A review by nonna7
Death's Jest-Book by Reginald Hill

5.0

I always marvel at the complexity of the Dalziel and Pascoe series by Reginald Hill. The books take you to places in the past and present that you don't expect at all. This is one of his better ones. It starts out during Christmas which was kind of fun, however that's only part of the story. This is a continuation of the people in Dialogues of the Dead that included a rookie police officer, Bowler, who inevitably acquires the nickname of "Hat." In that book, he rescued the beautiful Rye Pomona and nearly died in the process. Now he is recovering, he and Rye are madly in love. Unfortunately she is carrying around some secrets. In the meantime, Pascoe is being plagued by letters from Franny Roote who, having spent some time in prison thanks to Pascoe, is now out and has acquired an MA in literature and is beginning to make a name for himself. However, Pascoe is sure that he is up to no good. Then there is the famous Eldreth Hoard, a treasure that is being moved and has some bad guys eyeing it. There are competing story lines including references to the original Death's Jest-Book by Thomas Beddoes, a poet who was obsessed by death. This has so many complications and subplots that it's impossible to really go into too much depth without giving a lot away. Suffice it to say that things get wrapped up in the end but rather messily and with a twist as always.