Description

"The fertility of Hill's imagination, the range of his power, the sheer quality of his literary style never ceases to delight." —Val McDermid, author of Fever of the Bone

In a stand-alone psychological thriller from acclaimed mystery master Reginald Hill, a mysterious ex-con returns to his remote childhood home on a deadly hunt for revenge. Combining the chilling atmospheres of Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs, the narrative ingenuity of P.D. James’s The Private Patient, and the compelling characterizations of Hill’s own Dalziel and Pascoe series, Hill delivers a frightful, fast-paced study of suspense at its most sinister in The Woodcutter.

About the author(s)

Reginald Hill, acclaimed English crime writer, was a native of Cumbria and a former resident of Yorkshire, the setting for his novels featuring Superintendent Andy Dalziel and DCI Peter Pascoe. Their appearances won Hill numerous awards, including a CWA Golden Dagger and the Cartier Diamond Dagger Lifetime Achievement Award. The Dalziel and Pascoe stories were also adapted into a hugely popular BBC TV series. Hill died in 2012.

Reviews

“Reginald Hill…turns a contemporary crime of greed into a timeless morality tale….Hill’s storytelling is its own delight, a fun house of shifting timelines and multiple perspectives.” — New York Times Book Review

“Evokes the spirit of storytellers from Dumas and Dickens to Jeffery Deaver and Jeffrey Archer.” — Wall Street Journal on The Woodcutter

“Devilishly clever British crime writer….A nifty plotter who switches points of view and locales often enough to keep the tension on the upswing.” — Chicago Tribune on The Woodcutter

“Vivid characters, an intricately constructed but nimble narrative…and enough tasty crumbs of information to lure us deeper and deeper into a fairy tale that has gone horribly wrong.” — Richmond Times-Dispatch on The Woodcutter

“[A] tour de force.” — People magazine on The Woodcutter

“Sly, enchanting…[with] strong characters that complement the fast-paced, unpredictable plot.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

‘There’s nothing drab about this dark and compelling novel.” — Kirkus Reviews on The Woodcutter

“He’s lost none of his sardonic wit, punch and complexity… The result is an epic, unbeatable mystery.” — Financial Times

“Another gem from the creator of Dalziel and Pascoe. Rich characterisation, sparkling dialogue and wry humour flavour the text. . . . Verdict: exquisite” — Herald Sun (Australia)

“An outstanding novel of force and beauty.” — The Times (London)

“There is something of the fairytale about The Woodcutter, a big, fat mystery which has the enduring power of a myth. . . . The heights of the Dalziel & Pascoe series aside, Hill has never written a better book.” — The Evening Standard (London)

“Hill’s plotting…is brilliant, the jokes first-rate, the prose supple: it’s his humble awe at the power of the English language that enables him to be a minor master of it.” — Daily Telegraph (London)

“A consummate yarn spinner, Hill draws on myth and metaphor to embroider this tightly crafted tale.” — The Age (Melbourne)

“His storytelling is always bewitching, his turns of phrase wonderful. . . . The Woodcutter is as much literary as crime novel, but always a page turner.” — Keighley News (England)

“Reginald Hill’s books are as good as crime fiction gets and this one is as good as he gets.” — Literary Review

“Hill combines an edgy tale of betrayal and revenge with the trappings of a modern-day fairy tale in this sly, enchanting stand-alone.” — Publishers Weekly

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