Pictures of Perfection

In this “tour de force” of a mystery, the British detectives investigate a disappearance in a deceptively idyllic Yorkshire village (San Diego Union-Tribune).

Reginald Hill “raised the classical British mystery to new heights” when he introduced pugnacious Yorkshire Det. Inspector Andrew Dalziel and his partner, the callow Sgt. Peter Pascoe (The New York Times Book Review). Their chafing differences in education, manners, technique, and temperament made them “the most remarkable duo in the annals of crime fiction” (Toronto Star). Adapted into a long-running hit show for the BBC, the Gold Dagger Award–winning series is now available as ebooks.

It’s the Day of Reckoning in the village of Enscombe, a two-day celebration among locals to feast and to pay old debts. When Enscombe’s constable vanishes, it’s time for Dalziel and Pascoe to upend the party. At first they’re confronted with what appear to be only niggling hiccups in the enclave: break-ins, a vicar with a lustful bent, and family feuds. But as Enscombe’s past comes into focus, the investigators begin to see a bigger crack in the picture-perfect village. Now, in this season when misdeeds must not go unpunished, reckoning will indeed be paid. And it may already be too late for Dalziel and Pascoe to change the course of local history.

Pictures of Perfection is the 15th book in the Dalziel and Pascoe Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.