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Dalziel & Pascoe #16
Asking For The Moon
‘Hill is an instinctive and complete novelist who is blessed with a spontaneous storytelling gift’ Frances Fyfield, Mail on Sunday If you’ve already met Dalziel and Pascoe, you’re in for a treat. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure, you’re in for a revelation! Here in four stories we track their partnership from curtain-up to last act; from the mean streets of Mid-Yorkshire to the mountains of the moon. The Last National Service Man reveals the truth, hitherto buried in police files, of their momentous first encounter, while Pascoe’s Ghost is a chilling tale taking us deep into Poe country. Dalziel’s Ghost, meanwhile, finds the man who normally wouldn’t be seen dead in a graveyard expressing a surprising interest in the ‘other side’. And finally, One Small Step takes a giant leap forward to the first murder on the moon.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
About the author
Reginald Hill
155 books516 followersReginald Charles Hill was a contemporary English crime writer, and the winner in 1995 of the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement.
After National Service (1955-57) and studying English at St Catherine's College, Oxford University (1957-60) he worked as a teacher for many years, rising to Senior Lecturer at Doncaster College of Education. In 1980 he retired from salaried work in order to devote himself full-time to writing.
Hill is best known for his more than 20 novels featuring the Yorkshire detectives Andrew Dalziel, Peter Pascoe and Edgar Wield. He has also written more than 30 other novels, including five featuring Joe Sixsmith, a black machine operator turned private detective in a fictional Luton. Novels originally published under the pseudonyms of Patrick Ruell, Dick Morland, and Charles Underhill have now appeared under his own name. Hill is also a writer of short stories, and ghost tales.
After National Service (1955-57) and studying English at St Catherine's College, Oxford University (1957-60) he worked as a teacher for many years, rising to Senior Lecturer at Doncaster College of Education. In 1980 he retired from salaried work in order to devote himself full-time to writing.
Hill is best known for his more than 20 novels featuring the Yorkshire detectives Andrew Dalziel, Peter Pascoe and Edgar Wield. He has also written more than 30 other novels, including five featuring Joe Sixsmith, a black machine operator turned private detective in a fictional Luton. Novels originally published under the pseudonyms of Patrick Ruell, Dick Morland, and Charles Underhill have now appeared under his own name. Hill is also a writer of short stories, and ghost tales.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
October 10, 2017
Zapravo u ovom se izdanju nalaze samo dvije priče, novela po kojoj knjiga nosi naslov, i priča o prvom susretu dvojice policajaca. Zanimljivo i zabavno.
March 27, 2018
The short story form, with less room to develop supporting characters, showed me that Dalziel is actually my least favorite part of the Dalziel/Pascoe series. "Pascoe's Ghost", the longest entry, is the only solid one. Dalziel's sexism is on full display with his constant ogling and sexual advances toward any large-breasted female who crosses his path (he even thinks lewdly about a dead body). The science fiction story is a compendium of offensive national stereotypes that went out of style with Agatha Christie.
September 17, 2026
Twenty years after the publication of the first Dalziel and Pascoe book in 1970, Reginald Hill wrote this short collection as a gift to his readers. It has four stories – one showing the dynamic duo’s first meeting, one set in a futuristic world when they are investigating a murder on the moon, and one each where the two alternate the starring roles. They are playful, mostly humorous stories, although they do have proper plots and thriller elements too.
I’d say they are very much for fans, though, who have already read enough of the books to get the inside jokes and to understand that Hill is deliberately exaggerating the quirks of each character. Reading them as a newcomer would, I suspect, make the reader feel that both Dalziel and Pascoe are caricatured beyond the point of credibility. Pascoe is so very refined and intellectual, constantly dropping Latin phrases and quotes from poetry, while Dalziel is so outrageously un-PC in every way, he is almost a grotesque. They are very recognisably the same people as in the novels, but with all the nuance that usually keeps them believable stripped out.
Hill also plays fast and loose with the history of the series, having Wieldy in from the beginning, for instance, whereas in fact he only develops as a character as the series progresses. The futuristic one is where Hill gets most playful – it must have been obvious even in 1990 that there would not be a colony of scientists living on the moon by 2010, when it is set. Hill points out himself in his preface to that story that his characters didn’t age in line with real time, but even so, the idea of Dalziel still being fit to solve a mystery on the moon forty years after he first appeared as a middle-aged man in the first novel is a stretch!
Here’s a brief idea of each of the four stories…
The Last National Service Man – Dalziel and Pascoe’s origin story. I wrote a post about this one [on my blog] years ago. It is very funny, but reliant, I feel, on the reader’s pre-existing affection for the characters.
Pascoe’s Ghost – this is the longest story by far, fully novella length. Mid Yorkshire has been asked to assist with a case being handled by the police in Enfield in London. A woman disappeared from home a year ago, and although the police are convinced her husband murdered her, they have never been able to find any evidence, or the body. Now the husband has come back to the village in Yorkshire where he grew up, and Pascoe is tasked with telling him the police have been receiving accusatory anonymous letters about him. There’s humour here, although the plot is quite dark, with some nice Gothic touches – big house, old church, graveyard, etc. And a group of friends who grew up together and know each other’s secrets too well…
Dalziel’s Ghost – in contrast, this one is lighter and much more fun! And much shorter. Friends of Ellie rope Dalziel and Pascoe into a spot of ghost-hunting in their newly-acquired farmhouse. As the two spend the night in front of the fire drinking whisky, Pascoe gets progressively more spooked, while Dalziel seems to have an ulterior motive for being there. Some nice low-level spooky bits, a bit of heart-warming uplift, and Andy on fine form! It’s a personal preference thing, but I always enjoy the stories where Andy is the star more than the Peter stories.
One Small Step – 2010, and the US and Russians have been on the moon for years. Europe is just catching up, sending their first European-made rocket with a crew culled from several different nations. But as the first man is about to take one small step for Europe, he falls off the ladder onto the surface of the moon and promptly dies. It transpires his spacesuit had been tampered with. Pascoe, by this time, is the head of the British contingent of Eurofed – the European version of the FBI – and is tasked with finding out who killed him. And for reasons that eventually become clear, he brings a gout-ridden Dalziel out of retirement to help. Lots of fun with Dalziel in zero-gravity, and lots of satirical digs at both the Americans and the European rivalries within what by then is a United States of Europe. Not really a story to be taken seriously though!
This was a lovely gift at the time, and much appreciated, I’m sure, by all the fans who, like me, used to wait avidly for each new instalment in the series. But it is just a bit of fun, and has to be read with that in mind – the stories don’t have the depth of plotting or characterisation of the novels. However, I very much enjoyed rereading the collection, and heartily recommend it to any long-time fans of the series.
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I’d say they are very much for fans, though, who have already read enough of the books to get the inside jokes and to understand that Hill is deliberately exaggerating the quirks of each character. Reading them as a newcomer would, I suspect, make the reader feel that both Dalziel and Pascoe are caricatured beyond the point of credibility. Pascoe is so very refined and intellectual, constantly dropping Latin phrases and quotes from poetry, while Dalziel is so outrageously un-PC in every way, he is almost a grotesque. They are very recognisably the same people as in the novels, but with all the nuance that usually keeps them believable stripped out.
Hill also plays fast and loose with the history of the series, having Wieldy in from the beginning, for instance, whereas in fact he only develops as a character as the series progresses. The futuristic one is where Hill gets most playful – it must have been obvious even in 1990 that there would not be a colony of scientists living on the moon by 2010, when it is set. Hill points out himself in his preface to that story that his characters didn’t age in line with real time, but even so, the idea of Dalziel still being fit to solve a mystery on the moon forty years after he first appeared as a middle-aged man in the first novel is a stretch!
Here’s a brief idea of each of the four stories…
The Last National Service Man – Dalziel and Pascoe’s origin story. I wrote a post about this one [on my blog] years ago. It is very funny, but reliant, I feel, on the reader’s pre-existing affection for the characters.
Pascoe’s Ghost – this is the longest story by far, fully novella length. Mid Yorkshire has been asked to assist with a case being handled by the police in Enfield in London. A woman disappeared from home a year ago, and although the police are convinced her husband murdered her, they have never been able to find any evidence, or the body. Now the husband has come back to the village in Yorkshire where he grew up, and Pascoe is tasked with telling him the police have been receiving accusatory anonymous letters about him. There’s humour here, although the plot is quite dark, with some nice Gothic touches – big house, old church, graveyard, etc. And a group of friends who grew up together and know each other’s secrets too well…
Dalziel’s Ghost – in contrast, this one is lighter and much more fun! And much shorter. Friends of Ellie rope Dalziel and Pascoe into a spot of ghost-hunting in their newly-acquired farmhouse. As the two spend the night in front of the fire drinking whisky, Pascoe gets progressively more spooked, while Dalziel seems to have an ulterior motive for being there. Some nice low-level spooky bits, a bit of heart-warming uplift, and Andy on fine form! It’s a personal preference thing, but I always enjoy the stories where Andy is the star more than the Peter stories.
One Small Step – 2010, and the US and Russians have been on the moon for years. Europe is just catching up, sending their first European-made rocket with a crew culled from several different nations. But as the first man is about to take one small step for Europe, he falls off the ladder onto the surface of the moon and promptly dies. It transpires his spacesuit had been tampered with. Pascoe, by this time, is the head of the British contingent of Eurofed – the European version of the FBI – and is tasked with finding out who killed him. And for reasons that eventually become clear, he brings a gout-ridden Dalziel out of retirement to help. Lots of fun with Dalziel in zero-gravity, and lots of satirical digs at both the Americans and the European rivalries within what by then is a United States of Europe. Not really a story to be taken seriously though!
This was a lovely gift at the time, and much appreciated, I’m sure, by all the fans who, like me, used to wait avidly for each new instalment in the series. But it is just a bit of fun, and has to be read with that in mind – the stories don’t have the depth of plotting or characterisation of the novels. However, I very much enjoyed rereading the collection, and heartily recommend it to any long-time fans of the series.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
November 11, 2018
So-so. I'm rather bored with Dalziel and Pascoe by now, perhaps I should have given this one a miss in the first place. What looked interesting was the 1990 view of space travel and all that sort of thing in 2010. That story is quite OK, though not exactly groundbreaking. The others ... well, I hardly remember them.
June 25, 2026
Four short stories. The Last National Service Man. The first about Pascoe as a constable and his first meeting with Dalziel. They are kidnapped by a crazy man bent on punishing Dalziel for arresting him several times.
The next story is about a missing woman with Pascoe investigating what happened to her. This is Pascoe’s Ghost about forbidden love and missing clues.
The next story about Dalziel’s ghost an amusing story about when he was a constable and a ghost. Dalziel’s Ghost is where Pascoe and Dalziel wait in an isolated rural house for a so called ghost and Dalziel tells Pascoe a story about a ghost when he was a constable. Very amusing.
The last is the best with Dalziel and Pascoe in 2010 investigating a murder on the moon. Entitled One Small Step and where Pascoe enlists a grumpy, retired Dalziel to investigate a suspicious death on the moon. You have to suspend belief for this one.
The next story is about a missing woman with Pascoe investigating what happened to her. This is Pascoe’s Ghost about forbidden love and missing clues.
The next story about Dalziel’s ghost an amusing story about when he was a constable and a ghost. Dalziel’s Ghost is where Pascoe and Dalziel wait in an isolated rural house for a so called ghost and Dalziel tells Pascoe a story about a ghost when he was a constable. Very amusing.
The last is the best with Dalziel and Pascoe in 2010 investigating a murder on the moon. Entitled One Small Step and where Pascoe enlists a grumpy, retired Dalziel to investigate a suspicious death on the moon. You have to suspend belief for this one.
August 4, 2019
You all know how much I love Reginald Hill's Dalzeil and Pascoe but I just couldn't get into these short stories, the 2nd one in stopped me cold. I'll come back to it after I've read everything else and I'm desperate!
February 5, 2024
This is the fourth R.H. book I have read and they are just getting better as I understand the British phrases and jargon. Very clever dialog and I love the main protagonists. Too bad I am not reading these sequentially.
December 31, 2020
The first story was how Dalziel and Pascoe met, and the last one was a future one, 2010, on the moon. I’d already read Pascoe’s Ghost.
November 17, 2014
I was sceptical about reading short stories about Dalziel and Pascoe but was pleasantly surprised by how good they are.
My favourite is the first one about Pascoe's and Dalziel's first meeting which has some classic banter between them. To me it felt like an accurate portrayal of both characters a few years ago and I loved Daziel's tactics!
The second story was also very good with some interesting characters that Pascoe has to interrogate at a dinner party.
I felt the third story was a bit pointless but then there are some mysteries that policeman have to solve which end up having a pretty lame solution!
The last story One Small Step was an interesting portrayal of 2010 and a much older Dalziel and Pascoe. It was a bit like something out of a sci-fi film but I thought it mainly worked quite well although Pascoe's behaviour was not what I expected!
All in all a good collection of stories which will be particularly appealing for Dalziel and Pascoe fans.
My favourite is the first one about Pascoe's and Dalziel's first meeting which has some classic banter between them. To me it felt like an accurate portrayal of both characters a few years ago and I loved Daziel's tactics!
The second story was also very good with some interesting characters that Pascoe has to interrogate at a dinner party.
I felt the third story was a bit pointless but then there are some mysteries that policeman have to solve which end up having a pretty lame solution!
The last story One Small Step was an interesting portrayal of 2010 and a much older Dalziel and Pascoe. It was a bit like something out of a sci-fi film but I thought it mainly worked quite well although Pascoe's behaviour was not what I expected!
All in all a good collection of stories which will be particularly appealing for Dalziel and Pascoe fans.
January 24, 2014
I'd forgotten just how delightful Dalziel & Pascoe are. This is a wonderful collection of 4 D&P tales. They are all wonderful but the standouts are the first (the actual first D&P story!) and the last (1st murder on the moon!).
The last was the most enjoyable as it was a future speculation of the first decade of the 21st century. Completely off target as it appears. Oh, well. It's hard to prognosticate. Mr. Hill wrote this in the 90's. How could he predict 9/11, the Euro collapse, and the death of American hegemony in space? He did get some things right, though. The Brits are still Eurosceptics. The Americans still like their fingers in all the pies. People will still want to have sex in space.
Loved it!
The last was the most enjoyable as it was a future speculation of the first decade of the 21st century. Completely off target as it appears. Oh, well. It's hard to prognosticate. Mr. Hill wrote this in the 90's. How could he predict 9/11, the Euro collapse, and the death of American hegemony in space? He did get some things right, though. The Brits are still Eurosceptics. The Americans still like their fingers in all the pies. People will still want to have sex in space.
Loved it!
February 28, 2015
This is a five star only for fanatics of Pascoe and Dalziel. Hence my fewer-star review.
Those unfamiliar with the full-length mysteries may be confused by some references and the characters. The 2nd and 3rd story were written in the 1970s, early in Hill's long career, while the 1st and 4th are from 1990s. If you are unfamiliar with the series, I recommend the novella "Pascoe's Ghost," which reveals more of the background and biases of the lead detectives. Then go to the first story, "The Last National Service Man," and you may catch on more to the blather and insults.
"Dalziel's Ghost" is brief and undeveloped, worth a skip. On the other hand, "One Small Step" features typical Hillian humor abounding and adancing with Pascoe and Dalziel solving a case in space.
Those unfamiliar with the full-length mysteries may be confused by some references and the characters. The 2nd and 3rd story were written in the 1970s, early in Hill's long career, while the 1st and 4th are from 1990s. If you are unfamiliar with the series, I recommend the novella "Pascoe's Ghost," which reveals more of the background and biases of the lead detectives. Then go to the first story, "The Last National Service Man," and you may catch on more to the blather and insults.
"Dalziel's Ghost" is brief and undeveloped, worth a skip. On the other hand, "One Small Step" features typical Hillian humor abounding and adancing with Pascoe and Dalziel solving a case in space.
December 28, 2013
These four short Dalziel/Pascoe mystery stories cover the beginning of their working relationship, two mysteries with "ghosts", and a murder on the moon reunion. Not to be missed by Dalziel/Pascoe fans, but one of the book length mysteries would be a better introduction to this series/these characters.
February 17, 2013
An odd collection of long stories/novellas covering the back story of Pascoe and Dalziel's first case, a couple of late 70s tales and a futuristic moon case. The last has an introduction which explains the lack of real time agony of the pair. Enjoyable without being scintillating.
July 5, 2022
4 novellas. 1) The Last National Service Man - Pascoe's first day working for Dalziel. They get kidnapped by a man driven mad by being in the army and Dalziel reveals his devious methods for hostage negotiations. 2) Pascoe's Ghost - Pascoe is sent to another juristiction to find a missing wife who may have run away. Kinship systems of tiny hamlets with couples who know each other from childhood. No body and no motive for killing Kate but her brother is a monster. 3) Dalziel's Ghost - Pascoe and Dalziel stay in a 'haunted' house Dalziel volunteered to explore because the owner is a tax accountant whose clients he wants to know more about. Hilarious. 4) One Small Step - It's in the far future where Pascoe is in charge of an investigation of the European moon colony's first fatal accident. Somehow the first man to step out on lunar soil pissed himself and was electrocuted. Dalziel is brought out of retirement to question the other astro naughts and uncovers a lot of clowns and liaisons. - Good break for America's 4th of July after the Supreme Court destroys 50 years of Congressional progress and there's another mass shooting (I've lost count this year). Covid is over; no one is masked: 89,567,321 confirmed cases; 1,043,372 confirmed deaths. And the US Marine Corp published a study that says if the entire planet doesn't drastically cut methane and CO2 by 2025 global heating will destroy life as we know it on earth. But of course, the US needs to drill for more oil because gasoline at the pump is over $6 a gallon. - My only regret is that Hill didn't write enough books so I can enjoy them while the planet burns up.
Read
September 26, 2026Many tales have been told by Reginald Hill about his renowned mid-Yorkshire detectives, Dalziel and Pascoe. But until now the long-anticipated story of the duo's first reluctant encounter has been withheld. Finally, here for the first time, "The Last National Service Man" recounts the alarming circumstances that brought them face-to-face (closer, actually) and nearly cost young Peter Pascoe his life. But this is only the first novella in a gathering of four of their most unusual adventures. A crusty and forthright sergeant once gave the detectives a bit of valuable advice: "Leave ghosts to them that understands them. You stick to crime." Yet in "Pascoe's Ghost," Pascoe boldly investigates the fate of a woman whom no one has seen for a year - except her brother, who claims her ghost is haunting him. And "Dalziel's Ghost" finds the portly inspector surprisingly willing to keep nightly vigil at isolated Sandstone Rigg farmhouse, tracking a ghost reportedly unearthed by recent renovations. Perhaps it is fitting that a volume opening with Dalziel and Pascoe's first case should end with "One Small Step," which could be their last. The year is now 2012. Pascoe is Commissioner of Eurofed Justice, while Dalziel is deep into retirement and reluctant to emerge. Both, however, are called upon to deal with a case quite unique in two particulars. First, it concerns the first man to be murdered on the moon. What's more, there are precisely two hundred twenty-seven million witnesses to the crime.
December 8, 2025
Short story collection of Dalziel and Pascoe stories.
The Last National Service Man - tells the story of how Peter and Andy met when Peter was a new constable and they both get taken hostage by a man who has it in for Andy. Can the pair talk themselves out of a difficult jam.
Pascoe's ghost - tells the story of the investigation into a missing woman in order to help the Enfield police (from where she has disappeared). A strange set of circumstances results in Peter interviewing the small circle of friends in her home town Wearton when they are at a dinner party. The story ends tragically but is well written and keeps the reader guessing.
Dalziel's ghost - Peter and Andy spend the night in renovated farm house where reported strange scratching has forced the wife back into town. Naturally Andy has an ulterior motive and Peter tries to keep him on the straight and narrow.
One Small Step - (previously read) Weird Dalziel and Pasco short story as the duo (Andy pulled out of retirement) go and investigate a murder on the the moon. It was an interesting premise which worked as a short story but I'm not sure it could have been sustained for a full size novel.
The Last National Service Man - tells the story of how Peter and Andy met when Peter was a new constable and they both get taken hostage by a man who has it in for Andy. Can the pair talk themselves out of a difficult jam.
Pascoe's ghost - tells the story of the investigation into a missing woman in order to help the Enfield police (from where she has disappeared). A strange set of circumstances results in Peter interviewing the small circle of friends in her home town Wearton when they are at a dinner party. The story ends tragically but is well written and keeps the reader guessing.
Dalziel's ghost - Peter and Andy spend the night in renovated farm house where reported strange scratching has forced the wife back into town. Naturally Andy has an ulterior motive and Peter tries to keep him on the straight and narrow.
One Small Step - (previously read) Weird Dalziel and Pasco short story as the duo (Andy pulled out of retirement) go and investigate a murder on the the moon. It was an interesting premise which worked as a short story but I'm not sure it could have been sustained for a full size novel.
July 9, 2024
Negativity in others really bothers me. It makes me even more sad when I exhibited myself. But this was one of the worst books I've read in years. Essentially this is a compilation of four novellas. The first one describes how the two detectives met one another in the first place. The middle two novellas are filled with cheesy, campy nonsense and ghosts. The final novella pits the two detectives against a murderer on the moon in 2010. This would have been a better experience had I been able to find a better narration. The National Library Service narration was dreadful without parallel. He did more to single-handedly ruin my experience with the book than any other component. I hope if you read this you have a far better experience with it than I did. And I sincerely apologize for my negativity.
November 9, 2017
For real lovers of Dalziel and Pascoe, this is a collection of four stories, two written in the 70's and two in the 90's. All of them are artfully written mysteries, the first being especially significant because it presents the first meeting of the pair of detectives. In another they spend a night in a haunted house, which for those who love Dalziel is a real treat. But overall, nowhere nearly as satisfying as the novels. The tone is set on the dedication page: "To you, Dear Readers, without whom the writing would be in vain, and to you Still Dearer Purchasers without whom the eating would be infrequent this book is dedicated in appreciation of your loyalty, in anticipation of your longevity, in admiration of your taste."
February 28, 2020
Hill's prose is energetic and precise, and I like reading him. But perhaps I met Dalziel and Pascoe after having seen too many gruff-but-brilliant over-detectives with intelligent-highly-educated sergeant-detectives. D-and-P's schtick doesn't charm me.
The detective I most reliably enjoy-- even in his lesser outings-- is Robert Parker's Spenser. But the question with Spenser is-- after so many of his outings-- *isn't this guy getting a little OLD for all this??" In the short story "One Small Step," Hill wittily takes this issue head-on, taking his protagonists into a "Star Trek" setting. It's a lot of fun.
BTW, most of the rest of this volume is filled by "Pascoe's Ghost" and "Dalziel's Ghost," two stories which are available in another Hill publication "Pacoe's Ghost."
The detective I most reliably enjoy-- even in his lesser outings-- is Robert Parker's Spenser. But the question with Spenser is-- after so many of his outings-- *isn't this guy getting a little OLD for all this??" In the short story "One Small Step," Hill wittily takes this issue head-on, taking his protagonists into a "Star Trek" setting. It's a lot of fun.
BTW, most of the rest of this volume is filled by "Pascoe's Ghost" and "Dalziel's Ghost," two stories which are available in another Hill publication "Pacoe's Ghost."
November 20, 2020
Four longish short stories about possibly my favorite pair of policemen.
One goes back to the start of Dalziel and Pascoe's partnership, two deal with ghosts, and the last, my favorite, is a playful discussion on the relation of actual vs. fictive time between the two protagonists and the author, resulting in Hill becoming defensive:
"It was time to remind them what they were, figments of my imagination, paper and printers' ink not flesh and blood, and I started to formulate a few elegant phrases about the creative artist's use of a dual chronology."
And Hill proceeds to celebrate the twenty years of the existence of the pair by setting a mystery on the moon.
In aggregate, not my favorite of his books, but a sweet confirmation of my devotion to them.
One goes back to the start of Dalziel and Pascoe's partnership, two deal with ghosts, and the last, my favorite, is a playful discussion on the relation of actual vs. fictive time between the two protagonists and the author, resulting in Hill becoming defensive:
"It was time to remind them what they were, figments of my imagination, paper and printers' ink not flesh and blood, and I started to formulate a few elegant phrases about the creative artist's use of a dual chronology."
And Hill proceeds to celebrate the twenty years of the existence of the pair by setting a mystery on the moon.
In aggregate, not my favorite of his books, but a sweet confirmation of my devotion to them.
January 16, 2017
This is the first Dalziel and Pascoe book that I have read. I probably should have started at the beginning of the series, as I was very confused in the beginning. Once I got the story about the two characters things started to fall into place.
The whole time I was reading I felt like I was stuck in a live game of Clue. In the end the adventures that Dalziel and Pascoe go on are fun mysteries that need to be solved. It always ends with an unexpected twist that makes it a fun read.
I would recommend that you start at the beginning of the series and work your way thru, you might get more enjoyment from it book that way.
The whole time I was reading I felt like I was stuck in a live game of Clue. In the end the adventures that Dalziel and Pascoe go on are fun mysteries that need to be solved. It always ends with an unexpected twist that makes it a fun read.
I would recommend that you start at the beginning of the series and work your way thru, you might get more enjoyment from it book that way.
September 1, 2025
If you've always wondered when Dalziel and Pascoe meet and discover they will be working with each other — more than 20 books worth — this is the book for you. Reginald Hill, that crafty devil, has taken time from the series to write four short stories that are almost whimsical. Definitely a bit tongue in cheek. And the very first one tells a wonderful tale of how the two meet up, and definitely gives a boost to how their relationship develops and who they are. Its a delight — as are the three others: Pascoe's Ghost, Dalziel's Ghost and One Small Step. A wonderful collection of stories that are a lot of fun to read.
February 1, 2018
"Asking for the Moon" is a collection of four short stories/novellas from Reginald Hill, featuring Pascoe and Dalziel. These include “The Last National Service Man,” wherein the two meet each other for the first time; “Pascoe’s Ghost,” “Dalziel’s Ghost,” and “One Small Step,” set in the distant “future” of 2010 and featuring a murder on the Moon! Not really necessary with respect to the series as a whole, but tons of fun nevertheless.
August 9, 2017
Since I don't read the summaries inside the covers, I wasn't expecting short stories. Four of them, good character exposition, a bit more than we've seen in the main series; it was a hoot to read about how D & P first met, first impressions, and so on. And an imaginative leap into the future - for them, but 7 years ago for us. Now, on to find out how Pascoe deals with his new family tree!
August 28, 2020
Great writer.
Worth reading his fluent prose. But...all the school boy dirty language, the fake ness of the two men being polar opposites, the amount of slang...I didn’t understand any of the stories. But I kept reading because somehow he does know how to write. It just all seems like a male version of romance books...fantasy, unlikely.
Worth reading his fluent prose. But...all the school boy dirty language, the fake ness of the two men being polar opposites, the amount of slang...I didn’t understand any of the stories. But I kept reading because somehow he does know how to write. It just all seems like a male version of romance books...fantasy, unlikely.
December 13, 2021
This restores my faith in Mr Hill after my poor review of The Long Kill. These stories - little gems of mystery involving Dalziel and Pascoe - are simply brilliant. Wonderfully written and a joy to read. Best to read a couple of the full length novels first I think, but after that, this is highly recommended.
December 13, 2023
I read this decades ago, but decided to reread the series. As I completed the first story, I remembered that I wasn’t terribly jazzed with the book the first time I read it. Pascoe and Dalziel’s first encounter sounded quite promising. I wasn’t impressed.
It was pleasant to spend time with two characters I’m fond of, but this was just an okay read for me.
It was pleasant to spend time with two characters I’m fond of, but this was just an okay read for me.
December 21, 2018
Collection of four Dalziel & Pascoe short stories ranging from the early (first) days to the future (at least when it was written) of our heroic duo. Not a great fan of short stories, but these are good enough.
July 2, 2019
Sketchy and obsessed with tits. I definitely recommend the novels. Although the tits part is relevant for them too, the humor is more advanced.
August 1, 2019
Ugh. Horribly dated and sexist, especially the astronaut story.
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