Dialogues of the Dead

London: Harper, 2002. Very Good. Known for complex plotting, deep characterization and sly humor, Hill here adds to his string of brilliant psychological thrillers featuring two of Br itain's most well-rounded detectives. Supt. Andy Dalziel (aka the Fat Man) is the ultimate ham on wry. He takes no pains to hide his enormous appetite s, but it pleases him to hide his sharp mind behind crude behavior and riba ld speech. He pretends to misunderstand the erudite conversation of the var ious intellectuals who inhabit the story and delights in puncturing their p ompous pronouncements. When one expert adviser presents what he calls an "i nteresting" theory, Dalziel responds, "If you're waiting for a bus and a gi raffe walks down the street, that's interesting. But it doesn't get you any where." Refined, polite, rock-solid Inspector Peter Pascoe is the perfect f oil to his outlandish boss. Between them they've found truth in many a maze , but here both play background roles to rookie constable Bowler, inevitabl y nicknamed Hat. Hill's fans know his fondness for all sorts of wordplay, b ut he takes it to new level, for a word game is the crux of the mystery. Th e killer enters a short story competition with a piece, written in the form of a one-sided dialogue, that describes a murder and dares the police to u ntangle the clues planted therein. When they fail, another story submission arrives, describing a second murder. Five more people die before Pascoe's flash of insight illuminates the proper path. One final twist at the very e nd will take readers' breath away.