Bones and Silence

Dalziel and Pascoe Series, Book 11

By: Reginald Hill

Narrated by: Brian Glover

Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

Andy Dalziel of the Mid-Yorks CID has witnessed a murder, but it was though dark glass and he was being sick at the time. Now he finds the case shrouded in uncertainty and a string of contradictory statements. And who is his anonymous letter writer threatening suicide? Meanwhile Dalziel's colleague, Peter Pascoe, has returned from a long convalescence uncertain about his job, his marriage, or his motivations whilst having to act as a moderator to the strong-willed Dalziel. In the background and, occasionally, the foreground, are the York Mystery Plays with their Director, Eileen Chung, who uses and abuses her vast range of talents to get the cast, site, and show she wants. But mysteries linger long after the performances, mysteries with no solution.

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Critic Reviews

"Hill is at his best here....This latest mystery confirms his place among top British writers who produce solid stories of detection that succeed as first-rate novels exploring human character." (Publishers Weekly)

poor quality audio

excellent writing as always.
sound quality is abysmal, muffled with occasional speed changes as well. Adjustment of treble (increase) and bass (decrease) and listening for a few hours has made it tolerable.

Sorry to say

I normally love the Dalziel and Pascoe books and have many read by Colin Buchanan and Shane Dooley. I am sorry to say that this the reader of this one, I find virtually impossible to listen to, the sound is so muffled. It's a great story, the usual complex of delights but I will be seeking out another version.

Terrible sound quality

I have to agree with the other reviews, I can't listen to this book. The sound quality is poor and Brian Glover, altho a great actor, reads it very badly. Please get Colin Buchanan to redo it!

poorest sound quality

Very poor sound quality, very muffled and barely distinct. (I've downloaded over a hundred audible.com books & have never had this complaint.) Too hard to listen to...too bad, because a Hill novel never disappoints.

Performance a disappointment

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Performance made it very difficult to follow storyline. The transitions from person to person, time and locations, etc. were so unclear that I had to keep backing up in order to make sense of the story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Bones and Silence?

Reciting lines from the "play"

Would you be willing to try another one of Brian Glover’s performances?

Sure, maybe it is just this book. I have others that he narrated and enjoyed.

Do you think Bones and Silence needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Always ready for another from Reginald Hill.

"Being God means never having to say you're sorry.

Superintendent Dalziel is borish, gross, loud mouthed, outspoken, tenacious, rude, self opinionated and overly self confident - and that's on a good day. In real life he must be overwhelmingly awful, but bellowing out from the pages, he is glorious, and deliciously un-PC even thirty years ago, so now, well ...
The brilliant young director of the forthcoming Passion Plays wants him to play God.

There's also murder to solve, and disappearances to investigate, plus someone is sending him suicide notes. Fortunately, newly promoted Chief Inspector Pascoe and Sergeant Wield are around to help out.

Yes, perhaps Dalziel is too bombastic and flouts everything in his cunning determination to always be right to be real. Fortunately. But as a fictional character he is brilliant. The writing is visual, vital and absorbing, the characters leap off of the page, the plots winds intriguingly. Narration by Brian Glover encompasses not just the accents but the whole book's personality in a fine performance.
Great story, much enjoyed. and recommended.

Surely could be better!

Story was confusing. Narration poor....almost impossible to tell when another character is speaking or when a scene changes. The only character well portrayed is Dalziel.
I loved the Dalziel and Pasco series on TV, but this was impossible and not up to Reginald Hill's talents.
I will see about returning it.

Even better the second time!

What about Brian Glover’s performance did you like?

It's hard to believe that there is only one narrator. The voices of the characters seem to reveal such different personalities.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Hill weaves several plots together with such skill that they never seem to intrude upon each other--instead, they resonate. This is particularly true of the last scene when all the pieces seem to fall into place so suddenly and so shockingly and you see the main characters even more clearly.

Awful sound levels

What did you like best about Bones and Silence? What did you like least?

The decibel range of the performance is outrageous, from whispers to outright shouting, made it impossible to enjoy. Add to it the exaggerated (York?) accents made it mostly incomprehensible. First time I've given up on the performer.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Need to hear it clearly to judge.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Brian Glover?

Anybody. Never had to complain before.

Do you think Bones and Silence needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Need to hear it clearly to judge.

OH DEAR

I absolutely love Dalziel and Pascoe BUT I just couldn't listen to this one, Not because of the story. It was the narration. Brian Glover (god rest his soul) completely ruined it for me. It was clunky and just impossible for me to "get into". Sorry !!!

great book poor sound

This book is up to the usual high standard of reginald hill and brian Glover reads it well with animation. However the poor sound quality spoiled my enjoyment

bones and silence

Reginald Hill is a brilliant author but his but his stories can be complex and concentration is needed to get the characters in place as the story goes along. The narrator is the key to the enjoyment. However this narrator spoiled it for me because his reading was almost like a Shakespearian farce and I found his voice was so irritating that it overrode the story and I kept wishing he'd either tone it down or shut up completely. So no I didn't enjoy his rendition. Unfortunately I am going to have to listen to it again to piece it all together. What a pity it wasn't Jonathon Keeble reading it.

terrible narration

I love Reginald Hill's Dalziel +Pascoe, but couldn't listen to this laughably bad narration. pity.

Oh dear, what an awful narration

Brian Glover is an excellent actor in a certain type of role, could even tackle Dalziel. What he cannot do is read aloud in an appealing manner, it reminds me of the way a child is so concentrating on getting the words out that they are in batches without reference to context. My own fault really I knew what he was like but assumed Buchanan was narrator when ordered it! There are many excellent narrators, what was the reasoning for picking someone who can't do it.

Awful narration

I can't remember the last time I gave up on an audio book, especially from an author I enjoyed when read by Jonathan Keeble, who is brilliant. I found it hard to follow as the voices of each character sounded much the same and the narration also. An avid book listener, I found I had stopped, so have just downloaded another book read by Mr Keeble.

Sadly . .

I could not enjoy the story as the narrator shouted his way through the book.

poor boring narration

the story is good but is really let down by the narrator. hard to distinguish between characters, kind od monotonous, poor sound quality on top of everything. to be honest could not get into it. although love Reginald Hill I will avoid his books read by Brian Glover

What a pity

Oh dear - dreadful narration spoilt an excellent story. I love this series but I will not listen to this one again.

Much better than TV

I first came across D&P as a TV series. It was certainly enjoyable with excellent acting.
But the book is better. Reginald Hill loves language and the text is never boring. He manages something that many writers find problematic; he maintains the dramatic tension up to the very last sentence.