Reading order · 22 books · 1970 to 2009 · Set in the fictional Mid-Yorkshire, England
Dalziel and Pascoe Books in Order
Superintendent Andy Dalziel, crude, shrewd and enormous, and his educated junior Peter Pascoe police Mid-Yorkshire across more than thirty years, with the steady Sergeant Edgar Wield and Pascoe’s wife Ellie close behind. Witty, literary and often moving crime novels.
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Series facts
- Books
- 22
- Published
- 1970 to 2009
- First book
- A Clubbable Woman
- Latest
- Midnight Fugue (2009)
- Setting
- Set in the fictional Mid-Yorkshire, England
The reading order
Every Dalziel and Pascoe book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
22 books · Set in the fictional Mid-Yorkshire, England
- 1A Clubbable Woman1970With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeA rugby player’s wife is found dead at home after he returns from a match, and Dalziel and Pascoe investigate the club.Buy on Amazon
- 2An Advancement of Learning1971With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeA skeleton is found at a college when a statue is moved.Buy on Amazon
- 3Ruling Passion1973With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoePascoe goes to visit old friends in a country village and finds them shot dead.Buy on Amazon
- 4An April Shroud1975With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeDalziel, on holiday, stays at a country house whose owner has just drowned.Buy on Amazon
- 5A Pinch of Snuff1978With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeA dentist tells Pascoe that a violent film he saw at a private club showed a real murder.Buy on Amazon
- 6A Killing Kindness1980With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeYoung women are being strangled, and an anonymous caller rings the local paper after each death.Buy on Amazon
- 7Deadheads1983With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoePatrick Aldermann, a quiet accountant who grows roses, has a way of getting ahead, because the people in his way keep dying.Buy on Amazon
- 8Exit Lines1984With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeThree old men die on the same stormy night, and Dalziel may have been involved in one of the deaths.Buy on Amazon
- 9Child’s Play1987With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeA wealthy old woman leaves her fortune to her son, missing since the Second World War, and then a man claiming to be him appears.Buy on Amazon
- 10Underworld1988With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeIn a former mining village, a girl disappeared years ago and the main suspect died in the mine, but the case is not closed.Buy on Amazon
- 11Bones and Silence1990With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeDalziel sees a murder from his window, while anonymous letters arrive from a woman in despair.Buy on Amazon
- 12Recalled to Life1992With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeA woman convicted of a murder at a country house in 1963 is released, and Dalziel travels to America to find the truth.Buy on Amazon
- 13Pictures of Perfection1994With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeA police constable goes missing in a picturesque Yorkshire village.Buy on Amazon
- 14The Wood Beyond1996With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoePascoe learns that his great-grandfather was executed for desertion in the First World War, while bones are found at a research laboratory.Buy on Amazon
- 15On Beulah Height1998With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeFifteen years ago, three girls disappeared from a Yorkshire valley before it was flooded for a reservoir.Buy on Amazon
- 16Arms and the Women2000With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeEllie Pascoe becomes the target of a kidnapping.Buy on Amazon
- 17Dialogues of the Dead2002With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeA short story competition receives entries that describe real murders, and the writer seems to be playing a game with the police.Buy on Amazon
- 18Death’s Jest-Book2002With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoePascoe receives letters from Franny Roote, a man he once sent to prison, while doubts grow about whether an earlier case is truly closed.Buy on Amazon
- 19Good Morning, Midnight2004With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeA man is found dead in a locked room, in the same way as his father years before.Buy on Amazon
- 20The Death of Dalziel2007With Peter PascoeDalziel is badly injured in an explosion, and Pascoe works with a counter-terrorism unit to find out what happened.Buy on Amazon
- 21A Cure for All Diseases2008With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeDalziel, recovering in a seaside convalescent home, finds himself in a town full of schemes, and a murder follows.Buy on Amazon
- 22Midnight Fugue2009With Andy Dalziel and Peter PascoeA woman asks Dalziel to find her husband, a police officer who disappeared seven years ago.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read in order, starting with A Clubbable Woman. The later books, from Bones and Silence onwards, are often thought the finest.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Peter Pascoe | Andy Dalziel | Ellie Pascoe | Edgar Wield | Rosie Pascoe | Shirley Novello | Franny Roote | Hat Bowler |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 A Clubbable Woman | LLead | LLead | ||||||
| 2 An Advancement of Learning | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ||||
| 3 Ruling Passion | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | |||||
| 4 An April Shroud | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ||||
| 5 A Pinch of Snuff | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ||||
| 6 A Killing Kindness | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ||||
| 7 Deadheads | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ||||
| 8 Exit Lines | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ||||
| 9 Child’s Play | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ||||
| 10 Underworld | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 11 Bones and Silence | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 12 Recalled to Life | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 13 Pictures of Perfection | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 14 The Wood Beyond | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 15 On Beulah Height | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | MMajor | |||
| 16 Arms and the Women | LLead | LLead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 17 Dialogues of the Dead | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 18 Death’s Jest-Book | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | MMajor |
| 19 Good Morning, Midnight | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
| 20 The Death of Dalziel | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 21 A Cure for All Diseases | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 22 Midnight Fugue | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
Characters in the Dalziel and Pascoe books
8 characters from Reginald Hill’s chart, with the number of Dalziel and Pascoe books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Peter PascoeDetective, later Chief Inspector | 22 | A Clubbable Woman 1970 |
| Andy DalzielDetective Superintendent | 22 | A Clubbable Woman 1970 |
| Ellie PascoePascoe’s wife, a writer and activist | 21 | An Advancement of Learning 1971 |
| Edgar WieldDetective Sergeant | 19 | An April Shroud 1975 |
| Rosie PascoePeter and Ellie’s daughter | 13 | Underworld 1988 |
| Shirley NovelloDetective constable | 7 | Arms and the Women 2000 |
| Franny RooteFormer student with a grudge against Pascoe | 4 | An Advancement of Learning 1971 |
| Hat BowlerYoung detective constable | 3 | Dialogues of the Dead 2002 |