Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant Fun!
Review: In "Pictures of Perfection" Reginald Hill gives us both the terrific Daziel/Pascoe mystery we've come to expect and something totally unexpected as well. The village of Enscombe has changed only superficially since the days of Jane Austen whose words just happen to introduce each chapter. One of the residents, Caddy Scudamore, is a talented artist given to painting over much of her crowded canvases. This is done, we are told, not so much to obliterate as to "relegate it to a kind of misty otherworld where it still continued to exert its existence." Hill, too, offers us one thing - a contemporary mystery - beneath which lie all the sense and sensibilities of Austen. Social dynamics and entailments. Misunderstandings and love matches (at least one of which in its '90s incarnation might take even Jane by surprise!) But most of all, insight and humor and a joyous way with words that can make a reader laugh out loud. Austen could do it and so can Reginald Hill. He leads us into the story through a scenario that we find all too easy to accept and ushers us out again with a reminder that appearances can be deceiving. Jane would have agreed.
Rating:
Summary: the best
Review: Love it love it love it! This is the best Dalziel and Pascoe - and that's saying a lot.
Rating: 
Summary: Characters and style
Review: Not as good as "Beaulah Heights" but still his characters are wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Usual excellence from Reginald Hill
Review: The story commences with a terrifying and well-written account of a gunman shooting randomly at people in the village of Enscombe - so much more terrifying because we all know so well how events like this have scarred human history. Then the story goes back in time to two days before the shootings and traces the seemingly innocuous events (including fraud, forgery, love requited and unrequited) leading up to the shootings. As usual, this author can stun and delight, and in this book there are well-drawn characterisations of village denizens. Also, those Hill fans of long-standing might take some pleasure in Wieldy having centre-stage in this one. Most highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Usual excellence from Reginald Hill
Review: The story commences with a terrifying and well-written account of a gunman shooting randomly at people in the village of Enscombe - so much more terrifying because we all know so well how events like this have scarred human history. Then the story goes back in time to two days before the shootings and traces the seemingly innocuous events (including fraud, forgery, love requited and unrequited) leading up to the shootings. As usual, this author can stun and delight, and in this book there are well-drawn characterisations of village denizens. Also, those Hill fans of long-standing might take some pleasure in Wieldy having centre-stage in this one. Most highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Unique Exemplar of the Mystery Genre
Review: The usual elements of the mystery genre are all present in this unique opus that you may well remember for a long time. You may even find yourself doing some rereading just to see how it was done. I may have said too much already -- some other reviewers may have said too much -- so I simply encourage you to read and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: A Unique Exemplar of the Mystery Genre
Review: The usual elements of the mystery genre are all present in this unique opus that you may well remember for a long time. You may even find yourself doing some rereading just to see how it was done. I may have said too much already -- some other reviewers may have said too much -- so I simply encourage you to read and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: An absolute gem
Review: This book is one of the very best contemporary mysteries I've read, made all the better by some lingering questions about what the mystery, let alone the solution, actually is. It's less a book than a charming magic act on paper, so beautifully created that I hesitate to say even this much, lest I spoil the surprises Hill's laid in for you
Rating: 
Summary: Another odd occurrence in the British countryside
Review: This was my first Daziel/Pascoe mystery and I found it to be an interesting book with one awful cheat that almost ruined it for me. Daziel, the Nero Wolfe type, Pascoe, the gentleman, and Sgt. Wield, the biker cop, are involved in the odd disappearence of the local constable of Enscombe. Art, the loyal gentry, and a disturbed youth are all part of the mix. The characters are solid and the mystery plays fair with one exceptional red herring early on that changes the whole structure of the book until the end when you realize the author just threw it in for effect. Despite this, I'm willing to give this series another shot because the characters are so engaging...and that's really the reason most of us read these mysteries, isn't it?
Rating:
Summary: encompasses the genre
Review: When a book is this pleasurable, this dare I
say it, perfect in every proportion it takes
a writer like Reginald Hill to do the review
justice. It's charming and witty, yet
substantial. If this book were a man I'd go
to bed with it. If you're weary of shallow
best sellers, if you long to run away
from that predictable and depressing morning
paper, then you should by all means embrace
this book. Be a hedonist just this one last
time. This is one book you won't regret.
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