The Woodcutter Synopsis
Wolf Hadda's life has been a fairytale. From humble origins as a Cumbrian woodcutter's son, he has risen to become a hugely successful entrepreneur, happily married to the girl of his dreams.
A knock on the door one morning ends it all. Universally reviled, thrown into prison while protesting his innocence, abandoned by friends and family, Wolf retreats into silence. Seven years later prison psychiatrist Alva Ozigbo makes the breakthrough. Wolf begins to talk and under her guidance gets parole, returning to his rundown family home in rural Cumbria.
But there is a mysterious period in Wolf's youth when he disappeared from home and was known to his employers as the Woodcutter. And now the Woodcutter is back, looking for the truth and with the truth, revenge. Can Alva intervene before his pursuit of vengeance takes him to a place from which he can never come back?
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780007343904 |
| Publication date: |
31st March 2011 |
| Author: |
Reginald Hill |
| Publisher: |
Harper an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
581 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Crime and Mystery
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Reginald Hill Press Reviews
'An outstanding novel of force and beauty [which shows] Hill's elegant writing, erudition and imagination'
The Times
'He quickly proves he's lost none of his sardonic wit, punch and complexity ! You'll be hard pushed to find another crime writer with his verve ! Hill uses every trick in his arsenal to elucidate. The result is an epic, unbeatable mystery'
Financial Times
'A big, fat mystery which has the enduring power of a myth. Hill proves once again that the driving force of a successful crime novel is character, not incident. The heights of the Dalziel & Pascoe series aside, Hill has never written a better book'
Evening Standard
'Reginald Hill's books are as good as crime fiction gets and this one is as good as he gets. A tragic, funny standalone mystery. History is rewritten with brilliant originality and verve. The combination of wit and humanity is characteristic of this most inventive of crime novelists -- warmly recommended'
Literary Review
'Hill's plotting is brilliant, the jokes first-rate, the prose supple: it's his humble awe at the English language that enables him to be a minor master of it'
Daily Telegraph
'To give more of plot would be to destroy the great pleasure this complex and accomplished novel offers. Added to his colourful prose and involving narrative are acute psychological insights, beautifully realized characters and landscapes, an examination of the nature of justice, political rage, humour and enough word games to keep any bookish crossword-puzzler happy for hours. The Woodcutter combines romance, fairy tale and tragedy in one of the most gripping crime novels of the past few years'
TLS
About Reginald Hill
Reginald Hill was born in 1936 in Hartlepool in the North-East of England. At the time his father was a professional footballer playing for Hartlepool United, but Reg says he never took to the round ball game, much preferring rugby which actively encouraged the drinking of beer both before and after (and sometimes during) the game.
When he was three his family moved to Cumbria, where Reginald spent his entire childhood before going off to Oxford University and eventually becoming a teacher.
A teller of tales from his earliest years, Reg had his creative epiphany aged seven when he discovered people actually got paid for making things up. From that day on he was always certain that one day he would become a writer. He spent many years as a teacher in Yorkshire which provided the inspiration and setting for the novels featuring the Falstaffian figure of Andy Dalziel, Head of Mid Yorkshire CID. In 1970 his first book, A Clubbable Woman, was published by Collins and featured Dalziel and his more sensitive sidekick, Peter Pascoe. Hill was hailed as 'the crime novel's best hope' and, thirty years on, he has more than fulfilled that prophecy. The series of 20 books (and counting) featuring the ever-popular pair has have gone from strength to strength and been turned into a hugely successful BBC television series featuring Warren Clarke and Colin Buchanan.
Reginald Hill has written over forty books in many genres, from historical novels to science fiction. His crime writing includes the series featuring the likeable redundant lathe operator turned PI from Luton, Joe Sixsmith (Singing the Sadness, Killing the Lawyers, Blood Sympathy and Born Guilty) and several thrillers under the pseudonym, Patrick Ruell (The Only Game, Death of a Dormouse etc.)
Hill has won many awards for his books and short stories. One of the most notable was the Crime Writers' Association's prestigious Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year for Bones and Silence. In 1995 he was further honoured by the Crime Writers' Association with their Cartier Diamond Dagger for his lifetime contribution to crime writing.
Reginald Hill currently resides in Cumbria with his wife Pat (whom he has known for over 50 years and been married to for over 40), along with their two Siamese cats and Golden Labrador. On winning the Diamond Dagger, Hill said he was delighted because it finally confirmed he had made the right career choice and now he could really get down to it. In his late sixties he still works hard but never forgets to leave time for smelling the flowers along the way. His pastimes include walking the Cumbrian hills, watching rugby, and drinking delicious Australian and New Zealand wine. Reginald Hill died in January 2012.
Author photograph © Tony Davis
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