''A Pinch of Snuff'' is a 1978

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

novel by

Reginald Hill Reginald Charles Hill FRSL (3 April 193612 January 2012) was an English crime writer and the winner in 1995 of the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement. Biography Hill was born to a "very ordinary" family ...

, the fifth novel in the

Dalziel and Pascoe Detective Superintendent Andrew "Andy" Dalziel and Detective Sergeant, later Detective Inspector, Peter Pascoe are two fictional Yorkshire detectives featuring in a series of novels by Reginald Hill. Characterisation and style Dalziel is d ...

series.

Plot summary

Receiving a tip from his dentist Jack Shorter, Inspector Peter Pascoe takes a closer look at the Calliope Kinema Club, a film club notorious for showing adult entertainment movies. Shorter is convinced that one particular scene in a movie he recently saw was too realistic to have been staged with fake blood, but when Pascoe starts investigating, he soon comes across the actress in question, Linda Abbott, who obviously didn't suffer from any harm and assures Pascoe that his and Shorter's concerns are unnecessary. Meanwhile, the "Calli" has been vandalised and its proprietor Gilbert Haggard has been assaulted so badly that he succumbs to a heart attack. The only existing copy of "Droit de Seigneur" - the film Jack Shorter was so worried about - has been destroyed, and when 13-year-old Sandra Burkill accuses the dentist of being the father of her (yet unborn) child, it begins to look as though Shorter had merely tried to avert suspicions by his claims against the "Calli".

Publication history

*February 1978, London: Collins Crime Club , hardback

Television adaptation

The novel was adapted for television in 1994, starring

Gareth Hale Gareth Irvin Hale is an English comedian and actor, who is best known as one half of the comedy duo Hale and Pace, with his friend and comic partner Norman Pace. Biography Hale and his comedy partners were both former teachers, their comedy ...

as Dalziel and

Norman Pace Norman John Pace (born 17 February 1953 in Dudley, Worcestershire) is an English actor and comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Hale and Pace with his friend and comic partner Gareth Hale. Both former teachers, they fronted seve ...

as Pascoe. It was shown on the

ITV network ITV is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passin ...

in three parts over consecutive Saturdays, beginning on 9 April. However, Reginald Hill is said to have been unhappy with the series, and the series remains the only Hill adaptation to star Hale and Pace in the leading roles. The ''Dalziel and Pascoe'' novels were later picked up by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, where they enjoyed greater success. Between 1996 and 2007, 11 series of ''

'' starring

Warren Clarke Warren Clarke (born Alan James Clarke; 26 April 1947 – 12 November 2014) was an English actor. He appeared in many films after a significant role as Dim in Stanley Kubrick's ''A Clockwork Orange''. His television appearances included ''Dalzi ...

and Colin Buchanan were made.

External links

* 1978 British novels Novels by Reginald Hill Collins Crime Club books {{1970s-crime-novel-stub