Arms and the women

Reginald Hill's last Dalziel/Pascoe novel, On Beulah Height, was a New York Times notable book, and drew acclaim from critics everywhere. With Arms and the Women, Hill has written the book that will secure his place alongside Ruth Rendell and P. D. James.

The New York Times Book Review called Reginald Hill "the master of form and sorcerer of style." His Dalziel/Pascoe series has already earned him both Britain's prestigious Golden Dagger Award and its most coveted mystery writers award, the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award. Back to weave more magic in Arms and the Women, Hill will keep readers heatedly turning pages from shocking start to unexpected finish.

In the space of a few days, a series of events will set Peter Pascoe and Andy Dalziel off on a case where the stakes have never been higher or more close to home. First, an attempt is made to abduct Peter Pascoe's wife, Ellie. Then Ellie's friend, Daphne Alderman, is assaulted by a man lurking around the Pascoes' house. Convinced that the crimes are somehow linked to one of Peter Pascoe's cases, either current or past, Dalziel and Pascoe race to find the culprit.

As the search goes on, Peter sends Ellie and their daughter, Rosie, with Daphne Alderman to their vacation home with Detective Constable Shirley Novello as a police escort. Soon Novello begins to wonder if the stalker drawn to the Pascoe family is connected not by Peter but, rather, by Ellie.

With Dalziel and Pascoe pursuing one set of leads, and Novello exploring her own, all roads eventually lead to a decaying mansion on the Yorkshire coast, where the deadly truth all seek is waiting to come to light.