aldermann's father. A little too serious in his ways, but a very good man. Of course, your company took care of his church accounts. We looked after his own money, too. He was quite a rich man, as I expect you know. Patrick Aldermann meeting the pretty young daughter, and then later finding some excuse to look at the account books to see how much money her father had.
Back at the station, he was surprised to find Sergeant Wield waiting for him with Shaheed Singh. He didn't much like conferences. It was all right meeting old friends and having a few drinks with them, but apart from that he hadn't found much to interest him.
On his second afternoon in London he took a street map and set out to find Penelope Highsmith's flat. He found the house, and wandered around for a while, keeping an eye on the front door. He was lucky. He was just passing the building for the third time when a taxi stopped just outside and a woman got out.
He recognized her at once. Tall and well-dressed, with thick black curly hair, she looked much younger than he had expected. He stopped, as if in sudden surprise. Weren't you in the police?
You've put on weight. Once inside her comfortable flat, he relaxed in a deep armchair and watched her as she moved around, making the tea. She was much as he'd known her years before; warm, independent, cheerful - and very attractive.
It's not fair, he thought. I've got old and fat, and she hasn't. Then she died, and I got the house and the money. By that time my son was at school. He loved Yorkshire. Still at Rosemont. He married a nice girl. They've got two children. I go up and visit sometimes, just for a day or two. I prefer my little flat here to that great big house. It would have been a good time to make a move. Shaheed Singh felt trapped, ashamed of being disloyal to his old friends, yet desperate to succeed in his job.
Singh thought miserably. In fact, Wield felt sorry for the boy. But Pascoe had spoken to Dalziel on the telephone, and Dalziel had decided the boy must be questioned. Mick Feaver and Jonty Marsh.
You'll know his brother Arthur. Got a record as long as your arm. Stealing from houses, mainly. Bring him in. Marsh remembered the BMW clearly, and its colour - dark blue. Next, he talked to Mick Feaver.
Mick remembered more details about the BMW. He also admitted that he had scratched Daphne's car. Finally, Pascoe saw the two boys together. However, you are both known to be of good character. One of my own officers tells me so. At the moment we shall go no further with this case. Please understand that you are very lucky, and keep out of trouble in future. Is that clear?
I had to look at it recently because a garage door had fallen on it. I've checked the description. It's definitely his. The day before he came to tell us Patrick Aldermann was trying to murder him, he'd been off at his holiday cottage, making love to Aldermann's wife! If he raised his head, he could look across the beach to his holiday cottage, which stood near the edge of a cliff.
Twenty years ago, when he had bought the cottage, it had not been so near the edge, but every winter the sea brought more of the cliff crashing down onto the beach.
Elgood did not worry about that. He had no child to leave the cottage to. He had bought it cheaply. He was rather fascinated by its impermanence and the way the coast was always changing. Here he could relax, with a woman friend or alone. Today he wanted to be alone. He had had to deal with a difficult meeting the day before. Times were hard, and some of his workers were to lose their jobs, but he had managed the situation well, and now this sunny day of peace was his reward.
Or perhaps not. A car was stopping by the cottage. He thought for a moment of hiding, but knew he must face her. It was Daphne Aldermann. He swam to the beach. How did you know I was here?
He told him. Perhaps Patrick thought Quayle could get him onto the Board. Good thing he had made that phone call to London yesterday. That should put a stop to Aldermann's little plan. He smiled at Daphne.
How long can you stay? It's pretty here, but it's so impermanent. But even Rosemont won't last for ever. Nothing will. I like change. It doesn't worry me. As soon as they sat down, she said, 'Dick, I came to tell you that it's over between us. She had never been really interested in him, he could tell. This was no disappointment, and he found it easy to smile and say, 'Well, we're still friends.
We've hurt no one. Don't feel guilty about it. He had met her when Aldermann joined the company as assistant to Chris Burke. He supposed that they were short of money. Or several occasions he took her out for lunch. Then Burke died, and Patrick took his job. Later, after Eagles had died, Elgood saw that Patrick hoped for a place on the Board, and knew that he didn't want him there.
He was honest with Daphne, telling her how he felt. It was later the same day that he told Patrick, 'If you ever get a place on the Board, it'll be over my dead body! He had already planned a visit to his cottage next day, so he invited her to come with him. He was not sure she would come until the moment she had driven into the car park and jumped into his car. All the way to the coast she talked nervously about Patrick.
He still seemed to be so sure of success. It was as if he knew the future, knew for certain that he would be all right, and that he would always have Rosemont. A few drinks at the cottage relaxed her, but she still looked worried and nervous when Elgood finally took her in his arms. The next morning back at home the garage door had crashed down, narrowly missing him. Now Daphne said, 'I'm really not the type to have an affair like this.
I had to see you to make you understand. I felt so awful when the police came to ask questions about my car. I kept remembering those boys in the car park and wondering if they remembered me.
I feel better now we've talked,' Daphne said. You know, recently I've met a woman and become friendly with her. She happens to be a policeman's wife. I like her a lot. She's really bright and independent. But I find myself waking up in the middle of the night thinking she's been told to spy on me!
He wasn't bothered. He just told me to ask her and her husband to dinner. I've got something to tell you. Gives Aldermann a motive, though. And it explains why Dick seems so sure Aldermann's trying to kill him. Someone who wanted to buy Rosemont from Penny Highsmith about the time Patrick left school. Edgar Masson's the Aldermanns' family lawyer. He could tell you the details. Ask him about Florence Aldermann's will. I'm so bloody bored with this conference, I've been out on the case instead.
It seems Aunt Flo died without making a will. Another thing. Daphne's father had plenty of money to leave, but he didn't leave it all to her.
If Aldermann expected to get rich that way, he was disappointed! It'll be finishing soon, and the fool who's giving it has left his office open.
I'm using his phone. He's locked his whisky away, though. Awful what suspicious minds some people have. Now he's full of it. Let's take a good look at what we already know. Mrs Florence Aldermann died of a heart attack. There are no suspicious circumstances, unless we count the fact that there was no will, so Penny Highsmith inherited everything.
A few years later, Penny tried to sell Rosemont, but the buyer died. I'm seeing her lawyer, Masson, later today to talk about that. The Reverend Oliver Somerton. He died in an accident at Little Leven church.
There were no witnesses, which is always suspicious, but we know nothing else. Mrs Catherine McNeil. She died of flu, but we shouldn't be surprised by that. She was an old lady. It seems that Aldermann himself had flu, and while he was away from the office his boss found out about his little games with her money. I must say it's an original sort of crime. Some workmen were doing some repairs to his house. It seems he came home in the middle of the afternoon and ran up the ladder to see how the repairs were going.
His foot slipped, and he fell and broke his neck. Weren't there any witnesses? It had been raining, so the workmen had gone off to do an indoor job somewhere else. Burke's wife had gone out. When she came home, she found her husband lying there dead. Why wasn't he at his office? Do we know whether he had been drinking? We ought to look into it, Sergeant. Brian Bulmer, Elgood's financial director, crashed his car after the office party last Christmas. He was definitely drunk, I'm afraid.
No one else was involved, and there were no witnesses. Timothy Eagles, the chief accountant, had a heart attack, and died at his desk. He was found next morning, sitting there with his coat on. He must have been getting ready to go home, when he was taken ill. It's evening. Aldermann is about to leave the office. Everyone else has gone home. He finds Eagles at his desk, having his heart attack.
He doesn't call for help. He just closes the door on him, goes home and leaves him to die. You've met Aldermann. Do you think he could do a thing like that? Pascoe sighed deeply. Is this all what Dalziel would call "a load of daft rubbish", or is there really something going on? I just don't know. When the boy had first come up to him, as he was going into the Market Cafe, he had expected anger. Now, seeing the expression on Mick's face and the cut on his lip, he felt sorry for him.
He would be meeting Wedderburn in the cafe in five minutes, so there was just time to hear what Mick wanted first. The boy followed him silently through the door. Mrs Pascoe was there, Singh noticed, but she was on her own this time.
That Pascoe, he said someone had put in a good word for us. I knew it must be you. That Jonty Marsh, he wanted to say it was just me, to let me be the only one to get into trouble. You should hear what he calls you, too. He says you pretend to be friendly, then go straight back to the Police Station and tell them everything you've heard. That black pig.
These had been his friends. What a distance there was between them now. Suddenly he wished he were in his father's shop, among the familiar sounds and smells of home. Mrs Pascoe was just going out of the door, he noticed, and Wedderburn was outside, talking to someone in the market. He's been boasting about his brother, Arthur.
Says he's got a really big job on. Says Arthur's taking him along, too. So this was his first informer - his old schoolfriend Mick Feaver. Thought he was just talking big. So Jonty gets mad at them, says if they don't believe him, they can read all about it in the newspapers. It's going to be the first weekend in July.
They're going to break into a big house called Rosemont. Before becoming Rose's mother, Ellie had been a teacher. She was continuing to do a little teaching even now, with a small baby to look after. This morning she was trying to mark a pile of tests she had given her students, and was finding it difficult to concentrate on them. She should have been marking them instead of waiting for Daphne in the cafe - and then Daphne had not even bothered to come!
She picked the phone up. You should have been at the Market Cafe, then, when I was sitting waiting for you! Every time anyone gets in his way fate intervenes and they die.
By this stage in the series, Hill has hit his stride and the recurring characters have developed the depth and complexity that make them so enjoyable.
Sometimes Hill concentrates more on one of his leads than the others, giving the bulk of the book over to either Dalziel or Pascoe, or later in the series, to Wield or even Ellie. We get to know Ellie better as we see her try to juggle between her friendship with Daphne and her loyalty to Peter. With Singh he gives a very credible picture of a young lad, Yorkshire born and bred, but treated always as different because of his skin colour and Asian heritage.
Patrick Aldermann is an intriguing potential villain. Having inherited Rosemont from his rich great-aunt — victim of one of the fortuitous deaths that ease his path through life — Patrick is devoted to his huge garden. He seems to love his wife and children too, though perhaps with less passion than the roses on which he spends all his spare time and money. Could this apparently good-natured if rather emotionally undemonstrative man really be responsible for the murders of several people?
Or is it all simply coincidence? Meantime, CID are also investigating a spate of burglaries in the area, while Dalziel is off to London for a conference on community policing in mixed societies, giving us the opportunity to hear some of his un-correct but very funny views on political correctness! So Peter and Wieldy have their hands full, even without this case that might not be a case at all.
But these middle books would all make good entry points — although the character development is important, each of the books at this stage of the series works fine as a stand-alone which is not true of some of the later books. Highly recommended, book and series both. Jan 26, Shauna rated it liked it Shelves: , modern-crime-uk. A very different offering from Reginald Hill. There is no 'whodunnit' as such, more of a 'were these murders and where to find the proof' search for North Yorkshire's finest.
We don't get a lot of Andy Dalziel but there is a lot more of Ellie Pascoe; probably too much in my view. Not one of the best in the series by a long way but still entertaining. Nov 06, Jon rated it really liked it. Completely different from its predecessor, this book reveals the probable serial killer fairly early. The police investigate the cold cases, in which there are no solid clues. The likelihood that the suspect is the real murderer varies as the book progresses, the author hinting one way then the other, playing with our expectations.
Eventually we learn the truth, while having been entertained on every page by lively dialogue, likable, complex characters, and elegant writing. Aug 06, Virginia rated it it was amazing. This was 7 in the whopping book Dalziel and Pascoe series and from what I understand, a bit of a departure from the usual depth and tone of the rest.
I enjoyed it as much as I have the others, although it was a much more character study than mystery. The main character is driven by a passion for the cultivation of roses, and each chapter begins with the name of a rose along with its colour and primary characteristics. It took me an embarrassingly long time to see that those descriptions introduced that chapter's characters and events in the most subtle and amusing way. I'd give this 4 stars but my enjoyment in revisiting these people bumps it up to a 5.
The old are fighting back. They have the great advantage of an irresistible recruitment program. Mar 27, Surreysmum rated it really liked it Shelves: mystery , This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here. A real chiller of a mystery, the more so since the villain gets away with it, despite the best efforts of some quite intelligent and sympathetically drawn police. The title is a metaphor drawn from rose-gardening, which is the obsession of Patrick Aldermann. It refers to the practice of ripping off old blossoms so that young ones can survive. And all through Aldermann's life, inconvenient people have had co [These notes were made in , and reflect my first encounter with Dalziel and Pascoe:].
And all through Aldermann's life, inconvenient people have had conveniently fatal accidents, with the result that he has thrived. Eventually even the intelligent Pascoe, the bigoted but shrewd Dalziel, and the dogged and secretly sensitive Wield cannot actually prove that Aldermann is responsible for any or all of the accidents - even when the man Elgood who brought the business to their attention himself dies a horrible death chemicals in the shower.
Hill brings in several situations of interest - not really dynamic or substantial enough to be sub-plots, more like small movements in character. One of these is the unlikely friendship that develops between Aldermann's upper middle-class wife, Daphne, and policeman Pascoe's cheerily left-wing wife Ellie. Naturally enough, this friendship comes under considerable strain when Pascoe starts investigating Aldermann. Another situation of interest is that of the young police cadet Singh.
That doubt is exacerbated by the gruffness and critical attitude of his immediate superior, Wield. What Singh has no way of knowing is that Wield is a closet homosexual and his gruffness is an attempt to compensate for the attraction he feels towards the young man.
Nothing comes of the attraction, but in the quiet of an overnight stake-out, Wield manages to convince Singh that he is right to stay in the police force. I liked this book. Apr 17, rabbitprincess rated it liked it Recommends it for: Reginald Hill fans.
Shelves: topcrime-novels , bought-secondhand , The back cover describes the events of the book as a "cold enigmatic trail of murder", and this description is very apt. It seems that whenever Patrick Aldermann runs into circumstances that may deprive him of his house, Rosemont, and its beautiful rose gardens, the person who stands in his way conveniently dies.
But is he actually a murderer, or is it just coincidence? Basically, he is, but there's not enough solid evidence or reliable witnesses for the police to convict him. In this respect I think the ending is pretty realistic. Sometimes people do walk away because there's not enough solid evidence. As for the writing and other aspects of the book, it was the usual treat to read. Hill has a lovely way with language and his dialogue sounds natural. Dalziel is his usual outrageous self, with a few lines prompting some pretty scandalized laughter.
The description is very vivid -- the final victim's demise was pretty gruesome to read about, and it made the character of Patrick that much more chilling to contemplate because he displayed absolutely no remorse about it and would very likely have known just how horrifying a death his victim was in for. It also occurs to me that the multiple murders made to look like accidents is somewhat reminiscent of Agatha Christie's Murder is Easy, although Patrick is even more subtle than the murderer in that book, because in one case it is implied that Patrick merely suggested that the victim return home at a certain time, knowing full well that the circumstances that would greet the victim would produce the desired result.
To sum up, this is a good book, an interesting mystery and you may even pick up a thing or two about roses. Beautiful cover plus a crime story, what's not to love? I must admit the first few chapters didn't go very well for me, though, because the intricate web of characters involved in the story and the connections between them kinda baffled me a little bit and also because the retold version doesn't leave you with much time and space to get to know the characters very well.
But as I read on and on, I just couldn't help but felt invested the story of a murder suspect with lots and lots of red herrings and many of them weren't as red as you would think.
A little bit of hint here, a little bit of hint there, a whole "motherfucker" revelation regarding Patrick's life which caught me off guard, and the story captivated me to the very end. Throughout this process, you had to decide whether Patrick was guilty of murder or the stars just lined up for him and the people who came in his way just comfortably died of accidents and sickness.
There weren't any bodies hidden or found. The investigation could seem to go this way to suggest something fishy about Patrick, then it could go another way and suggested that he was innocent. And beware the chilling ending, because I believe this is where the nightmare truly began Feb 26, Lynne rated it really liked it.
Hill is another author I buy in hardcover. He began many years ago as an ordinarily good Brit detective writer and through the years, he has developed more than anyone I can think of in the genre.
He has experimented and developed and delighted. I chose this one to comment on because it's one I have read several times for its interesting characterizations. Hill would be a top writer in any genre. He just happens to use policemen as his protagonists. And Fat Andy is one of the bestlove him. The library collection is missing some of the older titles so I skipped 2 through 6. I'm thinking I might want to go find them. It's an odd series. Or friends. And Hill writes Pascoe's wife, Ellie, and her struggles to be both a young progressive and a cop's wife so well, and the inner conflict of the closeted gay sergeant, and the dualities that are straining Singh that the series is really turning into an ensemble piece, not a buddy tale.
Readers looking for a straightforward whodunit with a tidy ending will leave frustrated. I enjoyed it. Feb 24, DeAnna Knippling rated it really liked it Shelves: topcrime-novels-cwa.
Pascoe is left by Dalziel, who has to go off to a conference on PC policing, to discover whether or not a rose aficionado is behind a series of murders made to look like accidents. But there's something about the two books in this series that make it something of a slog to get through.
I don't think it's pacing; I'm not sure what it is.
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