The Yorkshire detectives are upstaged by a Shakespeare-inspired serial killer in this "stylish, superior . . . snappy" mystery (Kirkus Reviews).

Reginald Hill "raised the classical British mystery to new heights" when he introduced pugnacious Yorkshire Det. Inspector Andrew Dalziel and his partner, the callow Sgt. Peter Pascoe (the New York Times Book Review). Their chafing differences in education, manners, technique, and temperament made them "the most remarkable duo in the annals of crime fiction" (Toronto Star). The Gold Dagger Award–winning series was adapted into a long-running hit show for the BBC.

The CID's Andrew Dalziel prefers simple killers. Not a crackpot who fancies himself Hamlet and taunts authorities with lofty quotes from the Bard. Dubbed the Yorkshire Choker, he's already taken three lives in four weeks and promises more tragedy to come. To help nab the serial strangler, Peter Pascoe has enlisted the help of linguistics professors, psychologists, and psychics—all of it nonsense to the grounded Dalziel. But as the murders escalate, the motives become more tangled, and the killer's identity grows more elusive scene-by-crime-scene, Dalziel and Pascoe must do everything they can to bring down the curtain on the princely fiend.