Product Description

A special gift for Reginald Hill fans on Father's Day -- the return of Joe Sixsmith in a beautifully packaged, witty new crime novel A sweltering summer spells bad news for the private detective business. Thieves and philanderers take the month off and the only swingers in town are the ones to be found on the 19th hole of the Royal Hoo Golf Course. The civilized reputation of the 'Hoo' is in trouble, however. Shocking allegations of cheating have been directed at one of its leading members, Chris Porphyry. When Chris turns to Joe Sixsmith, PI, he's more than willing to help -- well, he hasn't got any other clients -- only Joe hadn't counted on being French-kissed then dangled out of a window on the same day. Before long, though, Joe's on the trail of a conspiracy that starts with missing balls, and ends with murder!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41443 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
Praise for 'The Roar of the Butterflies': 'Told with humour and a light touch! ideal summer reading' Sunday Telegraph Acclaim for the Joe Sixsmith series: 'Entertaining, sly, jokey!cynical, well written, and teems with sparkly dialogue -- all the virtues we expect from Hill' The Times 'A thoroughly engaging investigator' TLS 'This is high-speed pantomine! with plenty of sly dialogue to spice the action' Mail on Sunday 'The Sixsmith series has a buoyancy and delectability of its own' Independent Acclaim for Reginald Hill: 'Hill is wonderful' The Times 'As usual, Hill is unputdownable' Daily Express 'His energy, wit and erudition are astonishing! he can still see off most of his rivals' Daily Telegraph 'Hill at his best is a masterly storyteller' Spectator

Sunday Telegraph
`Told with humour and a light touch... ideal summer reading'

Review
`Hill is unputdownable'

Customer Reviews

roar of the butterflies
A welcome return for Joe Sixsmith and as usual the story is fast paced and made me laugh in several places. Joe is a bumbling detective, he finds facts almost by mistake and generally excels at being in the worng place - but at the right time!

The story revolves around a local golf club and thankfully Joe is no golfer so any references to golfing are made simple through his lack of understanding. The original case does not seem too exciting and Joe despairs of being able to do anything. This is where Reginald Hill proves that he can write a good mystery, as Joe ploughs around trying to find something that will help he uncovers layer after layer of new mysteries and ends up solving a murder and defusing a business takeover.

My favourite part is where Joe is attacked in his flat - just read the book to find out why this is funny. I would thoroughly recommend this story, well up with the rest of the series if you have read them, and it will make you want to read the rest if you haven't.

Brief But Fun Visit
Nice to see the return of Joe Sixsmith, Reginald Hill's other series hero. He's a likeable character, solving crimes in a bumbling, almost accidental, manner. He reminds me a bit of Miss Marple in the way he's discounted by those around him and he's able to pick up clues that maybe wouldn't be left if the perpertrators thought a 'real' detective was on to them.

This is a very short book, more of a long short story than a full novel but it makes an entertaining read. With the last few Dalziel and Pascoe books being somewhat less interesting than previous installments, it's nice to see the return of Joe in a well plotted romp. I hope Mr Hill brings him back again soon!

High Summer in Luton
How nice to see Joe Sixsmith back again. If you're a Reginald Hill fan, but haven't yet read any of the Sixsmith books, you're in for a (pleasant) surprise. There's none of the dark undertone of the Dalziel and Pascoe books, but a clear impression that the prolific Mr Hill enjoys dashing off these lighter-weight romps in his spare moments. Good stuff.

If I have one grumble, it's about the physical object (this is the HarperCollins UK hardback edition). The printed cover is, well, OK, I suppose, but will soon get dented and marked. It's the illustrations inside which really let the book down. They contribute nothing to the telling of the tale; the illustrator doesn't even get a credit (which suggests some embarrassment on the part of the publisher); and for anyone who has already formed their own visual image of Joe, they are actually counterproductive. Having just finished Hill's excellent collection of short stories, There are no Ghosts in the Soviet Union, I found myself missing that book's less ambitious look and feel.