Susan Hill

In the wake of a series of disappearances on a foggy and tranquil area of a cathedral town known locally as "the Hill," dedicated young policewoman Freya Graffham and enigmatic detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler follow a series of clues in order to decode the mind of a twisted serial killer.

A Simon Serrailler Mystery

The Various Haunts of Men

"PEOPLE ARE GOING MISSING. ONLY ONE THING LINKS THEIR CASES. THEY ALL DISAPPEAR ON THE HILL. A woman vanishes in the fog up on the Hill in Lafferton. The police have one lead a pair of expensive cuff-links found in her flat, with a mysterious note attached to them. Then a young girl, an old man and even a dog disappear in quick succession in exactly the same place. Young policewoman Freya Graffham and Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler are given the task of unravelling the mystery. But can they find the Hill killer before he strikes again? 'Not all great novelists can write crime fiction but when one like Susan Hill does the result is stunning' Ruth Rendell"

Zoe Stanford

I really, really loved The Woman In Black; which is why I think I continue to give Susan Hill a chance even if everything else I've read of hers has been a bit lacklustre. This book needed a good editor who'd be willing to cut the 200 or so pages of dead weight and then maybe it would rate a bit better. It's her first crime outing so I can cut some slack but still, it's pacing is totally off and the instances of poor characterisation are all the more noticeable because they come wedged between some really great examples of how to flesh out and bring characters to life. The killer is revealed at an odd point; too late to be an interesting 'how does a person like this evade suspicion' and too early for a 'big reveal'. It's readable and I might pick up #2 to see if any of the kinks got nailed out later on.

Also, Hill not to blame, but the blurb irked me. 'Young policewoman Freya Graffham and Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler'. Okay. Serrailler is the most fleeting of supporting characters in the book and yet they list his rank and not the central character's (which is Detective Sergeant)? Just 'young policewoman'?? And this is a 2009 edition! Also also, Serrailler is a Detective Chief Inspector, by the by. It's on the damn front cover! Tl;dr Zoe gets annoyed when people don't understand police ranks

The Various Haunts of Men A Simon Serrailler Mystery

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