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The Stranger House
Australian math wizard Samantha "Sam" Flood is here searching for answers to a disturbing family mystery. Miguel Madero, former novice priest-turned-historical scholar, is exploring the links between an ancestor's bizarre disappearance and the people of Illthwaite. But Sam and Mig are not welcome in this town of secrets and silences. And when their personal quests become strangely intertwined, two determined seekers will find themselves drawn ever deeper into a fetid morass of deceit, mystery, and violence as they race to uncover the shocking truth about who they really are.
For more than five hundred years weary travelers have been coming to the Stranger House—an out-of-the-way inn in the tiny village of Illthwaite in Cumbria, England. Now two very different visitors have arrived here onthe same dank and dreary autumn afternoon, each one driven by curiosity . . . and perilous purpose.
480 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Reginald Hill
156 books517 followersReginald Charles Hill was a contemporary English crime writer, and the winner in 1995 of the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement.
After National Service (1955-57) and studying English at St Catherine's College, Oxford University (1957-60) he worked as a teacher for many years, rising to Senior Lecturer at Doncaster College of Education. In 1980 he retired from salaried work in order to devote himself full-time to writing.
Hill is best known for his more than 20 novels featuring the Yorkshire detectives Andrew Dalziel, Peter Pascoe and Edgar Wield. He has also written more than 30 other novels, including five featuring Joe Sixsmith, a black machine operator turned private detective in a fictional Luton. Novels originally published under the pseudonyms of Patrick Ruell, Dick Morland, and Charles Underhill have now appeared under his own name. Hill is also a writer of short stories, and ghost tales.
After National Service (1955-57) and studying English at St Catherine's College, Oxford University (1957-60) he worked as a teacher for many years, rising to Senior Lecturer at Doncaster College of Education. In 1980 he retired from salaried work in order to devote himself full-time to writing.
Hill is best known for his more than 20 novels featuring the Yorkshire detectives Andrew Dalziel, Peter Pascoe and Edgar Wield. He has also written more than 30 other novels, including five featuring Joe Sixsmith, a black machine operator turned private detective in a fictional Luton. Novels originally published under the pseudonyms of Patrick Ruell, Dick Morland, and Charles Underhill have now appeared under his own name. Hill is also a writer of short stories, and ghost tales.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 175 reviews
May 11, 2014
Reginald Hill departs from his normal genre of detective fiction in The Stranger House, instead we have one mystery that spans decades to the forced migration of children to Australia and another that goes back centuries to the time of the reformation.
Sam Flood, Australian and former priest, Miguel Madro who is half-Spanish meet at The Stranger House in Illthwaite, Cumbria. With the two strangers thrown together to uncover what happened to their ancestors they soon find that the villagers will close up as tight as a clam to protect the past from them because while they appear to help in finding out why Sam’s grandmother was shipped off to Australia they are actually working frantically to conceal the past from her.
Reginald Hill moves the subjects covered seamlessly from mathematics which is Sam Flood’s speciality to Nordic myths from the supernatural to historical records, this book has so many layers that as a reader even in the slower middle section there is much to ponder and wonder about. The villagers if not the stars of the show are certainly deserve the best supporting cast moniker, with the mix of fantastically ugly identical twins, the half-truths told and the mysterious contests held to liven up the days such as the gurning competition.
A book so dense in detail and one that covers the present, past and recent past it all sounds a bit heavy, and in the hands of a less accomplished writer could easily be a turgid read, but we are lucky that Reginald Hill is a master of adding a light touch with a touch of humour to ease the complexity at just the right moments. I struggle reading about the supernatural, often this will make me put the book aside in disbelief and annoyance however once again Hill judges his readers capacity for reality and within the claustrophobic setting of the small village where secrets are kept to hide other secrets this aspect complemented rather than overwhelmed the plot. This isn’t a story of good and bad, or to use the disparate protagonist’s characteristics one of logic and spiritual, instead expect a mixture of shades of grey with multifarious conclusions to be taken.
So with fantastic characters, a plot that you feel has been carefully paced to get the maximum reaction The Stranger House is a perfect standalone novel from this wonderful author.
Sam Flood, Australian and former priest, Miguel Madro who is half-Spanish meet at The Stranger House in Illthwaite, Cumbria. With the two strangers thrown together to uncover what happened to their ancestors they soon find that the villagers will close up as tight as a clam to protect the past from them because while they appear to help in finding out why Sam’s grandmother was shipped off to Australia they are actually working frantically to conceal the past from her.
Reginald Hill moves the subjects covered seamlessly from mathematics which is Sam Flood’s speciality to Nordic myths from the supernatural to historical records, this book has so many layers that as a reader even in the slower middle section there is much to ponder and wonder about. The villagers if not the stars of the show are certainly deserve the best supporting cast moniker, with the mix of fantastically ugly identical twins, the half-truths told and the mysterious contests held to liven up the days such as the gurning competition.
A book so dense in detail and one that covers the present, past and recent past it all sounds a bit heavy, and in the hands of a less accomplished writer could easily be a turgid read, but we are lucky that Reginald Hill is a master of adding a light touch with a touch of humour to ease the complexity at just the right moments. I struggle reading about the supernatural, often this will make me put the book aside in disbelief and annoyance however once again Hill judges his readers capacity for reality and within the claustrophobic setting of the small village where secrets are kept to hide other secrets this aspect complemented rather than overwhelmed the plot. This isn’t a story of good and bad, or to use the disparate protagonist’s characteristics one of logic and spiritual, instead expect a mixture of shades of grey with multifarious conclusions to be taken.
So with fantastic characters, a plot that you feel has been carefully paced to get the maximum reaction The Stranger House is a perfect standalone novel from this wonderful author.
November 2, 2008
Illthwaite, in Cumbria is a dark place, literally, caught in season-long shadow. Like the roach motel, once a family moves in it does not check out. It has a deep history and not the nicest one. Samantha Flood has come to Illthwaite from her native Australia seeking answers to questions about her family history. Miguel Madero, of both British and Spanish heritage, is seeking answers of a similar kind. They cross paths in a place where ancient signs abound, where secrets are not only in the residents’ hearts but in the very buildings they inhabit. Dangerous, violent elements attempt to thwart the two pilgrims in their search for truth. There is an air of the mystical here. But Hill satisfies himself with hints alone. I thought the book would have been more satisfying with a bit more magic in it. It was an engaging read, a good book but not an exceptional one.
October 25, 2011
as ever an interesting book by reginald hill.
his use of language amazes me, there again were a couple of words i had never heard of before. he manages to draw you into an odd world of small places and (let's call them) interesting people.
the structure was somewhat odd with the main climax happening around the middle of the book and then having basically no action but the characters just retelling things before picking up again. i guess that's the old-fashioned 5-part drama structure but to me it did feel a bit deflated. but then again it did serve as a kind of reprieve before the end high point.
as for plot and characters, i enjoyed all this. the main protagonists were interesting (although sam did get on my nerves towards the end) and the plot needed a bit of unravelling and that was - as expected - so well done by hill to keep me hooked throughout. the supernatural twist with miguel was intriguing.
overall, i liked it but it did not amaze me and it was a solid read without being altogether too sparkling.
his use of language amazes me, there again were a couple of words i had never heard of before. he manages to draw you into an odd world of small places and (let's call them) interesting people.
the structure was somewhat odd with the main climax happening around the middle of the book and then having basically no action but the characters just retelling things before picking up again. i guess that's the old-fashioned 5-part drama structure but to me it did feel a bit deflated. but then again it did serve as a kind of reprieve before the end high point.
as for plot and characters, i enjoyed all this. the main protagonists were interesting (although sam did get on my nerves towards the end) and the plot needed a bit of unravelling and that was - as expected - so well done by hill to keep me hooked throughout. the supernatural twist with miguel was intriguing.
overall, i liked it but it did not amaze me and it was a solid read without being altogether too sparkling.
July 3, 2012
This is a 3.5 stars, in my ongoing campaign for a larger scale!
I am a big admirer of Reginald Hill, whose Dalziel books were something special. Better though was "The Woodcutter", and as I am living in the Lakes at the moment I was very keen to read this. The storyline is good, the setting is tremendous but some of the characters could be stronger. They are not as believable as they should be, and my other criticism is that in the middle 300 pages too little happens, and the novel loses its way a bit.
I am a big admirer of Reginald Hill, whose Dalziel books were something special. Better though was "The Woodcutter", and as I am living in the Lakes at the moment I was very keen to read this. The storyline is good, the setting is tremendous but some of the characters could be stronger. They are not as believable as they should be, and my other criticism is that in the middle 300 pages too little happens, and the novel loses its way a bit.
July 24, 2011
Based on religious doctrine and moral outrage, this book had a lot of potential, but the two lead characters were not given a proper chance to shine. The first, an Australian "mathematical genius" whose only numerical ability seemed to be harping on about it, used too many overly British and unAustralian expressions in her speech and thoughts, the combination of which highlighted the naivete rather than the cleverness of the author. Why didn't the publishers hire an Australian editor - or at least proofreader - to iron out these inaccuracies? The author's disclaimer at the start about "maybe getting a few things wrong" was not enough to justify the sheer quantity in the text. The second, a former seminary student who claimed he could conjure ghosts, called forth no spirits except in hindsight, and did little more than produce a yawn in this reader. Plotting was dull and ponderous, with the characters going over and over the same ground repetitively, too much flashback and not enough dramatic tension, some stereotyped English villagers as the support characters, all made a quick spurt of excitement in the penultimate chapter a case of too little too late. Yet mysteriously, I was drawn to continue reading and find out what happens. The book started well, and I suppose when it started to stall, I wanted to know if it got good again. Compelling yet boring at the same time - I never knew such a thing was possible.
May 25, 2016
I regularly listen to audio books by Reginald Hill. He is incredibly witty and the plots are beautifull wound together. "The Stranger House" is no exception and I think this is my favorite so far. It's a stand alone and not part of the detective series that the other books I've read (listened to) by him have been.
Miguel Madero and Samantha Flood - a man of good and a mathematician - arrive at the tiny village of Illthwaite and both stay at the pub B&B called "the Stranger House". They are there to find out more of their pasts. For Madero, it's the history of a long lost realtive that he's after. Sam though, wants to find out who her grandfather is. Her grandmother came to Australia as a child, gave birth to Sam's father and died. However, no one in Illthwaite seems particularly interested in helping either of the two strangers. There is much they would rather keep hidden.
I absolutely loved this book. The characters are wonderful and fascinating, the setting atmospheric. I find Reginald Hill to be an underrated author. This book is definitely recommended to lovers of mystery, historical and otherwise.
Miguel Madero and Samantha Flood - a man of good and a mathematician - arrive at the tiny village of Illthwaite and both stay at the pub B&B called "the Stranger House". They are there to find out more of their pasts. For Madero, it's the history of a long lost realtive that he's after. Sam though, wants to find out who her grandfather is. Her grandmother came to Australia as a child, gave birth to Sam's father and died. However, no one in Illthwaite seems particularly interested in helping either of the two strangers. There is much they would rather keep hidden.
I absolutely loved this book. The characters are wonderful and fascinating, the setting atmospheric. I find Reginald Hill to be an underrated author. This book is definitely recommended to lovers of mystery, historical and otherwise.
May 28, 2017
I’ll give this book 3 stars, and would recommend it as an ok read. I liked the story. I did not like the main female character. I’m all for strong females, but she was rude, thought she was better/smarter than everyone, and to me, not likable at all. If it weren’t for the unpleasant female lead I may have enjoyed this book a bit more than I did.
August 12, 2021
This was a bit of a slow burner, with lots of characters, all with secrets to hide. The plot should have had more impetus than it did. Lots of opportunities for eerie atmosphere and sinister undertow was squandered by the hard-headed mathematician heroine, Sam Flood.
Notwithstanding, the themes of the book - the sins of the fathers, etc - came across satisfactorily at the end, with the very last chapter tying a neat bow.
Notwithstanding, the themes of the book - the sins of the fathers, etc - came across satisfactorily at the end, with the very last chapter tying a neat bow.
June 19, 2012
There is a lot going on in this book that manages to cross a number of styles, mystery, paranormal, relationships. history, crime.
It was not a total success for me, as it is a long book and parts of it seem to work better than other but everytime i was starting to lose interest, a new twist or approach was deployed and I started to enjoy again.
The book is about two unrelated people coming from abroad to the UK to try and understand something about there past.
The first is a young slip of a girl from Australia, coming back to the lake district to understand about her grandmother who was shipped out to Australia as an orphan. Locals are slow to reveal anything but she is tenancious and works her way through.
The second is a religous spanaird, training to be a priest that wants to understand more about the catholic witch hunts of elizabethan times. Here we get the history - meticulously researched and the paranormal, as he sees ghosts. Lots go on and his skills are used to determine that a member of his family ended up here.
There are parallels of time here, where the families have not moved since the elizabethan times and all the same family names resonate whith what happened inthe 60s when the girls grandmother was shipped out.
Lots of tooing and froing and moving through times but we get to understand that the girls grandmother was raped and preganant when shipped out and the spanairds relative was tortured.
Really a serious and complicated book working on several levels... norse mythodology anyone. However, the author has a humourous light touch and the australian girls chapters worked better for me than the ancient history.
I'm not going to say that I will rush down to the library to get his other books out, but there was enough interest here to make me want to read more.
A success.
It was not a total success for me, as it is a long book and parts of it seem to work better than other but everytime i was starting to lose interest, a new twist or approach was deployed and I started to enjoy again.
The book is about two unrelated people coming from abroad to the UK to try and understand something about there past.
The first is a young slip of a girl from Australia, coming back to the lake district to understand about her grandmother who was shipped out to Australia as an orphan. Locals are slow to reveal anything but she is tenancious and works her way through.
The second is a religous spanaird, training to be a priest that wants to understand more about the catholic witch hunts of elizabethan times. Here we get the history - meticulously researched and the paranormal, as he sees ghosts. Lots go on and his skills are used to determine that a member of his family ended up here.
There are parallels of time here, where the families have not moved since the elizabethan times and all the same family names resonate whith what happened inthe 60s when the girls grandmother was shipped out.
Lots of tooing and froing and moving through times but we get to understand that the girls grandmother was raped and preganant when shipped out and the spanairds relative was tortured.
Really a serious and complicated book working on several levels... norse mythodology anyone. However, the author has a humourous light touch and the australian girls chapters worked better for me than the ancient history.
I'm not going to say that I will rush down to the library to get his other books out, but there was enough interest here to make me want to read more.
A success.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2017
How does stuff like this get into international best-seller status? If it were 80 pages longer I'd give it 1 star. It's an OK beach read, I guess, if you're really bored. The pacing is strong enough to keep the pages turning, but the story begins to bog down about halfway through and at 533 pages it's too long. I kept on to the end largely to see if the occasional glints of decent story telling would improve into a better book. They did not. If anything, the book got worse as it went along.
The lead characters — Sam Flood and Miguel Madero — are mushy and grating. It's just barely possible that Sam (for Samantha) is meant to represent a valkyrie figure; she actually comes across increasingly as an annoying and self-righteous harpie, and demonstrations of her supposed mathematical genius are elementary and forced. Miguel is a rather washed-out innocent who begins the story with some sort of unexplained paranormal abilities that simply fade away by the end.
The themes mix English Reformation history with Viking religion; the references to the first see a lot of after-the-fact indignation and use of the second is mostly silly. The frequent sexual innuendoes sound like they come from a couple of men on the far side of middle age sniggering over their beers at a pub. Some of the secondary characters pack more weight than the heroine and rather ineffectual hero, but often seem more extraordinary and vivid than people you would normally encounter in a tiny village. The writing varies widely in tone, from occasional bits of nice prose to frequent sections of kitschy chatter.
Maybe I'll try one of Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe mysteries but would do so reluctantly, and would be ready to ditch it before finishing if its quality is on par with this one.
The lead characters — Sam Flood and Miguel Madero — are mushy and grating. It's just barely possible that Sam (for Samantha) is meant to represent a valkyrie figure; she actually comes across increasingly as an annoying and self-righteous harpie, and demonstrations of her supposed mathematical genius are elementary and forced. Miguel is a rather washed-out innocent who begins the story with some sort of unexplained paranormal abilities that simply fade away by the end.
The themes mix English Reformation history with Viking religion; the references to the first see a lot of after-the-fact indignation and use of the second is mostly silly. The frequent sexual innuendoes sound like they come from a couple of men on the far side of middle age sniggering over their beers at a pub. Some of the secondary characters pack more weight than the heroine and rather ineffectual hero, but often seem more extraordinary and vivid than people you would normally encounter in a tiny village. The writing varies widely in tone, from occasional bits of nice prose to frequent sections of kitschy chatter.
Maybe I'll try one of Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe mysteries but would do so reluctantly, and would be ready to ditch it before finishing if its quality is on par with this one.
June 11, 2023
The PERFECT slow burner. I was engaged from the very beginning & could not put it down. The characters were so well-fleshed out and the storyline oozed with a rich tapestry of detailed history and twists & turns. It has honestly made me want to read Reginald Hill’s entire bibliography in one sitting.
February 12, 2024
An interesting read.
Pluses: Intriguing structure with two protagonists who are as different as chalk. One, a brilliant young mathematician (we have to take the author's word for it; we hardly see any evidence of the mathematician, and she's not all that consistently brilliant either). The other a young priest who senses ghosts (again we have to take the author's word for it; it felt like the character was more on a drug trip than involved with the supernatural). The mathematician is trying to uncover a truth about her grandmother, the priest is digging even deeper to find out what happened to an ancestor of his 400 years earlier. They both land up at the Stranger House in the village of Ilthwaite to discover their pasts are interlinked, going back to the village's (and its inhabitants') dark past. It's that part of the story that I liked.
The second things I liked was the way pagan and Norse myth and legend was skilfully woven into the tale. I particularly liked the ending with its semi-mythical idea and execution.
Minuses: The lead mathematician character for sure. She's one of the most obnoxious characters I have come across in literature, carrying a massive chip on her shoulder for no conceivable reason. She's an A-class jerk and we never get to know why. Maybe the author's idea was to show her as a headstrong and independent woman; if it was he failed miserably in doing that. Or maybe this was his idea of portraying Australians, in which case, he failed that one too.
The other minus was that the book was unnecessarily bloated and could have done with a culling of some 50 pages. There were parts in the saggy middle where nothing was happening apart from Miguel (the priest) dreaming about losing his virginity while Sam (the mathematician) was just being angry and rude.
Would I recommend the book? Yes, but only to patient readers.
Pluses: Intriguing structure with two protagonists who are as different as chalk. One, a brilliant young mathematician (we have to take the author's word for it; we hardly see any evidence of the mathematician, and she's not all that consistently brilliant either). The other a young priest who senses ghosts (again we have to take the author's word for it; it felt like the character was more on a drug trip than involved with the supernatural). The mathematician is trying to uncover a truth about her grandmother, the priest is digging even deeper to find out what happened to an ancestor of his 400 years earlier. They both land up at the Stranger House in the village of Ilthwaite to discover their pasts are interlinked, going back to the village's (and its inhabitants') dark past. It's that part of the story that I liked.
The second things I liked was the way pagan and Norse myth and legend was skilfully woven into the tale. I particularly liked the ending with its semi-mythical idea and execution.
Minuses: The lead mathematician character for sure. She's one of the most obnoxious characters I have come across in literature, carrying a massive chip on her shoulder for no conceivable reason. She's an A-class jerk and we never get to know why. Maybe the author's idea was to show her as a headstrong and independent woman; if it was he failed miserably in doing that. Or maybe this was his idea of portraying Australians, in which case, he failed that one too.
The other minus was that the book was unnecessarily bloated and could have done with a culling of some 50 pages. There were parts in the saggy middle where nothing was happening apart from Miguel (the priest) dreaming about losing his virginity while Sam (the mathematician) was just being angry and rude.
Would I recommend the book? Yes, but only to patient readers.
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October 21, 2021Το Σπίτι των Ξένων είναι από εκείνα τα βιβλία που πραγματικά λυπήθηκα που τελείωσε.Ξεκίνησε με λίγο αργό ρυθμό μπορώ να πω , άργησα κι εγώ να καταλάβω που το πήγαινε κι ενώ σε άλλη περίπτωση αυτό μάλλον θα με χαλούσε, εδώ ήταν κάτι που απόλαυσα.
Είναι ίσως η μαεστρία του συγγραφέα που δημιούργησε μια μυστηριώδη ατμόσφαιρα καθ'όλη τη διάρκεια της ανάγνωσης που μου άρεσε πολυ.
Ο βραβευμένος Βρετανός Ρέτζιναλντ Χιλ φαίνεται να έχει δώσει βάση στην ψυχοσύνθεση των χαρακτήρων.Με ένα μείγμα φαντασμάτων, θρησκείας, μύθων,μαθηματικών και πάθους ξετυλίγει το κουβάρι της υπόθεσης που θυμίζει κλασικά αστυνομικά μυθιστορήματα με το αποτέλεσμα να είναι μοναδικό κι εντυπωσιακό.
Καταφέρνει να παρασύρει τον αναγνώστη σε έναν κόσμο μεταξύ πραγματικότητας και φαντασίας , σε ένα χωριό με ενδιαφέροντα άτομα και μυστικοπαθείς κατοίκους.
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Προδοσίες, εγκλήματα και ιστορίες αγάπης έρχονται στο φως αναγκάζοντας τους δύο ήρωες να αφήσουν τις διαφορές τους στην άκρη, για να πετύχουν τον στόχο τους. Θα βρει ο καθένας τις απαντήσεις που ψάχνει για το παρελθόν του; Τι ρόλο παίζει ο ένας στην εξέλιξη της ιστορίας του άλλου;
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Ιδιαίτερο ,ατμοσφαιρικό και μυστηριώδες είναι το πρώτο μυθιστόρημα του συγγραφέα που διαβάζω και φυσικά σας το συστήνω ανεπιφύλακτα!!!
Είναι ίσως η μαεστρία του συγγραφέα που δημιούργησε μια μυστηριώδη ατμόσφαιρα καθ'όλη τη διάρκεια της ανάγνωσης που μου άρεσε πολυ.
Ο βραβευμένος Βρετανός Ρέτζιναλντ Χιλ φαίνεται να έχει δώσει βάση στην ψυχοσύνθεση των χαρακτήρων.Με ένα μείγμα φαντασμάτων, θρησκείας, μύθων,μαθηματικών και πάθους ξετυλίγει το κουβάρι της υπόθεσης που θυμίζει κλασικά αστυνομικά μυθιστορήματα με το αποτέλεσμα να είναι μοναδικό κι εντυπωσιακό.
Καταφέρνει να παρασύρει τον αναγνώστη σε έναν κόσμο μεταξύ πραγματικότητας και φαντασίας , σε ένα χωριό με ενδιαφέροντα άτομα και μυστικοπαθείς κατοίκους.
🏠
Προδοσίες, εγκλήματα και ιστορίες αγάπης έρχονται στο φως αναγκάζοντας τους δύο ήρωες να αφήσουν τις διαφορές τους στην άκρη, για να πετύχουν τον στόχο τους. Θα βρει ο καθένας τις απαντήσεις που ψάχνει για το παρελθόν του; Τι ρόλο παίζει ο ένας στην εξέλιξη της ιστορίας του άλλου;
🏠
Ιδιαίτερο ,ατμοσφαιρικό και μυστηριώδες είναι το πρώτο μυθιστόρημα του συγγραφέα που διαβάζω και φυσικά σας το συστήνω ανεπιφύλακτα!!!
October 20, 2018
3.5 stars - an okay to fun read, but not on the read-again pile
August 15, 2007
Reginald Hill has written dozens of books, but this is the first one that I have read. The Stranger House follows two people, Australian mathematician Samantha Flood and Spanish ex-almost-priest Miguel Madero, who travel to a small British town called Illthwaite to search out the history of their respective families. The novel is filled with a lot of coincidences, a small dash of the supernatural, a bunch of eccentric and memorable characters, and so many twists that you're still twisting in the final pages.
It could be really preposterous, the way that Sam and Miguel arrive at the exact same moment with interlocking stories. However, if you take Miguel at his word that ghosts have guided him through his life to this moment, and accept this as a semi-ghost story, it becomes easier to swallow as well as a more interesting story.
I liked the relationships between everyone, and I especially liked that the female lead is a mathematical genius. How often does someone create a female character like that? There is also a generous sprinkling of various parts of history, which is always a plus. I'm definitely going to check out a few more of Hill's novels, including a long-running series about Yorkshire detectives.
It could be really preposterous, the way that Sam and Miguel arrive at the exact same moment with interlocking stories. However, if you take Miguel at his word that ghosts have guided him through his life to this moment, and accept this as a semi-ghost story, it becomes easier to swallow as well as a more interesting story.
I liked the relationships between everyone, and I especially liked that the female lead is a mathematical genius. How often does someone create a female character like that? There is also a generous sprinkling of various parts of history, which is always a plus. I'm definitely going to check out a few more of Hill's novels, including a long-running series about Yorkshire detectives.
August 7, 2014
This is an intriguing and qite different book about two children who grow up following the trail of their families and ending up in the same small town and struggling with what they find out and what they have to slowly winnow from clues and misdirection by the townspeople.
I'm not sure that I like either main character but the girl — a young woman who is small as a child and behaves through much of the book as a spoiled brat — is particularly annoying. I think in an effort to get the Australian accent right, the author makes her come across as a extremely rude and annoying person. I wouldn't have helped her if I was in the story; I'd want her out of town and as far away as possible.
And the other character, a young man who once dreamed of joining the priesthood, is more polite and intelligent but on the other hand is almost equally annoying.
Finally, while I liked the writing, it went far too long. The book wore me out.
I'm not sure that I like either main character but the girl — a young woman who is small as a child and behaves through much of the book as a spoiled brat — is particularly annoying. I think in an effort to get the Australian accent right, the author makes her come across as a extremely rude and annoying person. I wouldn't have helped her if I was in the story; I'd want her out of town and as far away as possible.
And the other character, a young man who once dreamed of joining the priesthood, is more polite and intelligent but on the other hand is almost equally annoying.
Finally, while I liked the writing, it went far too long. The book wore me out.
March 2, 2016
A rather strange book pardon the pun. Starts out real well, but it begins to stall in the middle and gets almost boring. With the promise of ghosts and a mathematical genius I must admit I expected a lot more action. However towards the end it gets intriguing again and I couldn't help feel like the author waited too long to get to the climax. I don't know though because weird enough I could literally not put this book down as I kept turning each page waiting to see the big reveal. And at the very final sentence I was not disappointed. I found myself laughing out loud as though a practical joke had been played on me. I have mixed feelings about this book.
March 5, 2019
I’m on page 58 and I’m questioning why I chose this book to read. I’m sure I’ve read other Reginald Hill books and enjoyed them (I think?) but now I’m questioning myself. Cringey, weird, wandering, shallow, stereotypical, pointless... it is well below zero here, and instead of wanting to cocoon with this book, something I do too much of I’ll admit, I have a strong desire to give this book back (even throw it into a snowbank) and go for a long cold walk.
January 17, 2010
This was a compelling mystery, especially for those who like a little side of supernatural with their whodunits. I thought the ending especially good--a logical resolution of the key issues, without even a hint of deus ex machina.
November 1, 2019
Been a fan of Dalziel and Pascoe for many years but have only just turned to Reginald Hill's other novels and I am damned glad I did. If the Woodcutter was very good, this was superb with more twists and turns than a mountain track in Hill's native Cumbria. Great stuff.
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February 11, 201910% and gone. I have far less reading years ahead of me than those behind me; I want them to be wonderful. If a book doesn't grab me within 10% of the page length, it's relegated to the op shop box.
July 24, 2021
Young Australian mathematician Sam (Samantha) Flood comes to the small Cumbrian village of Illthwaite looking for information about her grandmother, also known as Sam Flood. The older Sam emigrated from the U.K. in 1960 and died in childbirth only a year later, leaving Sam’s father an orphan. The locals Sam encounters deny knowledge of any Floods ever living in Illthwaite; it’s only by chance that Sam comes across a weed-obscured epitaph carved into the church cemetery wall:
Here lies Sam Flood
Whose nature bid him
To do much good.
Much good it did him.
The Sam Flood the epitaph references was a curate who had come to the village late in 1960, after the present day’s (circa 2005) Sam’s grandmother had already gone. A coincidence? Of course not. (This is a novel, after all, and the Law of Conservation of Detail applies.) Somehow, though, the villagers almost convince Sam that it is. Almost.
Meanwhile, the half-English/half-Spanish Mig (Miguel) Madero also arrives in Illthwaite, looking for information about a much older mystery in his own family: the disappearance of his ancestor, also named Miguel Madero, who had come to England with the Spanish Armada in 1588. Mig, too, is being stonewalled, but as he and Sam keep digging, they uncover some ugly secrets. Multiple mysteries—one from more than four hundred years ago, two from a little over forty—intertwine, and are still influencing current events. Sam—logical, incisive, and outspoken—insists on knowing the truth, a truth that someone, not so long ago, was willing to commit murder to hide.
If you are willing to accept a certain amount of magical realism (Mig, a former Catholic seminarian-turned-historian, see ghosts, and his sensitivity to the paranormal guides him in his search for clues), The Stranger House is an absorbing read. One of English crime writer Reginald Hill’s last works, it is an intricately plotted novel, with a well-drawn and entertaining cast of secondary characters, including a blacksmith/artist named Thor, a motherly innkeeper, a pair of very odd twins, and a retired cop (my favourite of the lot) who reminds Sam of a superannuated leprechaun.
I am slowly working my way through Hill’s Dalziel and Pascoe series, but The Stranger House is a standalone, without recurring characters. Hill’s writing is a pleasure to read, never losing sight of the plot, but full of humour and details fleshing out the setting and characters. The book is replete with throwaway lines like: Her eyes moved over Sam with the measured indifference of a security scan. Hill’s vocabulary must have been enormous; he is one of the few authors I regularly read who forces me to keep a dictionary at hand. (Whether you think that’s a positive or negative is up to you. Many of the unfamiliar words can be sussed out from context, but sometimes it is nice to know. Maybe I should read more of them on my e-reader, with its built-in dictionary.)
The book did include a few things that annoyed me, one of them being the not-really-believable romance between the two main characters, and another the frequent head hopping, sometimes moving from one character to another and back within a single page. There was also a sprinkling of Norse mythology (quotations from the Eddas, etc.) that felt rather forced and mostly superfluous to the plot. Related to that, the least successful secondary character was a chilly professor of the subject who never felt like a real person.
Sam’s behaviour, however, didn’t bother me. (I’m commenting on this because several reviewers on goodreads called her rude and unlikable.) I thought she was someone I would enjoy talking to. She started out reasonably polite, although frank and a bit irreverent, but with a chip on her shoulder towards the Catholic church (an understandable one, we find out later). Within a couple of hours of arriving in Illthwaite, four people lied to her and a fifth unseen person caused a fall that could have killed or seriously injured her. Wouldn’t you be angry? By the time she understands what really happened to her grandmother, she is ablaze with righteous anger and determined to dig out the truth, by whatever means is necessary. Calling her rude feels like an application of the old double standard, where anger is acceptable in men but not in women.
By the way, the story of what happened to Sam’s grandmother builds on the real history of the Home Children. Between the 1860s and 1970s, some 150,000 poor children were shipped from the U.K. to other parts of the Commonwealth—Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc. The stated aim was to give them a better life, and for some it did, but thousands were mistreated and overworked, and many were forcibly separated from extant families. Not a very laudable episode in British history.
Trigger warnings: rape, violence, child abuse.
This review was first published on This Need to Read.
Here lies Sam Flood
Whose nature bid him
To do much good.
Much good it did him.
The Sam Flood the epitaph references was a curate who had come to the village late in 1960, after the present day’s (circa 2005) Sam’s grandmother had already gone. A coincidence? Of course not. (This is a novel, after all, and the Law of Conservation of Detail applies.) Somehow, though, the villagers almost convince Sam that it is. Almost.
Meanwhile, the half-English/half-Spanish Mig (Miguel) Madero also arrives in Illthwaite, looking for information about a much older mystery in his own family: the disappearance of his ancestor, also named Miguel Madero, who had come to England with the Spanish Armada in 1588. Mig, too, is being stonewalled, but as he and Sam keep digging, they uncover some ugly secrets. Multiple mysteries—one from more than four hundred years ago, two from a little over forty—intertwine, and are still influencing current events. Sam—logical, incisive, and outspoken—insists on knowing the truth, a truth that someone, not so long ago, was willing to commit murder to hide.
If you are willing to accept a certain amount of magical realism (Mig, a former Catholic seminarian-turned-historian, see ghosts, and his sensitivity to the paranormal guides him in his search for clues), The Stranger House is an absorbing read. One of English crime writer Reginald Hill’s last works, it is an intricately plotted novel, with a well-drawn and entertaining cast of secondary characters, including a blacksmith/artist named Thor, a motherly innkeeper, a pair of very odd twins, and a retired cop (my favourite of the lot) who reminds Sam of a superannuated leprechaun.
I am slowly working my way through Hill’s Dalziel and Pascoe series, but The Stranger House is a standalone, without recurring characters. Hill’s writing is a pleasure to read, never losing sight of the plot, but full of humour and details fleshing out the setting and characters. The book is replete with throwaway lines like: Her eyes moved over Sam with the measured indifference of a security scan. Hill’s vocabulary must have been enormous; he is one of the few authors I regularly read who forces me to keep a dictionary at hand. (Whether you think that’s a positive or negative is up to you. Many of the unfamiliar words can be sussed out from context, but sometimes it is nice to know. Maybe I should read more of them on my e-reader, with its built-in dictionary.)
The book did include a few things that annoyed me, one of them being the not-really-believable romance between the two main characters, and another the frequent head hopping, sometimes moving from one character to another and back within a single page. There was also a sprinkling of Norse mythology (quotations from the Eddas, etc.) that felt rather forced and mostly superfluous to the plot. Related to that, the least successful secondary character was a chilly professor of the subject who never felt like a real person.
Sam’s behaviour, however, didn’t bother me. (I’m commenting on this because several reviewers on goodreads called her rude and unlikable.) I thought she was someone I would enjoy talking to. She started out reasonably polite, although frank and a bit irreverent, but with a chip on her shoulder towards the Catholic church (an understandable one, we find out later). Within a couple of hours of arriving in Illthwaite, four people lied to her and a fifth unseen person caused a fall that could have killed or seriously injured her. Wouldn’t you be angry? By the time she understands what really happened to her grandmother, she is ablaze with righteous anger and determined to dig out the truth, by whatever means is necessary. Calling her rude feels like an application of the old double standard, where anger is acceptable in men but not in women.
By the way, the story of what happened to Sam’s grandmother builds on the real history of the Home Children. Between the 1860s and 1970s, some 150,000 poor children were shipped from the U.K. to other parts of the Commonwealth—Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc. The stated aim was to give them a better life, and for some it did, but thousands were mistreated and overworked, and many were forcibly separated from extant families. Not a very laudable episode in British history.
Trigger warnings: rape, violence, child abuse.
This review was first published on This Need to Read.
January 4, 2023
I recently discovered Reginald Hill and am enjoying his intelligence and wit. This book also has those qualities but seemed overburdened by depiction of human misery (mostly historic).
July 20, 2026
BLOOD IS A COMMON DENOMINATOR!
Written by Reginald Hill and copyrighted in 2005, this novel was published by HarperCollins e-Books. It is a historical novel with a common theme of bleeding. The two protagonists are Samantha (Sam) Flood and Miguel (Mig) Madero. Samantha’s portion of the story begins with the onset of her menstrual bleeding at the age of eleven. Mig’s portion begins when, as a boy, he notices that he has bleeding from his hands and feet almost every night when he sleeps. This is commonly known as the stigmata: wounds or scars that imitate those of the crucifixion of Christ. Mig eventually shares his secret with his family priest, and he attempts to join the priesthood, but he is opposed by the family priest, and by his father. He eventually enters the seminary, but drops out after suffering severe injuries in a climbing fall. Both Sam and Mig are the children of winery owners: Sam in Australia and Mig in Spain. Both are in England in order to obtain advanced degrees.
Eventually, the two will meet. They both become residents of “The Stranger House,” an old inn in the small village of Illthwaite in the county of Cumbria, and the valley of Skaddale, in England, where the story is set. The two do not initially get along at all. Mig is still a Catholic, and Sam is not religious at all. Ultimately, though, the two becomes friends, and even lovers.
I was a bit disappointed by the quality of this story. It is very slow moving, concentrating greatly on the violence between the Catholic Church and the Church of England in the 1500’s. In that period, many homes in England had “priest holes” that were designed to hide any Catholic priests who might be present in the home when Queen Elizabeth’s men came hunting for Catholics. Because Mary, Queen of Scots was a Catholic, there were still many Catholics still living (and hiding) in England and Wales. Almost the entire story is somehow related to the history of Catholicism and the C. of E., and the very boring backgrounds of the two protagonists. At almost precisely the 50% point, the two of them discover a priest hole hidden under the large oak table in the kitchen of the inn, and old bones are discovered there. This becomes a loose end, in my view: a red herring, if anything.
This story is not as good as the author’s other detective novels. When I obtained it, I assumed it would be a standard English detective novel, akin to the well-known Dalziel & Pascoe stories that the BBC made into a TV series. I was to be disappointed by this 850-page novel which does not reveal that there has even been a murder, much less who committed it, until near the end of the story. It has a lot of entertainment value, and isn’t too graphic, but the plot is, in my view, way too complex. There are too many characters with dark ulterior motives and too many sub-plots. The pace is slow, as one might expect from historical fiction. The story contains a great deal of realistic facts and assertions, but it is fiction, after all. I thought that there were several loose ends left dangling, such as Mig’s stigmata symptoms and the bones found in the “priest hole” under the kitchen of The Stranger house. To those who appreciate historical fiction novels, this might seem to be a great story, but I did not appreciate the excess complexity of plot and the slow pace. I award four of the available five stars for this novel.
Written by Reginald Hill and copyrighted in 2005, this novel was published by HarperCollins e-Books. It is a historical novel with a common theme of bleeding. The two protagonists are Samantha (Sam) Flood and Miguel (Mig) Madero. Samantha’s portion of the story begins with the onset of her menstrual bleeding at the age of eleven. Mig’s portion begins when, as a boy, he notices that he has bleeding from his hands and feet almost every night when he sleeps. This is commonly known as the stigmata: wounds or scars that imitate those of the crucifixion of Christ. Mig eventually shares his secret with his family priest, and he attempts to join the priesthood, but he is opposed by the family priest, and by his father. He eventually enters the seminary, but drops out after suffering severe injuries in a climbing fall. Both Sam and Mig are the children of winery owners: Sam in Australia and Mig in Spain. Both are in England in order to obtain advanced degrees.
Eventually, the two will meet. They both become residents of “The Stranger House,” an old inn in the small village of Illthwaite in the county of Cumbria, and the valley of Skaddale, in England, where the story is set. The two do not initially get along at all. Mig is still a Catholic, and Sam is not religious at all. Ultimately, though, the two becomes friends, and even lovers.
I was a bit disappointed by the quality of this story. It is very slow moving, concentrating greatly on the violence between the Catholic Church and the Church of England in the 1500’s. In that period, many homes in England had “priest holes” that were designed to hide any Catholic priests who might be present in the home when Queen Elizabeth’s men came hunting for Catholics. Because Mary, Queen of Scots was a Catholic, there were still many Catholics still living (and hiding) in England and Wales. Almost the entire story is somehow related to the history of Catholicism and the C. of E., and the very boring backgrounds of the two protagonists. At almost precisely the 50% point, the two of them discover a priest hole hidden under the large oak table in the kitchen of the inn, and old bones are discovered there. This becomes a loose end, in my view: a red herring, if anything.
This story is not as good as the author’s other detective novels. When I obtained it, I assumed it would be a standard English detective novel, akin to the well-known Dalziel & Pascoe stories that the BBC made into a TV series. I was to be disappointed by this 850-page novel which does not reveal that there has even been a murder, much less who committed it, until near the end of the story. It has a lot of entertainment value, and isn’t too graphic, but the plot is, in my view, way too complex. There are too many characters with dark ulterior motives and too many sub-plots. The pace is slow, as one might expect from historical fiction. The story contains a great deal of realistic facts and assertions, but it is fiction, after all. I thought that there were several loose ends left dangling, such as Mig’s stigmata symptoms and the bones found in the “priest hole” under the kitchen of The Stranger house. To those who appreciate historical fiction novels, this might seem to be a great story, but I did not appreciate the excess complexity of plot and the slow pace. I award four of the available five stars for this novel.
May 24, 2023
Two strangers - both to each other and to the local townspeople - show up at The Stranger House, so named because it's where a former priory entertained strangers passing through. These two - Samantha (Sam) Flood, an Aussie studying at Cambridge, and Miguel (Mig) Madero, a Spanish historian who is questioning the prospects of his future priesthood - are in the small village of Illthwaite, Cumbria, on separate quests. Sam wants to find out who her grandfather was and what happened after her grandmother was sent from England to Australia as a child, where she eventually gave birth to Mig's father and then died. Mig wants to know what happened to a relative four hundred years ago. Both objects of their searches share the same names as they carry. Illthwaite seems to hold clues to both stories, But natives there are much more interested in secrets than to participate in any revelations from the past.
But Sam and Mig are equally determined to dig deeper - she, with a methodical approach based on mathmatics which rejects anything religious, and he, with a mystical bent who sees ghosts and reads religious belief into every discovery. The two approaches clash early and often, and I enjoyed their repartee which Hill does so well.
An unrelated, but wonderful quote that I loved. Sam has a cryptography friend who was recruited by "government men so anonymous even their suits had no labels."
But Sam and Mig are equally determined to dig deeper - she, with a methodical approach based on mathmatics which rejects anything religious, and he, with a mystical bent who sees ghosts and reads religious belief into every discovery. The two approaches clash early and often, and I enjoyed their repartee which Hill does so well.
An unrelated, but wonderful quote that I loved. Sam has a cryptography friend who was recruited by "government men so anonymous even their suits had no labels."
July 29, 2017
In this novel, Reginald Hill has stepped away from Dalziel and Pascoe. This is a stand alone story which features two people, one Spaniard, one Australian, seeking answers to their past in a small, closely knit, village in the English Lake District. The Australian is intereted in her Grandmother's background, that lady having emigrated to Australia in the early 1960s without any family whatsoever. The Spaniard is looking at much older history in researching a Roman Catholic priest who was supposedly tortured during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Their research is intertwined together with the supposed histories of villagers particularly in the recent past and scerets are inevitably uncovered. The book is part detective story, part family saga, part supernatural thriller. The book is set in the present day and I had to wonder how many Lake District villages are solely occupied by families whose ancestors have lived there for centuries. There are also a few loose ends but this is one of the better of the genre of novel which deals with the effect of the past on the present.
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September 26, 2026In The Stranger House, Reginald Hill takes a break from his Dalziel and Pascoe series, and delivers a stunning stand-alone novel full of suspense, romance, history, and an exploration of the sometimes twisted side of the human psyche. The tiny village of Illthwaite in Cumbria, England, seems to be the kind of place where nothing much has happened for the last few centuries. But the two young strangers who arrive there on the same dank autumn day soon find out that appearances are deceptive. Samantha Flood and Miguel Madero have absolutely nothing in common — except a burning desire to find out more about possible connections between Illthwaite and their families. Their way forward is beset by deceit, obstruction, mystery, violence, and love as they struggle to discover who they really are. A cast of finely drawn characters, a powerful sense of landscape, a complex and multilayered story, and an explosive climax all combine to make this a novel difficult to put down, impossible to forget.
May 28, 2019
This book had just the oddest tone to me . . . in some ways, it reminded me of a Daphne du Maurier novel at the beginning with strange ghostly priests showing up to one of the main characters. Then it seemed like a 70s-era thriller because of the sort of gothic feel of the town (the weird brothers, the frightened priest, the forgotten grave . . .). But it was also juxtaposed with contemporary details about cell phones and the internet . . . I don't know, the whole book felt really uneven to me. I love the Dalziel & Pasco books so I was interested to read some of his other novels. This one started out strong for me, if a little bit weird, but then got predictable and a little bit pat at the end. Maybe I'll try another one of his stand-alone novels just to see if I like it better. This just reminded me of books I read in high school in the 70s--just kind of weirdly old-fashioned in the 70s way, if you know what I mean.
March 5, 2020
Completely and utterly complicated so that you have to have all your wits about you to keep up with the endless screed of twists and turns.
It's plain Hill thoroughly enjoyed producing this complex story with its almost over the top mix of ghosts, religion, myths, maths, and passion set in at least three time periods. How he ever kept track of all the details is beyond me.
It's not quite as sharply written as most of the Dalziel and Pascoe stories, where the wit is more subtle and the characters more real. These characters have personality and plenty of it, but they don't develop a great deal beyond them. For all that, they're memorable, and they're not stereotypes by any means, especially the two leads: Sam(antha) and Miguel, who are a wonderfully contrasted couple.
It's plain Hill thoroughly enjoyed producing this complex story with its almost over the top mix of ghosts, religion, myths, maths, and passion set in at least three time periods. How he ever kept track of all the details is beyond me.
It's not quite as sharply written as most of the Dalziel and Pascoe stories, where the wit is more subtle and the characters more real. These characters have personality and plenty of it, but they don't develop a great deal beyond them. For all that, they're memorable, and they're not stereotypes by any means, especially the two leads: Sam(antha) and Miguel, who are a wonderfully contrasted couple.
September 25, 2022
This was a random read for me, just picked it up because the setting seemed interesting. This is the first I've read of Reginald Hill.
The stories of past and present told through so many prespectives that eventually coincide, brilliant! plus the mix of belief and logic was wonderfully presented.
The plot twists at the end were absolutely unpredictable, especially the last chapter that made my jaw drop and stare at the wall for a whole damn minute.
Although given the indication that Sam and Miguel will eventually end up together, their buildup was amazing.
It felt a bit lengthy at times, pacing could have been faster, 500 pages were a bit excessive for a story like this.
Nevertheless, it was an amazing read, and I hope to re-read it in the future.
The stories of past and present told through so many prespectives that eventually coincide, brilliant! plus the mix of belief and logic was wonderfully presented.
The plot twists at the end were absolutely unpredictable, especially the last chapter that made my jaw drop and stare at the wall for a whole damn minute.
Although given the indication that Sam and Miguel will eventually end up together, their buildup was amazing.
It felt a bit lengthy at times, pacing could have been faster, 500 pages were a bit excessive for a story like this.
Nevertheless, it was an amazing read, and I hope to re-read it in the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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