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Simon Serrailler #9
The Comforts of Home
Recovering on a remote Scottish island, his peace doesn’t last long. He is pulled in to a murder inquiry by the overstretched local police. A newcomer, popular with the islanders, has died in perplexing circumstances. The community's reactions are complicated and fragile.
It’s good to be back on the job. And when Simon returns to Lafferton, an arsonist is on the rampage and a woman whose daughter disappeared some years before is haunting the police station seeking closure. She will not let it rest, and Simon is called in to do a cold-case review.
At home, Simon is starting to get used to having a new brother-in-law – in the form of his Chief Constable Kieron Bright. His sister Cat has embarked on a new way of practising medicine, and his nephew Sam is trying to work out what to do with his life. And then their tricky father, Richard, turns up again like a bad penny.
In this gripping new Serrailler thriller, Simon's personal and professional lives intertwine in more complex and demanding ways than ever before.
It’s good to be back on the job. And when Simon returns to Lafferton, an arsonist is on the rampage and a woman whose daughter disappeared some years before is haunting the police station seeking closure. She will not let it rest, and Simon is called in to do a cold-case review.
At home, Simon is starting to get used to having a new brother-in-law – in the form of his Chief Constable Kieron Bright. His sister Cat has embarked on a new way of practising medicine, and his nephew Sam is trying to work out what to do with his life. And then their tricky father, Richard, turns up again like a bad penny.
In this gripping new Serrailler thriller, Simon's personal and professional lives intertwine in more complex and demanding ways than ever before.
305 pages, Hardcover
First published October 4, 2018
427 people are currently reading
905 people want to read
About the author
Susan Hill
180 books2,271 followersSusan Hill was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1942. Her hometown was later referred to in her novel A Change for the Better (1969) and some short stories especially "Cockles and Mussels".
She attended Scarborough Convent School, where she became interested in theatre and literature. Her family left Scarborough in 1958 and moved to Coventry where her father worked in car and aircraft factories. Hill states that she attended a girls’ grammar school, Barr's Hill. Her fellow pupils included Jennifer Page, the first Chief Executive of the Millennium Dome. At Barrs Hill she took A levels in English, French, History and Latin, proceeding to an English degree at King's College London. By this time she had already written her first novel, The Enclosure which was published by Hutchinson in her first year at university. The novel was criticised by The Daily Mail for its sexual content, with the suggestion that writing in this style was unsuitable for a "schoolgirl".
Her next novel Gentleman and Ladies was published in 1968. This was followed in quick succession by A Change for the Better, I'm the King of the Castle, The Albatross and other stories, Strange Meeting, The Bird of Night, A Bit of Singing and Dancing and In the Springtime of Year, all written and published between 1968 and 1974.
In 1975 she married Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells and they moved to Stratford upon Avon. Their first daughter, Jessica, was born in 1977 and their second daughter, Clemency, was born in 1985. Hill has recently founded her own publishing company, Long Barn Books, which has published one work of fiction per year.
Librarian's Note: There is more than one author by this name.
She attended Scarborough Convent School, where she became interested in theatre and literature. Her family left Scarborough in 1958 and moved to Coventry where her father worked in car and aircraft factories. Hill states that she attended a girls’ grammar school, Barr's Hill. Her fellow pupils included Jennifer Page, the first Chief Executive of the Millennium Dome. At Barrs Hill she took A levels in English, French, History and Latin, proceeding to an English degree at King's College London. By this time she had already written her first novel, The Enclosure which was published by Hutchinson in her first year at university. The novel was criticised by The Daily Mail for its sexual content, with the suggestion that writing in this style was unsuitable for a "schoolgirl".
Her next novel Gentleman and Ladies was published in 1968. This was followed in quick succession by A Change for the Better, I'm the King of the Castle, The Albatross and other stories, Strange Meeting, The Bird of Night, A Bit of Singing and Dancing and In the Springtime of Year, all written and published between 1968 and 1974.
In 1975 she married Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells and they moved to Stratford upon Avon. Their first daughter, Jessica, was born in 1977 and their second daughter, Clemency, was born in 1985. Hill has recently founded her own publishing company, Long Barn Books, which has published one work of fiction per year.
Librarian's Note: There is more than one author by this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 425 reviews
September 5, 2018
This is the 9th in the Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler series set in Lafferton by Susan Hill. This is a perfectly acceptable piece of crime fiction, amiable and engaging. However, for Susan Hill, this is an under powered, treading water and more in the field of adequate crime writing for the author. It has little in the way of grit, and a greater focus on family dynamics and drama within an upper middle class milieu. Simon is in hospital, and is having to come to terms with losing his left arm after an unexpected and virulent infection after surgery. After acquiring a prosthetic arm, but struggling to come to terms with what has happened to him mentally, he takes off for the familiar Scottish Island of Taransay to recover whilst he awaits a more technologically superior prosthetic. Life is not easy, he pushes himself physically with all the walking he does and immerses himself in the small island community.
Predictably, Simon is caught up in murder when the body of Sandy Murdoch, a woman who had been a recent arrival on the Island is found. Sandy had fitted in well, she was strong and able, going out of her way to help others. No-one knew very much about her, her background was a mystery, she did not go out of her way to talk about her past or even where she came from. Simon is joined by Sam, his young nephew, who has no idea of where his future lies, leaving him stumped about which course to do at university. Cat, Simon's sister, has married Chief Constable Kieron Bright, Simon's boss and friend, who is slowly beginning to fit into the Serrailler family, including being accepted by Cat's children. However, Kieron is to be severely tested when Cat's father the irascible and ill Richard comes on the scene. Cat is unhappy with the GP working conditions, and is looking to move in a new direction in her profession as a doctor. Kieron and Lafferton Police are under pressure with an arsonist running amok, and the media pressure on the cold case of the missing Kimberly Still, assumed to be the victim of a convicted killer serving life in prison. It is Simon who unearths a poor police investigation into Kimberly's disappearance and takes it upon himself to discover the truth.
This was an enjoyable enough crime novel, but after I had finished reading, I was aware this was not going to be a read that was going to leave any long term impression on me. I had hoped for more, but perhaps this addition is just a blip in the series, and it will return to its higher standards in the future. Nevertheless, I can see many readers enjoying this Simon Serrailler outing. Many thanks to Random House Vintage for an ARC.
Predictably, Simon is caught up in murder when the body of Sandy Murdoch, a woman who had been a recent arrival on the Island is found. Sandy had fitted in well, she was strong and able, going out of her way to help others. No-one knew very much about her, her background was a mystery, she did not go out of her way to talk about her past or even where she came from. Simon is joined by Sam, his young nephew, who has no idea of where his future lies, leaving him stumped about which course to do at university. Cat, Simon's sister, has married Chief Constable Kieron Bright, Simon's boss and friend, who is slowly beginning to fit into the Serrailler family, including being accepted by Cat's children. However, Kieron is to be severely tested when Cat's father the irascible and ill Richard comes on the scene. Cat is unhappy with the GP working conditions, and is looking to move in a new direction in her profession as a doctor. Kieron and Lafferton Police are under pressure with an arsonist running amok, and the media pressure on the cold case of the missing Kimberly Still, assumed to be the victim of a convicted killer serving life in prison. It is Simon who unearths a poor police investigation into Kimberly's disappearance and takes it upon himself to discover the truth.
This was an enjoyable enough crime novel, but after I had finished reading, I was aware this was not going to be a read that was going to leave any long term impression on me. I had hoped for more, but perhaps this addition is just a blip in the series, and it will return to its higher standards in the future. Nevertheless, I can see many readers enjoying this Simon Serrailler outing. Many thanks to Random House Vintage for an ARC.
January 6, 2019
After his last, devastating case, Simon finds himself within a bit of a quandary. He has lost an important part of himself, and isn't sure if police work will any longer be s viable option. Recovering on a remote Scottish Island, he finds himself helping out on the murder of a recent newcomer to the island. Changes in his sister's life, and feeling the pull of home, he returns and finds himself unofficiallyinvestigating a case of a missing woman that has gone cold.
Love the title if this one, Home, because in this very character oriented series, we see what this means. Disturbances, changing circumstances can all change the way we view our homes. This is something our characters in this outing need to define. How much do our homes mean?
This is not s book one can race through, there are multiple layers. The two main mysteries, and where our characters find themselves, how they handle the changes confronting them. This is a well written series, with engaging storylines, but I like them because their personal stories seem real. Dealing with things many of us have to do.
Love the title if this one, Home, because in this very character oriented series, we see what this means. Disturbances, changing circumstances can all change the way we view our homes. This is something our characters in this outing need to define. How much do our homes mean?
This is not s book one can race through, there are multiple layers. The two main mysteries, and where our characters find themselves, how they handle the changes confronting them. This is a well written series, with engaging storylines, but I like them because their personal stories seem real. Dealing with things many of us have to do.
August 31, 2018
Well, that was disappointing from the usually wonderful Hill... review to follow.
-------------------------------------------------------
It really pains me to say this, but after following Hill’s Serrailler series through the previous 8 books and loving them all, this one comes as a huge disappointment.
The prologue kicks off pretty much straight after the traumatic ending to the previous book – but then as the book proper starts we’ve shifted forwards in time and some of the developments that Hill could have explored in detail are all done and over with, having happened ‘offstage’. This just isn’t the Hill of previous books who delved deeply into the psyches and inner lives of her characters, and who would have explored these developments with compassion and insight.
Too much of this book feels uninspired and dead on the page, as if Hill is going through the motions but that her heart isn’t really in it. Too much space is given to details of what people are eating (scrambled eggs, buttered toast, thick ham sandwiches, champagne, local rosé, crab linguine, amuse bouches) – see, just off the top of my head I can reel these off as they’re more prominent than what people are thinking and feeling.
I’ve commented before that Hill’s world is very upper middle-class – choir singing in the local cathedral, second homes in France, characters in respectable professions – but that’s never stopped me enjoying the books. Here, though, the middle-class smugness really rubbed me up the wrong way. Simon, when talking to his teenaged nephew who is agonising over career choices (as is natural, given his age), dismisses anything that isn’t medicine, the police, academia and teaching, saying that there is nothing else. Even worse, Cat (who I’ve loved in previous books) is now not just leaving the NHS for a private subscription doctor service, but justifies the £100 per month fee as being not ‘medicine for the very rich’ but ‘actually, a hundred pounds a month is a supper out or half a dozen bottles of average wine or tickets to something’ – so her view of ‘average wine’ is £17 a bottle!
Of course, all this might be merely a minor irritant if the story itself had the layered grippiness of the previous books – but it hasn’t. It feels bitty with Simon investigating death on a remote island (shades of Ann Cleeves’ Shetland series here) before returning to look into a cold case with a half-hearted plotline of a series of arsons taking place in the background. It all feels a bit desperate to be honest, and lacks Hill’s trademark psychological subtlety and profound human interest. Even the writing is sloppy in places: 'she heard what at first sounded like a low-flying plane roaring overhead but then, as the noise level increased, was clearly a series of explosions': how can the continuous sound of a plane sound like a series of explosions which peak then fall away? Especially when, on the next page, it turns out to be a single explosion?
So a slog of a book, for me – and I never thought I’d say that about Hill. So disappointing.
Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley
-------------------------------------------------------
It really pains me to say this, but after following Hill’s Serrailler series through the previous 8 books and loving them all, this one comes as a huge disappointment.
The prologue kicks off pretty much straight after the traumatic ending to the previous book – but then as the book proper starts we’ve shifted forwards in time and some of the developments that Hill could have explored in detail are all done and over with, having happened ‘offstage’. This just isn’t the Hill of previous books who delved deeply into the psyches and inner lives of her characters, and who would have explored these developments with compassion and insight.
Too much of this book feels uninspired and dead on the page, as if Hill is going through the motions but that her heart isn’t really in it. Too much space is given to details of what people are eating (scrambled eggs, buttered toast, thick ham sandwiches, champagne, local rosé, crab linguine, amuse bouches) – see, just off the top of my head I can reel these off as they’re more prominent than what people are thinking and feeling.
I’ve commented before that Hill’s world is very upper middle-class – choir singing in the local cathedral, second homes in France, characters in respectable professions – but that’s never stopped me enjoying the books. Here, though, the middle-class smugness really rubbed me up the wrong way. Simon, when talking to his teenaged nephew who is agonising over career choices (as is natural, given his age), dismisses anything that isn’t medicine, the police, academia and teaching, saying that there is nothing else. Even worse, Cat (who I’ve loved in previous books) is now not just leaving the NHS for a private subscription doctor service, but justifies the £100 per month fee as being not ‘medicine for the very rich’ but ‘actually, a hundred pounds a month is a supper out or half a dozen bottles of average wine or tickets to something’ – so her view of ‘average wine’ is £17 a bottle!
Of course, all this might be merely a minor irritant if the story itself had the layered grippiness of the previous books – but it hasn’t. It feels bitty with Simon investigating death on a remote island (shades of Ann Cleeves’ Shetland series here) before returning to look into a cold case with a half-hearted plotline of a series of arsons taking place in the background. It all feels a bit desperate to be honest, and lacks Hill’s trademark psychological subtlety and profound human interest. Even the writing is sloppy in places: 'she heard what at first sounded like a low-flying plane roaring overhead but then, as the noise level increased, was clearly a series of explosions': how can the continuous sound of a plane sound like a series of explosions which peak then fall away? Especially when, on the next page, it turns out to be a single explosion?
So a slog of a book, for me – and I never thought I’d say that about Hill. So disappointing.
Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley
August 11, 2019
3 - 4 stars.
I think if this was the first book in this series that I’d read I would have been very disappointed as it’s not up to the standard of the previous 8, all of which I loved. As you read a series like this you invest in the characters and you feel as if you know them and to me, Simon Serailler and his family do seem like old friends so therefore you read with knowledge and understanding. I did enjoy this book but I had reservations. First of all it seemed very disjointed and I felt it ended very abruptly which felt dissatisfying as there didn’t seem to be total resolution to the cases dealt with. Secondly, it seemed like a bridging exercise between the need for Simon to heal after the massive attack he endured at the end of Book 8 and his return to work fully fit.
There were two cases, one in Taransay (Scottish island where SS retreats to throughout the series) with the murder of Sandy. Simon figured out what happened but officially it was unsolved. The second case was a cold case - the disappearance 5 years ago of Kimberley Still. This was resolved but seemed rushed at the end of the book.
The title was basically the theme. Simon had suffered greatly due to his injuries and was questioning where home was? Could he return to his old life? His father Richard has been in France following the failure of his marriage but felt the pull of home but it took a while before he found where that was and being a curmudgeon he caused problems in the process. His nephew Sam felt displaced, didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life and was wandering from place to place to try to resolve that question. Sister Cat remarried (Kieron Bright, Chief Constable) and they had to settle on a home together with all necessary adjustments. Marion Still couldn’t settle in hers until she had closure on her daughters case and Sandy on Taransay was far from home and so on!
Overall, an ok read but not the best in the series.
I think if this was the first book in this series that I’d read I would have been very disappointed as it’s not up to the standard of the previous 8, all of which I loved. As you read a series like this you invest in the characters and you feel as if you know them and to me, Simon Serailler and his family do seem like old friends so therefore you read with knowledge and understanding. I did enjoy this book but I had reservations. First of all it seemed very disjointed and I felt it ended very abruptly which felt dissatisfying as there didn’t seem to be total resolution to the cases dealt with. Secondly, it seemed like a bridging exercise between the need for Simon to heal after the massive attack he endured at the end of Book 8 and his return to work fully fit.
There were two cases, one in Taransay (Scottish island where SS retreats to throughout the series) with the murder of Sandy. Simon figured out what happened but officially it was unsolved. The second case was a cold case - the disappearance 5 years ago of Kimberley Still. This was resolved but seemed rushed at the end of the book.
The title was basically the theme. Simon had suffered greatly due to his injuries and was questioning where home was? Could he return to his old life? His father Richard has been in France following the failure of his marriage but felt the pull of home but it took a while before he found where that was and being a curmudgeon he caused problems in the process. His nephew Sam felt displaced, didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life and was wandering from place to place to try to resolve that question. Sister Cat remarried (Kieron Bright, Chief Constable) and they had to settle on a home together with all necessary adjustments. Marion Still couldn’t settle in hers until she had closure on her daughters case and Sandy on Taransay was far from home and so on!
Overall, an ok read but not the best in the series.
November 13, 2018
EXCERPT: By seven o'clock the tide was going out from the small bay below the field centre, but it was not until after seven that four intrepid swimmers were on their way down to the water, all wearing wetsuits - they had been warned how cold the sea would be. The first two raced ahead and plunged in, following a wave to launch themselves, the next was not far behind, but then Laura Roberts felt her foot come up against a concealed rock and fell sprawling on the hard sand. She lay until it was clear that she had done herself little harm, though she would probably have bruised toes the next day. The others were shouting with laughter, their voices faint against the drag of the waves.
She rolled over and looked along the flat sand, and as she looked, she saw it. She had read about it. The mistakes people made. A big fish. A log. A seal. Part of a boat. She got up and went slowly along the few yards of beach. Slowed as she got nearer. She made herself look. Took a few steps. The tide was going out but a few foam edged waves were washing over it. Gentle waves. Washing it clean.
She did not remember passing out, only that she came to with Chloe and Angus leaning over her and Ade standing peering down at the woman's body.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: DC Simon Serrailler's last, devastating case was nearly the death of him and left him confronting a new reality
Recovering on a remote Scottish island, his peace doesn’t last long. He is pulled in to a murder inquiry by the overstretched local police. A newcomer, popular with the islanders, has died in perplexing circumstances. The community's reactions are complicated and fragile.
It’s good to be back on the job. And when Simon returns to Lafferton, an arsonist is on the rampage and a woman whose daughter disappeared some years before is haunting the police station seeking closure. She will not let it rest, and Simon is called in to do a cold-case review.
At home, Simon is starting to get used to having a new brother-in-law – in the form of his Chief Constable Kieron Bright. His sister Cat has embarked on a new way of practising medicine, and his nephew Sam is trying to work out what to do with his life. And then their tricky father, Richard, turns up again like a bad penny.
In this gripping new Serrailler thriller, Simon's personal and professional lives intertwine in more complex and demanding ways than ever before.
MY THOUGHTS: I picked this up yesterday morning and read it in one day, despite having had to go to work for the morning. I could not put it down, but then Susan Hill has that effect on me. She doesn't tie everything up nice and neatly at the end. There are always loose threads, unresolved issues to be carried over into the next book, and this is why this series should be read in order from the beginning.
Sometimes I feel that I know Simon Serrailler's family more thoroughly than I know my own. Sometimes I don't actually like Simon all that much. He is careless of other people's feelings. He ignores people. He takes advantage of his sister Cat's good nature. He is completely self-absorbed. I sometimes wonder if he is borderline Aspergers, or if he is just a complete shit. But he is very good at what he does.
This is not just a detective series. It is every bit as much a family saga, one that I am in no hurry to see end.
THE AUTHOR: Susan Hill was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1942. Her hometown was later referred to in her novel A Change for the Better (1969) and some short stories especially "Cockles and Mussels".
She attended Scarborough Convent School, where she became interested in theatre and literature. Her family left Scarborough in 1958 and moved to Coventry where her father worked in car and aircraft factories. Hill states that she attended a girls’ grammar school, Barr's Hill. Her fellow pupils included Jennifer Page, the first Chief Executive of the Millennium Dome. At Barrs Hill she took A levels in English, French, History and Latin, proceeding to an English degree at King's College London. By this time she had already written her first novel, The Enclosure which was published by Hutchinson in her first year at university. The novel was criticised by The Daily Mail for its sexual content, with the suggestion that writing in this style was unsuitable for a "schoolgirl".
Her next novel Gentleman and Ladies was published in 1968. This was followed in quick succession by A Change for the Better, I'm the King of the Castle, The Albatross and other stories, Strange Meeting, The Bird of Night, A Bit of Singing and Dancing and In the Springtime of Year, all written and published between 1968 and 1974.
In 1975 she married Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells and they moved to Stratford upon Avon. Their first daughter, Jessica, was born in 1977 and their second daughter, Clemency, was born in 1985. Hill has recently founded her own publishing company, Long Barn Books, which has published one work of fiction per year.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Waitomo District Library for buying a copy of of The Comforts of Home by Susan Hill at my request so that I was able to read and review it. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
She rolled over and looked along the flat sand, and as she looked, she saw it. She had read about it. The mistakes people made. A big fish. A log. A seal. Part of a boat. She got up and went slowly along the few yards of beach. Slowed as she got nearer. She made herself look. Took a few steps. The tide was going out but a few foam edged waves were washing over it. Gentle waves. Washing it clean.
She did not remember passing out, only that she came to with Chloe and Angus leaning over her and Ade standing peering down at the woman's body.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: DC Simon Serrailler's last, devastating case was nearly the death of him and left him confronting a new reality
Recovering on a remote Scottish island, his peace doesn’t last long. He is pulled in to a murder inquiry by the overstretched local police. A newcomer, popular with the islanders, has died in perplexing circumstances. The community's reactions are complicated and fragile.
It’s good to be back on the job. And when Simon returns to Lafferton, an arsonist is on the rampage and a woman whose daughter disappeared some years before is haunting the police station seeking closure. She will not let it rest, and Simon is called in to do a cold-case review.
At home, Simon is starting to get used to having a new brother-in-law – in the form of his Chief Constable Kieron Bright. His sister Cat has embarked on a new way of practising medicine, and his nephew Sam is trying to work out what to do with his life. And then their tricky father, Richard, turns up again like a bad penny.
In this gripping new Serrailler thriller, Simon's personal and professional lives intertwine in more complex and demanding ways than ever before.
MY THOUGHTS: I picked this up yesterday morning and read it in one day, despite having had to go to work for the morning. I could not put it down, but then Susan Hill has that effect on me. She doesn't tie everything up nice and neatly at the end. There are always loose threads, unresolved issues to be carried over into the next book, and this is why this series should be read in order from the beginning.
Sometimes I feel that I know Simon Serrailler's family more thoroughly than I know my own. Sometimes I don't actually like Simon all that much. He is careless of other people's feelings. He ignores people. He takes advantage of his sister Cat's good nature. He is completely self-absorbed. I sometimes wonder if he is borderline Aspergers, or if he is just a complete shit. But he is very good at what he does.
This is not just a detective series. It is every bit as much a family saga, one that I am in no hurry to see end.
THE AUTHOR: Susan Hill was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1942. Her hometown was later referred to in her novel A Change for the Better (1969) and some short stories especially "Cockles and Mussels".
She attended Scarborough Convent School, where she became interested in theatre and literature. Her family left Scarborough in 1958 and moved to Coventry where her father worked in car and aircraft factories. Hill states that she attended a girls’ grammar school, Barr's Hill. Her fellow pupils included Jennifer Page, the first Chief Executive of the Millennium Dome. At Barrs Hill she took A levels in English, French, History and Latin, proceeding to an English degree at King's College London. By this time she had already written her first novel, The Enclosure which was published by Hutchinson in her first year at university. The novel was criticised by The Daily Mail for its sexual content, with the suggestion that writing in this style was unsuitable for a "schoolgirl".
Her next novel Gentleman and Ladies was published in 1968. This was followed in quick succession by A Change for the Better, I'm the King of the Castle, The Albatross and other stories, Strange Meeting, The Bird of Night, A Bit of Singing and Dancing and In the Springtime of Year, all written and published between 1968 and 1974.
In 1975 she married Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells and they moved to Stratford upon Avon. Their first daughter, Jessica, was born in 1977 and their second daughter, Clemency, was born in 1985. Hill has recently founded her own publishing company, Long Barn Books, which has published one work of fiction per year.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Waitomo District Library for buying a copy of of The Comforts of Home by Susan Hill at my request so that I was able to read and review it. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
December 29, 2018
The week between Christmas and New Years always gives me a sense of limbo. Old year not done, new year not started, so it seems like a good time to clean up some odds and ends from my book shelves. A good time to catch up on mystery series and see what's going on with character's lives.
I've been reading the Simon Serrailer series for 4 or 5 years now, spacing them out. Some have been better than others, but this was one of the best, bringing me up to speed with Simon and his sister Cat. Big changes for both of them, and not one, but three major crimes to solve. Or not.
I'll have to wait awhile for the next installment though, as this was just published in October, with no word from Susan Hill whether #10 is planned. And this gets my vote for most beautiful cover of the year.
I've been reading the Simon Serrailer series for 4 or 5 years now, spacing them out. Some have been better than others, but this was one of the best, bringing me up to speed with Simon and his sister Cat. Big changes for both of them, and not one, but three major crimes to solve. Or not.
I'll have to wait awhile for the next installment though, as this was just published in October, with no word from Susan Hill whether #10 is planned. And this gets my vote for most beautiful cover of the year.
April 13, 2020
This continues to be one of my favorite series. Hill continues to develop her characters through excellent plotting, writing, this time with the greatest focus on Simon, recovering from the trauma of his last case, and Catherine, better known as Cat, now making major changes in her life.
As I have said before, anyone approaching the Simon Serailler series really should begin with the first book as the character development and interplay is integral to the series as a whole. Yes, a single book can be read and enjoyed, but so much background would be missed.
Enjoy!
(Oh, and there is a 10th book out last week!)
As I have said before, anyone approaching the Simon Serailler series really should begin with the first book as the character development and interplay is integral to the series as a whole. Yes, a single book can be read and enjoyed, but so much background would be missed.
Enjoy!
(Oh, and there is a 10th book out last week!)
August 22, 2018
I love this series and am so pleased to see it back – after the tension fuelled previous novel with it’s heart stopping ending it was wonderful to enter the world of Simon, Cat et al once more.
I adore the way Susan Hill plays with different strands of a storyline, here we have Simon recuperating yet still being drawn into a murder, Cat starting a new life with a new love and a cold case about to heat up once more. It is kind of gentle in a lot of ways, lilting prose, clever plotting and huge depth of character, but also genuinely addictive, a brilliant read.
Each of the Simon Serrailler novels is a journey of character with beautifully described settings and an authentic sense of place. This one was no different and was a pleasure from first page to last.
There is nothing not to love here. My one request would be not to make us wait so long again for more.
This, plus the entirety of the series comes highly recommended from me.
I adore the way Susan Hill plays with different strands of a storyline, here we have Simon recuperating yet still being drawn into a murder, Cat starting a new life with a new love and a cold case about to heat up once more. It is kind of gentle in a lot of ways, lilting prose, clever plotting and huge depth of character, but also genuinely addictive, a brilliant read.
Each of the Simon Serrailler novels is a journey of character with beautifully described settings and an authentic sense of place. This one was no different and was a pleasure from first page to last.
There is nothing not to love here. My one request would be not to make us wait so long again for more.
This, plus the entirety of the series comes highly recommended from me.
May 23, 2019
I really enjoyed this. It wasn't written as your usual crime drama. It felt more like a family drama with some added crime. It starts with Simon in hospital fighting for his life. Upon his recovery (not quite as quick and easy that sentence makes it sound!) he goes to a remote Scottish island to recuperate and gets involved in a murder while at the same time his boss asks him to look into a cold case.
One of the more surprising things that I enjoyed was how the two cases ended because they neither of them weren't cut and dry and didn't have what would be seen as a satisfying but I imagine probably true to life. I imagine many real life cases have endings that don't quite fit the Hollywood ending narrative.
The other half of the story is around twin sister Cat, now remarried and trying to help her son find his vocation, work out what she wants herself out of life and nurse her ailing father. Phew poor woman!
One of the more surprising things that I enjoyed was how the two cases ended because they neither of them weren't cut and dry and didn't have what would be seen as a satisfying but I imagine probably true to life. I imagine many real life cases have endings that don't quite fit the Hollywood ending narrative.
The other half of the story is around twin sister Cat, now remarried and trying to help her son find his vocation, work out what she wants herself out of life and nurse her ailing father. Phew poor woman!
October 21, 2018
Rather an inconclusive and scattered new offering in the Serrailler series. I wonder if Hill floundered with raising the stakes after the chilling last episode, which forced Serrailler into some tough places on several levels. Here we're returning to what I believe I noted as a problem in some of the other books, the tendency to allow plot lines to split into threads that never come together to make a satisfactory whole.
Simon Serrailler wasn't Mr. Warm And Fuzzy in the previous books, but now he seems almost entirely devoid of feeling. Twoo Luv Rachel appears to be pretty much out of the picture, the opportunity to explore her reaction to Simon's maiming seemingly lost unless Hill is planning to devote more time to this in a later book. Apart from one slightly hilarious scene where Serrailler (almost literally) runs away from her in embarrassment, it's as if she never happened (and that's what you get when you set up a character as Fantasy Girlfriend rather than a real person).
And what's up with the whole missing arm thing? Yes, I know we Brits do the stiff upper lip business well, but this is taking stoicism a bit far. If the arm's mentioned, it's mostly along the lines of:
"How's the arm?"
"Twinges a bit."
"Bound to, I suppose. Cup of tea?"
Truly horrible stuff happened to Serrailler in the last book and it's just not mentioned. Reminds me of the story about Lord Uxbridge's leg during the battle of Waterloo. Hit by a cannonball, he remarked "By God, sir, I've lost my leg!" to which the Duke of Wellington replied, "By God, sir, so you have." We've got all these openings for an exploration of physical and psychological trauma in the line of police duty, but Hill just doesn't seem bothered to go there.
And I have major problems with the decision Serrailler makes about the Taransay murder. It just doesn't seem consistent with him being a senior police officer. And the resolution to the cold case was highly unsatisfactory, while even the Serrailler family drama seemed a little lacklustre.
Another reviewer wondered whether this book was written to meet a contractual obligation, and I suspect they might be right. I don't think I'm yet at the point where I will leave off following the series (would I ever? It is Susan Hill, after all) but I do feel Book 8 might have been the series' peak. Go on, Ms. Hill, prove me wrong.
Simon Serrailler wasn't Mr. Warm And Fuzzy in the previous books, but now he seems almost entirely devoid of feeling. Twoo Luv Rachel appears to be pretty much out of the picture, the opportunity to explore her reaction to Simon's maiming seemingly lost unless Hill is planning to devote more time to this in a later book. Apart from one slightly hilarious scene where Serrailler (almost literally) runs away from her in embarrassment, it's as if she never happened (and that's what you get when you set up a character as Fantasy Girlfriend rather than a real person).
And what's up with the whole missing arm thing? Yes, I know we Brits do the stiff upper lip business well, but this is taking stoicism a bit far. If the arm's mentioned, it's mostly along the lines of:
"How's the arm?"
"Twinges a bit."
"Bound to, I suppose. Cup of tea?"
Truly horrible stuff happened to Serrailler in the last book and it's just not mentioned. Reminds me of the story about Lord Uxbridge's leg during the battle of Waterloo. Hit by a cannonball, he remarked "By God, sir, I've lost my leg!" to which the Duke of Wellington replied, "By God, sir, so you have." We've got all these openings for an exploration of physical and psychological trauma in the line of police duty, but Hill just doesn't seem bothered to go there.
And I have major problems with the decision Serrailler makes about the Taransay murder. It just doesn't seem consistent with him being a senior police officer. And the resolution to the cold case was highly unsatisfactory, while even the Serrailler family drama seemed a little lacklustre.
Another reviewer wondered whether this book was written to meet a contractual obligation, and I suspect they might be right. I don't think I'm yet at the point where I will leave off following the series (would I ever? It is Susan Hill, after all) but I do feel Book 8 might have been the series' peak. Go on, Ms. Hill, prove me wrong.
March 14, 2019
Three and a half stars.
DC Simon Serrailler’s last case left him in a bad way. He has not only lost his left arm, he is not sure if he will be able to resume as a police officer. Meanwhile he is recovering on sick leave on a remote Scottish island. While there, he is drawn into a case involving a dead body that brings up a few surprises. He is also asked by his brother in law and chief constable, Kieron Bright to look over the files of a cold case in Lafferton from five years earlier. This involves a woman whose daughter Kimberley disappeared. A body was never found. As well as Simon’s story the reader also learns more about his sister Cat who is a doctor, her children from a previous marriage, and Simon and Cat’s father Richard.
Though I have not read all this series but it was easy enough to pick up what had happened previously. It is not a fast paced, gritty crime novel though. So if that’s what you are looking for, this is not the book for that despite what some of the quotes on the cover say. Instead, it is more of a character study that meanders along. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, even if I didn’t always like some of them particularly. I certainly wouldn’t call it gripping but did find it a quietly interesting read. Not sure about some aspects of the story but nothing drastic enough that I felt prompted to stop reading. I quite enjoyed it.
DC Simon Serrailler’s last case left him in a bad way. He has not only lost his left arm, he is not sure if he will be able to resume as a police officer. Meanwhile he is recovering on sick leave on a remote Scottish island. While there, he is drawn into a case involving a dead body that brings up a few surprises. He is also asked by his brother in law and chief constable, Kieron Bright to look over the files of a cold case in Lafferton from five years earlier. This involves a woman whose daughter Kimberley disappeared. A body was never found. As well as Simon’s story the reader also learns more about his sister Cat who is a doctor, her children from a previous marriage, and Simon and Cat’s father Richard.
Though I have not read all this series but it was easy enough to pick up what had happened previously. It is not a fast paced, gritty crime novel though. So if that’s what you are looking for, this is not the book for that despite what some of the quotes on the cover say. Instead, it is more of a character study that meanders along. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, even if I didn’t always like some of them particularly. I certainly wouldn’t call it gripping but did find it a quietly interesting read. Not sure about some aspects of the story but nothing drastic enough that I felt prompted to stop reading. I quite enjoyed it.
November 7, 2018
Hurray, Serrailler is back! Its been so long though, i can't really remember the last book in the series! Enjoyable but an unsatisfactory ending i felt. One or two of the sub plots didnt seem to go anywhere. Hopefully not too long to wait for the next book
November 6, 2018
I have a long time GR friend who has been recommending this series to me for a long time and I am kicking myself right now that I didn't jump on that right away. This was one good book full of layered characters, intriguing plots and great writing. I can not wait to go back and read it from the beginning.
I would be honest to say that there was a lot of backstory that I missed. I am not sure why the meeting with the bookstore owner was so disturbing. I don't quite understand Simon and Cat's relationship with their father. Still it wasn't enough to get in the way of my enjoyment of the book and just made me want to go back and explore more.
Simon is recovering from a major physical problem and goes to a small island in Scotland to recover. There he settles into the routine of island living and meets the newcomer, Sandra. I have to say the portrayal of island living was terrific. I don't understand the appeal of living in a wind swept small place where you have to send your children to the main land for school. They live there during the week and come home on week-ends. I don't think I could do that but the visuals really made the life come alive to me. There is a murder and Simon takes on the case as the first on his road to recovery and solves it in an unique way.
Meanwhile at home, his sister, Cat, has her hands full with a new husband, a searching child, a dependent parent and a career change. I love that she's a doctor. I like strong female characters who can stand on their own two feet. It's great not to read about a psycho or drug addict just a strong woman making her way through life.
There is a closed murder case that Simon is assigned to investigate and a relentless mother who wants justice for her child. The case is unique and has an interesting solution. I like that things are not tied up nicely in a bow but has lots of blurred edges.
This is a definitely a series I am going to read more and want to thank Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
I would be honest to say that there was a lot of backstory that I missed. I am not sure why the meeting with the bookstore owner was so disturbing. I don't quite understand Simon and Cat's relationship with their father. Still it wasn't enough to get in the way of my enjoyment of the book and just made me want to go back and explore more.
Simon is recovering from a major physical problem and goes to a small island in Scotland to recover. There he settles into the routine of island living and meets the newcomer, Sandra. I have to say the portrayal of island living was terrific. I don't understand the appeal of living in a wind swept small place where you have to send your children to the main land for school. They live there during the week and come home on week-ends. I don't think I could do that but the visuals really made the life come alive to me. There is a murder and Simon takes on the case as the first on his road to recovery and solves it in an unique way.
Meanwhile at home, his sister, Cat, has her hands full with a new husband, a searching child, a dependent parent and a career change. I love that she's a doctor. I like strong female characters who can stand on their own two feet. It's great not to read about a psycho or drug addict just a strong woman making her way through life.
There is a closed murder case that Simon is assigned to investigate and a relentless mother who wants justice for her child. The case is unique and has an interesting solution. I like that things are not tied up nicely in a bow but has lots of blurred edges.
This is a definitely a series I am going to read more and want to thank Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
January 20, 2019
A good entry to a well-written mystery series. Some interesting topics were tackled in this volume and there were some developments in the lives of the main characters to process. It took me a while to get into the story lines and then, the last third seemed a bit rushed. Overall, I am very glad that Hill continues to write for these characters that I have grown fond of.
October 4, 2018
'The Comforts of Home' is the ninth book to feature DC Simon Serrailler based with the Lafferton police. I for one was overjoyed to see a new Serrailler novel as the eighth book released back in 2014 leaves four years between that and this. I'm not sure what has made it that lengthy, but I am extremely heartened to see him back doing what he does best - detecting!
Although I thoroughly enjoyed this, I didn't feel it was quite up to the exceptional five-star worthy standard that Hill's novel usually elicit from me but it still leaves most modern thriller writers looking like absolute amateurs. We catch up with Simon and stop in to see how both his physical and mental recovery is going after the chaos that took place in the previous book 'The Soul of Discretion'. However, his relocation to Taransay means there is a lot happening in various different places and this leaves the story with a lack of focus. The setting is wonderful and just like the characters is beautifully drawn, and the prose is compulsively readable as always.
This million-selling series is one that many crime buffs will appreciate but especially those who particularly like old school, atmospheric reads and novels with some form of substance to them. As someone who has studied and has a deep interest in psychological matters, I found I really missed Hill's discussion of these issues as they didn't seem to make an appearance in this book. I can't help but feel a little disappointed and perhaps shortchanged. I hope the profound aspect that Hill creates so expertly is due to return in the upcoming additions.
Many thanks to Chatto & Windus for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed this, I didn't feel it was quite up to the exceptional five-star worthy standard that Hill's novel usually elicit from me but it still leaves most modern thriller writers looking like absolute amateurs. We catch up with Simon and stop in to see how both his physical and mental recovery is going after the chaos that took place in the previous book 'The Soul of Discretion'. However, his relocation to Taransay means there is a lot happening in various different places and this leaves the story with a lack of focus. The setting is wonderful and just like the characters is beautifully drawn, and the prose is compulsively readable as always.
This million-selling series is one that many crime buffs will appreciate but especially those who particularly like old school, atmospheric reads and novels with some form of substance to them. As someone who has studied and has a deep interest in psychological matters, I found I really missed Hill's discussion of these issues as they didn't seem to make an appearance in this book. I can't help but feel a little disappointed and perhaps shortchanged. I hope the profound aspect that Hill creates so expertly is due to return in the upcoming additions.
Many thanks to Chatto & Windus for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
August 21, 2018
The Comforts of home is good, but I don’t think it’s quite up to the exceptional standard of many of its predecessors in this excellent series.
We follow Simon’s recovery, both physical and psychological, after the shocking events in The Soul of Discretion as he eventually travels to Taransay to convalesce. His father is in France and Cat’s life progresses at home in Lafferton, where there is some serious crime and a cold case to investigate. Even on Taransay, Simon becomes involved in a local mystery and then a crime...and therein lie some of my reservations about the book. There is so much happening in so any different places that it loses focus, I think, and Susan Hill’s thoughtful, often profound psychological analyses are less evident.
Her writing is as good as ever, with lovely, unobtrusive prose, extremely well-painted characters and an excellent sense of place on Taransay. However, I didn’t find Cat’s most recent medical dilemmas anything like as interesting as they have been, and other things weren’t quite on Hill’s normally stellar level. One thing that has marked this series as quite exceptional has been her examination of attitudes to death in different circumstances. That is almost wholly absent here (as it was from the previous book), but I was hoping for a similarly incisive portrait of recovery from physical and psychological trauma. It’s not really there; Simon is a closed and introverted character and we actually see very little of what he is going through. As a result, The Comforts Of Home felt rather more like a decent crime novel and a little less like the superb, profound books which have preceded it.
A not-quite-so-good book by Susan Hill is still far better than much of what’s out there and I can still recommend this, but it wasn’t quite the exceptional treat that I was expecting.
(My thanks to Random House for an ARC via NetGalley.)
We follow Simon’s recovery, both physical and psychological, after the shocking events in The Soul of Discretion as he eventually travels to Taransay to convalesce. His father is in France and Cat’s life progresses at home in Lafferton, where there is some serious crime and a cold case to investigate. Even on Taransay, Simon becomes involved in a local mystery and then a crime...and therein lie some of my reservations about the book. There is so much happening in so any different places that it loses focus, I think, and Susan Hill’s thoughtful, often profound psychological analyses are less evident.
Her writing is as good as ever, with lovely, unobtrusive prose, extremely well-painted characters and an excellent sense of place on Taransay. However, I didn’t find Cat’s most recent medical dilemmas anything like as interesting as they have been, and other things weren’t quite on Hill’s normally stellar level. One thing that has marked this series as quite exceptional has been her examination of attitudes to death in different circumstances. That is almost wholly absent here (as it was from the previous book), but I was hoping for a similarly incisive portrait of recovery from physical and psychological trauma. It’s not really there; Simon is a closed and introverted character and we actually see very little of what he is going through. As a result, The Comforts Of Home felt rather more like a decent crime novel and a little less like the superb, profound books which have preceded it.
A not-quite-so-good book by Susan Hill is still far better than much of what’s out there and I can still recommend this, but it wasn’t quite the exceptional treat that I was expecting.
(My thanks to Random House for an ARC via NetGalley.)
November 24, 2024
As always, I love this series. 😊 Much of the action takes place behind the scenes, as Simon moves forward from the trauma that occurred in the last book, and Cat struggles with career choices and her complicated father and a new husband, and young Sam is now old enough to be deciding what he wants to do with his life. Looking forward to the next book.
March 20, 2023
I read every book in this series so far and was elated when I saw that #9 was out. Sorry to say that this was heavy going. It was so lame that I found myself wondering if someone else put it together from creative writing templates. The "crime" elements in this plot were solved halfway through the story, and in both cases the perp was obvious. The third crime plot line was solved in deus ex machina-fashion. The rest was - I suppose - just what the title suggested, all about "home life": cooking, dining out, petting the cat/dog, looking after ailing parent, dealing with stroppy/lazy half-grown child, managing one's career, managing one's marriage, coping with traumatised, spoilt brother... meh. Frustrating.
April 7, 2020
I thought from reading other reviews, I would be underwhelmed by this book, but instead, I enjoyed it very much. Susan Hill is a truly good writer and this book was easy to read. I read it in two days and am only sad it will probably a long time until she writes another. The narrator on the audio book, Stephen Pacey, is also excellent.
October 9, 2020
It's been about 5 years since I read my last Simon Serrailler mystery. Even though it’s been a while, all the characters – Simon, his sister Cat, nephew Sam, father Richard – are all fresh in my mind. Just like Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache books, the characters are the big strength of this series. The mysteries are always well-plotted and interesting. In The Comforts of Home, the village of Lafferton has an arsonist on the loose. Marion Still is still grieving her missing daughter, assumed to have been killed by a serial killer presently locked up. But she can’t rest until she finds out exactly what did happen to her daughter and where her body lies. Simon is still recuperating from injuries received in the last book. Simon is a character that I sometimes dislike because of his treatment of women and he makes a decision in this book that I personally felt was a grave mistake. I always love a visit to Lafferton and finding out what Simon and his family are up to. I was afraid Susan Hill was going to end the series, but I know there is at least one more for me to enjoy.
February 22, 2021
The Comforts Of Home opens almost exactly where the last Serrailler novel ended, with Simon grievously injured in the course of duty. The core of the book concerns his recovery from those injuries, first on the Scottish Island of Taransay (where he inevitably becomes involved in a murder investigation), and then back home in the fictional cathedral town of Lafferton, where the cold case of a missing girl has been reopened at the insistence of her mother while an arsonist carries out a series of attacks in the area.
The strength of Hill's Simon Serrailler series has always been a strong focus on character, with Simon's GP sister Cat and her family playing as important a part as does the titular police detective himself. The dramas of family life for Cat, Simon and their father are often as central to the books as the crimes themselves. However, in The Comforts Of Home this strength becomes the book's greatest weakness. The first 40% of the book deals with Simon's rehabilitation on Taransay, while back in Lafferton, Cat's career crisis and difficulties with her teenage children are the focus. In a third concurrent narrative, their (increasingly sinister) father’s time in France is described in detail. However, where previous books have worked the family dramas into the investigation from the start, here the detection doesn't really takes off until the second half of the novel, which makes it feel like slow going.
While Hill's characters have always existed in an upper middle class milieu, this hasn't usually affected my enjoyment of the books because they have also have tended to have a healthy dollop of self-awareness. However, in The Comforts Of Home their privilege sat increasingly uneasily with me; in a country where it's estimated that 14 million people live in poverty, including 1 in 3 children, I found it especially difficult to swallow Cat's justification to work in private medicine, when her reasoning was that £100 a month (the cost of her private GP service) isn't much to most families, just the equivalent of "a supper out or half a dozen bottles of average wine". Cat, who has previously been the moral centre of the novels - as set against Simon's emotional coldness and Richard's violence - was the greatest disappointment here. Not just in leaving the NHS, but in her continued support for her proven domestic abuser and accused rapist father, she comes across as an almost entirely different person from previous novels.
These elements could be almost forgiven, though, if the writing was strong and the crime element as intriguing as previous books, but sadly neither is true. The murder on Taransay in which Simon becomes embroiled comes with a side of while both the cold case and the arsons in Lafferton lack any sense of urgency or narrative coherence. Overall - and surprisingly, given the long wait for The Comforts Of Home - it reads like a series of short story ideas stitched into a novel at the last minute. I would still wholeheartedly recommend Hill's previous Serrailler books, and hope this is a blip in an otherwise excellent series.
The strength of Hill's Simon Serrailler series has always been a strong focus on character, with Simon's GP sister Cat and her family playing as important a part as does the titular police detective himself. The dramas of family life for Cat, Simon and their father are often as central to the books as the crimes themselves. However, in The Comforts Of Home this strength becomes the book's greatest weakness. The first 40% of the book deals with Simon's rehabilitation on Taransay, while back in Lafferton, Cat's career crisis and difficulties with her teenage children are the focus. In a third concurrent narrative, their (increasingly sinister) father’s time in France is described in detail. However, where previous books have worked the family dramas into the investigation from the start, here the detection doesn't really takes off until the second half of the novel, which makes it feel like slow going.
While Hill's characters have always existed in an upper middle class milieu, this hasn't usually affected my enjoyment of the books because they have also have tended to have a healthy dollop of self-awareness. However, in The Comforts Of Home their privilege sat increasingly uneasily with me; in a country where it's estimated that 14 million people live in poverty, including 1 in 3 children, I found it especially difficult to swallow Cat's justification to work in private medicine, when her reasoning was that £100 a month (the cost of her private GP service) isn't much to most families, just the equivalent of "a supper out or half a dozen bottles of average wine". Cat, who has previously been the moral centre of the novels - as set against Simon's emotional coldness and Richard's violence - was the greatest disappointment here. Not just in leaving the NHS, but in her continued support for her proven domestic abuser and accused rapist father, she comes across as an almost entirely different person from previous novels.
These elements could be almost forgiven, though, if the writing was strong and the crime element as intriguing as previous books, but sadly neither is true. The murder on Taransay in which Simon becomes embroiled comes with a side of while both the cold case and the arsons in Lafferton lack any sense of urgency or narrative coherence. Overall - and surprisingly, given the long wait for The Comforts Of Home - it reads like a series of short story ideas stitched into a novel at the last minute. I would still wholeheartedly recommend Hill's previous Serrailler books, and hope this is a blip in an otherwise excellent series.
April 3, 2023
This Serrailler novel opens with Simon in the hospital after being gravely injured in a police operation. He needs time to recover and rehabilitate and goes off the a Scottish island (with a fictitious name), a place he has known for much of his life. While there, he gets caught up in a local murder. In the meantime, there are problems with his estranged father, and his nephew, son of his sister Cat. He also manages to reopen a cold case murder among other things, all while he is supposed to be on medical leave
I did not like this Serrailler novel as much as those I read in the past. I suspect that the format of short (sometimes very short) chapters that jumped from location to location, story to story, made it hard to follow on audiobook. I probably would have liked it better as a read rather than listened to book. I would have enjoyed more details about the Scottish island and especially more details about the murder victim, who was killed for an intriguing reason.
March 2023 Continuing my rereading of this series. Serailler continues to alienate women he falls in love with. I hope Hill continues to add books to this series. Not only do we get the story of Simon's life and police work, but follow his extended family.
I did not like this Serrailler novel as much as those I read in the past. I suspect that the format of short (sometimes very short) chapters that jumped from location to location, story to story, made it hard to follow on audiobook. I probably would have liked it better as a read rather than listened to book. I would have enjoyed more details about the Scottish island and especially more details about the murder victim, who was killed for an intriguing reason.
March 2023 Continuing my rereading of this series. Serailler continues to alienate women he falls in love with. I hope Hill continues to add books to this series. Not only do we get the story of Simon's life and police work, but follow his extended family.
September 9, 2018
I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for an advance copy of The Comforts of Home, the ninth novel to feature DCS Simon Serailler of the Lafferton police.
Serailler goes to the Scottish island of Taransay to recover from serious injuries sustained on his last case. While there he gets involved in investigating the disappearance of Sandy Murdoch, a popular incomer and having another look at the disappearance of Kimberley Still 5 years previously. He finds enough loose ends to return to Lafferton and start a more serious investigation.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Comforts of Home which held me engrossed throughout. I'm at a bit of a loss to explain this as recently I've had a very poor attention span and there is nothing outstanding or particularly suspenseful in the novel to hook me and yet I couldn't put it down. Both plots are fairly flimsy with the solutions coming relatively easily but they pose unanswerable questions and moral dilemmas that the reader can't help but ponder, notably the price of justice. As with all the books in the series there is always something vague about the plot. The solution is never neatly tied up in a bow with all bases covered and requires the reader to make assumptions and draw inferences. I would prefer a more detailed explanation but this way is probably a better reflection of real life. The strength of the novel lies in the depiction of family life and the minor dramas in his sister Cat's life.
This same vagueness surrounds Serailler's character. I don't think that after all these novels I have a good grasp of his character. He is closed in, self sufficient and disinclined to discuss emotions. There is an elliptical, laconic tenor to his dialogue which leaves the reader second guessing him. The strength of the novel lies in the depiction of family life and the minor dramas in his sister Cat's life. I love Cat as she seems much more realistic and down to earth than her brother. Her trials and tribulations are things we can relate to and empathise with and I read them avidly.
The Comforts of Home is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.
Serailler goes to the Scottish island of Taransay to recover from serious injuries sustained on his last case. While there he gets involved in investigating the disappearance of Sandy Murdoch, a popular incomer and having another look at the disappearance of Kimberley Still 5 years previously. He finds enough loose ends to return to Lafferton and start a more serious investigation.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Comforts of Home which held me engrossed throughout. I'm at a bit of a loss to explain this as recently I've had a very poor attention span and there is nothing outstanding or particularly suspenseful in the novel to hook me and yet I couldn't put it down. Both plots are fairly flimsy with the solutions coming relatively easily but they pose unanswerable questions and moral dilemmas that the reader can't help but ponder, notably the price of justice. As with all the books in the series there is always something vague about the plot. The solution is never neatly tied up in a bow with all bases covered and requires the reader to make assumptions and draw inferences. I would prefer a more detailed explanation but this way is probably a better reflection of real life. The strength of the novel lies in the depiction of family life and the minor dramas in his sister Cat's life.
This same vagueness surrounds Serailler's character. I don't think that after all these novels I have a good grasp of his character. He is closed in, self sufficient and disinclined to discuss emotions. There is an elliptical, laconic tenor to his dialogue which leaves the reader second guessing him. The strength of the novel lies in the depiction of family life and the minor dramas in his sister Cat's life. I love Cat as she seems much more realistic and down to earth than her brother. Her trials and tribulations are things we can relate to and empathise with and I read them avidly.
The Comforts of Home is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.
November 22, 2020
3.5 stars, would probably have rounded up, but the ending felt uncharacteristically rushed.
I think the best part of this installment of the Simon Serrailler series was the development of Sam's character. I liked that Hill didn't leave him as a one-dimensional troubled teenager, without making his growth seem too hasty or magical. I also liked how Simon handled the case on Taransay, as it showed him caught in the space between human being and cop and how he worked through that tension for himself.
But whereas normally one of the aspects of Hill's writing that I most appreciate is her willingness to leave things unresolved and messy, the ending of this book did one of those "One month later, all of these difficulties the characters have been struggling with are neatly wrapped up and everyone is feeling settled, even though I didn't show you the part where they went from point A to point B." The crime story of this novel was resolved in a similarly hurried fashion. Hill is better than that, as she's proven in so many of her other novels, and I hope the next book in the series reflects that.
I think the best part of this installment of the Simon Serrailler series was the development of Sam's character. I liked that Hill didn't leave him as a one-dimensional troubled teenager, without making his growth seem too hasty or magical. I also liked how Simon handled the case on Taransay, as it showed him caught in the space between human being and cop and how he worked through that tension for himself.
But whereas normally one of the aspects of Hill's writing that I most appreciate is her willingness to leave things unresolved and messy, the ending of this book did one of those "One month later, all of these difficulties the characters have been struggling with are neatly wrapped up and everyone is feeling settled, even though I didn't show you the part where they went from point A to point B." The crime story of this novel was resolved in a similarly hurried fashion. Hill is better than that, as she's proven in so many of her other novels, and I hope the next book in the series reflects that.
January 25, 2020
What a great read. The characters are rich and realistic......and always evolving.
November 11, 2018
I first discovered the Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler series about three years ago. I was luckily enough to read the first 8 books with no breaks so Simon and the Serrailer family felt like old friends. I enjoyed the first seven books but I did not enjoy The Soul of Discretion because of the violence, also I thought it would be unlikely Simon would be asked to work undercover.
I was sad when The Soul of Discretion finished because I thought that would be the last of the series. When I found out there was to be a ninth book I could not wait to get my hands on a copy.
The story began with Simon in hospital after being badly injured during his last investigation. His arm had been badly mangled but he doctors hoped to save the arm. However they had to amputate after Simon caught an infection.
Once Simon was discharged he went to island of Taransay to recuperate. Simon rented a cottage where he got on well with the locals. Sandy Murdoch was new to the island but fitted in well and was willing to help the locals. After going missing Sandy was found shot dead by a rifle. Police Scotland did not have the man power to go to Taransay. In the meantime as the only policeman on the Island Simon was given authorisation to investigate until they could come.
Back in Lafferton Simon`s twin sister Cat had married Simon`s boss Chief Constable Keiron Bright. Cat was back working as a GP but felt pressurised and frustrated she could not provide good patient care. Cat received an offer from an old friend from Med School to set up a private fee paying GP practice.
Meanwhile Lafferton was suffering from a spate of arson attacks. Keiron was also being pestered to open up a cold case review into the disappearance of Kimberley Still who went missing five years earlier. Whilst Simon was on sick leave he asked him to review the case file for anything missed.
After a long wait I found The Comforts of Home disappointing. I enjoyed this series because they were sophisticated crime novels. In this book I missed the atmospheric cathedral city of Lafferty. I also missed reading about Cat and her patients and sometimes their medical conditions.
I was also unhappy with the outcome of Simon`s two investigations. I don't think Simon would of dealt with the Taransay murder the way he did. The cold case was interesting and could of been developed further instead of being solved in four chapters.
I still like Simon Serrailer and his family and look forward to reading about their new lives. I whole heartedly recommend this series to all new readers. I hope Susan Hill returns to her previous form in the my book.
May 6, 2019
Disappointing. Chief Super Simon Sarallier has, to date shared favourite cop character for me with Peter Grainger's DC Smith. Alas no more. The tone of this novel is pompous, and reeks of upper middle-class privilege. Furthermore, I think that Serallier is definitely on the spectrum, possibly Aspergers with his callous disregard of people’s feelings. He thinks it perfectly normal to accept the friendship and hospitality of the Taransay islanders during his convalescence, to be invited into their homes to share their food and drink and then skulk off into the night back to the mainland without the decency to say thanks and goodbye?
The thin plot doesn’t add anything, merely a backdrop to the many, many descriptions of meals (especially breakfasts) and gulping down of whisky and G&T's. I thought at one stage I was reading a cookery book.
Oh, forgot to add, I like Kieron and the cover.
The thin plot doesn’t add anything, merely a backdrop to the many, many descriptions of meals (especially breakfasts) and gulping down of whisky and G&T's. I thought at one stage I was reading a cookery book.
Oh, forgot to add, I like Kieron and the cover.
January 7, 2024
In this 9th book of the Simon Serrailler series, Simon is recovering in hospital from the injuries he received in his previous case - which has quite a shocking outcome! In an attempt to recuperate, and whilst awaiting a further operation, Simon once again ventures to the Scottish island of Taransay. But here he unexpectedly becomes involved in a murder investigation when a local woman is shot - and Police Scotland ask him to make preliminary investigations on their behalf. Meanwhile, back in his home patch, an arsonist is setting blazes in unoccupied buildings and the mother of a young woman, missing and believed murdered five years previously, is still seeking justice for her daughter, believing the culprit to be a man currently in prison for two other murders. On a personal level, as Simon tries to come to terms with his injuries, his sister Cat is considering her own future as a GP and their father Richard has personal and health issues whilst living in France and is forced to return to the UK - much to the chagrin of his children....
This is another excellent episode in this series, where the characters and their ongoing stories are every bit as entertaining as the crimes that Simon is investigating. Some great twists and turns - and some shocking surprises - make this another excellent read from this author - 9/10.
This is another excellent episode in this series, where the characters and their ongoing stories are every bit as entertaining as the crimes that Simon is investigating. Some great twists and turns - and some shocking surprises - make this another excellent read from this author - 9/10.
May 7, 2019
My first Simon Serrailler story. Enjoyed the unwinding of the two cases and found it a pleasant change from some of the wilder and impossible plots in some current fiction. I expect that if I’d read earlier books in the series I’d have established more of a rapport with the main characters. But not too late to start...
December 26, 2023
Not as interesting as the previous couple of instalments, but worth the read all the same.
Has some interesting side stories I'm looking forward to seeing develop, but overall, a little disappointing considering the strength of the series
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Has some interesting side stories I'm looking forward to seeing develop, but overall, a little disappointing considering the strength of the series
⭐️⭐️⭐️
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