It has been 10 years since the passing of the great Reginald Hill. He is one of my all-time favorite authors and I consider him to be among the all-time greats of crime fiction history. He is the two-time winner of the Barry Award (ON BEULAH HEIGHT and THE WOODCUTTER). He was also nominated for a Barry Award for my favorite book of his — DIALOGUES OF THE DEAD, which is one of the most creatively plotted books I have ever read. I had the great pleasure and honor to meet him twice — a very classy gentleman.

So it was a very pleasant surprise that I saw the announcement of a new Reginald Hill book. It is not a new novel, but what I suspect is a compilation of short stories or novellas previously unpublished in book form. He was a master of the short story format besides being a master of the novel form as well.

DALZIEL and PASCOE HUNT THE CHRISTMAS KILLER and Other Stories will be published in the U.K. on October 27th. I haven’t found a U.S. publication date yet. The stories contain the following plots:

A vicar nailed to a tree in Yorkshire.
The theft of a priceless artifact during a fire.
A detective forced to tell the truth for 24 hours.
A body hidden in a basement.

I immediately went to Book Depository and pre-ordered the hardback for $17.50 and free postage. What a deal! When the book arrives on my doorstep I’ll be putting everything else aside until I’ve finished it.