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Simon Serrailler #11
A Change of Circumstance
In this newest installment of Susan Hill’s electrifying crime series, Simon Serrailler finds himself in devastating new territory as a sophisticated drug network sets its sights on Lafferton
Susan Hill is back with A Change of Circumstance, the eleventh book in the acclaimed mystery series featuring the enigmatic and brooding chief police inspector Simon Serrailler. DCS Serrailler has long regarded drugs ops in Lafferton as a waste of time. The small-time dealers picked up outside the local high school can’t—or won’t—turn in any valuable names, so they're merely given a fine and the trail runs cold. But when the body of a 22-year-old drug addict is found in neighboring Starley, the case pulls Serrailler into the underbelly of an elaborate drug running operation that pushes narcotics out from the cities, into the suburbs, and right down to villages. The foot soldiers? Vulnerable local kids like Brookie and Olivia, whose involvement gives Serrailler a bitter taste of this new landscape. It’s a harsh winter in Lafferton, and with struggles both at home and on the job, Serrailler soon learns that even the familiar can hold shocking surprises. . . .
With A Change of Circumstance, Hill delivers yet another gripping piece of the Serrailler canon. Written in the tradition of the fabulous mysteries of Ruth Rendell and P. D. James, this newest case is sure to enthrall new fans and surprise old ones in what is a captivating new addition to a highly acclaimed series.
Susan Hill is back with A Change of Circumstance, the eleventh book in the acclaimed mystery series featuring the enigmatic and brooding chief police inspector Simon Serrailler. DCS Serrailler has long regarded drugs ops in Lafferton as a waste of time. The small-time dealers picked up outside the local high school can’t—or won’t—turn in any valuable names, so they're merely given a fine and the trail runs cold. But when the body of a 22-year-old drug addict is found in neighboring Starley, the case pulls Serrailler into the underbelly of an elaborate drug running operation that pushes narcotics out from the cities, into the suburbs, and right down to villages. The foot soldiers? Vulnerable local kids like Brookie and Olivia, whose involvement gives Serrailler a bitter taste of this new landscape. It’s a harsh winter in Lafferton, and with struggles both at home and on the job, Serrailler soon learns that even the familiar can hold shocking surprises. . . .
With A Change of Circumstance, Hill delivers yet another gripping piece of the Serrailler canon. Written in the tradition of the fabulous mysteries of Ruth Rendell and P. D. James, this newest case is sure to enthrall new fans and surprise old ones in what is a captivating new addition to a highly acclaimed series.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 7, 2021
366 people are currently reading
2667 people want to read
About the author
Susan Hill
180 books2,257 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 319 reviews
August 29, 2021
This is the latest in Susan Hill's series featuring DCS Simon Serrailler of Lafferton Police, a blend of family drama and crime fiction, an addition which has Serrailler wondering if the time has come to make different life choices, including whether he should move to the country after his comfortable life renting a flat. Professionally, he finds himself having to confront the nightmare rise and spread of the county lines drugs trade, a threat to young people, the exploitation of children, with all the attendant threats it poses to the community. It is winter, it all begins with the discovery in the village of Starly of the ravaged body of a young man in a flat above a Chinese herbal pharmacy, a heroin overdose, and which sparks police inquiries as they try to identify the victim.
It is his sister, Dr Cat Deerbon and her family, who provides the familial roots and stability to a Serrailler who has up to this point been a commitment phobe when it comes to women and relationships, although a meeting with a lover from his past, Rachel, push him towards considering permanent change. Cat is now working in the private health sector as a GP for Concierge Medical, although the pressures and strains of her profession remain, with patients like 95 year old Lionel Brown, along with the state of the NHS local hospital. This and the everyday family dramas, such as husband Chief Constable Kevin Bright's leg injury, worries over their dog Wookie, and Sam's problems, combine to leave Cat feeling exhausted. In the meantime, tragedies involving children recruited and threatened by the drugs trade, and other murders have Serrailler and his team determined to get some forms of justice.
This was an uneven reading experience for me, and the pacing of the novel felt awkward and abrupt on occasion. Hill's central protagonist, Serrailler, is not someone I feel particularly invested in, he feels like someone whose character is markedly underwritten, and I am not sure I believe in his sudden awareness of his deeper feelings for Rachel, his sister Cat is far more interesting to me. What makes this novel a worthwhile read is Hill's portrayal of 14 year old Olivia and 11 year old Brooklyn 'Brookie' Roper, and his father, Vince, trying to do all that he can to protect his young son. Overall, this a engaging read, with the darkness of the horrors of the drugs trade and its terrifying toll on young people and others in the community. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
It is his sister, Dr Cat Deerbon and her family, who provides the familial roots and stability to a Serrailler who has up to this point been a commitment phobe when it comes to women and relationships, although a meeting with a lover from his past, Rachel, push him towards considering permanent change. Cat is now working in the private health sector as a GP for Concierge Medical, although the pressures and strains of her profession remain, with patients like 95 year old Lionel Brown, along with the state of the NHS local hospital. This and the everyday family dramas, such as husband Chief Constable Kevin Bright's leg injury, worries over their dog Wookie, and Sam's problems, combine to leave Cat feeling exhausted. In the meantime, tragedies involving children recruited and threatened by the drugs trade, and other murders have Serrailler and his team determined to get some forms of justice.
This was an uneven reading experience for me, and the pacing of the novel felt awkward and abrupt on occasion. Hill's central protagonist, Serrailler, is not someone I feel particularly invested in, he feels like someone whose character is markedly underwritten, and I am not sure I believe in his sudden awareness of his deeper feelings for Rachel, his sister Cat is far more interesting to me. What makes this novel a worthwhile read is Hill's portrayal of 14 year old Olivia and 11 year old Brooklyn 'Brookie' Roper, and his father, Vince, trying to do all that he can to protect his young son. Overall, this a engaging read, with the darkness of the horrors of the drugs trade and its terrifying toll on young people and others in the community. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
August 23, 2021
DCS Simon Serrailler #11
It’s January and we’re deep in winters clutches in Lafferton. A heroin overdose of a young man in a rundown flat above a Chinese pharmacy in Starly leads Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler and his team into a county lines inquiry. Vulnerable children like eleven year old Brooklyn (Brookie) Roper are targeted and groomed. Meanwhile, Simon’s sister Cat Deerbon now married to Chief Constable Kieron Bright has her own issues with patients and personal family worries especially with her son Sam who is in medical training.
I have loved this series since the first one -The Various Haunts of Men- and as we’re now at number eleven the characters feel as comfortable as old slippers and like friends in their familiarity. Simon is so intriguing and continues to do so which takes some skill to maintain in a succession of books. He’s a terrific policeman, a good leader, he cares very deeply about his family and is a great uncle to Cat’s children but he’s very complex and currently extremely restless and at a crossroads in his life. I like the on/off relationship with Rachel Wyatt which adds to the realism. Cat and her family always add a good personal touch and she offers Simon the stability and family he needs. Cat’s role in the books has grown over the years and I do enjoy that.
Although there’s a police team working alongside Serrailler the main focus in this book is on him and Kieron, although it seems as if DC Denzil Aberra is a very keen and likeable addition to the team. These characters are peripheral though. The different strands of the storyline connect well with the plot flowing seamlessly. You feel the parental pain and anger for the unscrupulous grooming of the vulnerable young and this part of the plot is both relevant and shockingly gritty. The gang are utterly ruthless, the bodies pile up and there’s tragedy and heartache for some. This inquiry is compelling although it does end a bit abruptly. The overall ending is a good one with things looking a bit more promising for Simon.
Finally, this is another absorbing and enjoyable addition to the series. It’s well written and easy to read. Although this is the eleventh it can easily be read as a stand-alone but I do recommend the series.
With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
It’s January and we’re deep in winters clutches in Lafferton. A heroin overdose of a young man in a rundown flat above a Chinese pharmacy in Starly leads Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler and his team into a county lines inquiry. Vulnerable children like eleven year old Brooklyn (Brookie) Roper are targeted and groomed. Meanwhile, Simon’s sister Cat Deerbon now married to Chief Constable Kieron Bright has her own issues with patients and personal family worries especially with her son Sam who is in medical training.
I have loved this series since the first one -The Various Haunts of Men- and as we’re now at number eleven the characters feel as comfortable as old slippers and like friends in their familiarity. Simon is so intriguing and continues to do so which takes some skill to maintain in a succession of books. He’s a terrific policeman, a good leader, he cares very deeply about his family and is a great uncle to Cat’s children but he’s very complex and currently extremely restless and at a crossroads in his life. I like the on/off relationship with Rachel Wyatt which adds to the realism. Cat and her family always add a good personal touch and she offers Simon the stability and family he needs. Cat’s role in the books has grown over the years and I do enjoy that.
Although there’s a police team working alongside Serrailler the main focus in this book is on him and Kieron, although it seems as if DC Denzil Aberra is a very keen and likeable addition to the team. These characters are peripheral though. The different strands of the storyline connect well with the plot flowing seamlessly. You feel the parental pain and anger for the unscrupulous grooming of the vulnerable young and this part of the plot is both relevant and shockingly gritty. The gang are utterly ruthless, the bodies pile up and there’s tragedy and heartache for some. This inquiry is compelling although it does end a bit abruptly. The overall ending is a good one with things looking a bit more promising for Simon.
Finally, this is another absorbing and enjoyable addition to the series. It’s well written and easy to read. Although this is the eleventh it can easily be read as a stand-alone but I do recommend the series.
With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
April 12, 2022
Drugs have hit hard in many areas and is it seems Lafferton itself may have a problem. Simon has become involved in a new case when a young man dies of a drug overdose in a deserted apartment. Was it self administered or murder? So begins this story, 11th in series, and another I've read from the beginning. Have grown quite fond of these characters.
Simon, his sister Cat and her family, a good mix of personal happenings and police work. Cat, as a physician adds an interesting mix, and Simon trying to come to terms with his life outside of police work is another added note. Will await the next in series to see where it goes. Good stuff.
Simon, his sister Cat and her family, a good mix of personal happenings and police work. Cat, as a physician adds an interesting mix, and Simon trying to come to terms with his life outside of police work is another added note. Will await the next in series to see where it goes. Good stuff.
June 4, 2022
I started this one thinking that it might be getting a little formulaic this time around, but Susan Hill pulled it out again. I love how she spends so much time developing her recurring characters, their difficulties, and their growth and maturation, especially Simon, who is a commitment phobe. The police work seems so well portrayed as well, with red herrings and false leads, a few happy resolutions, but many more sad endings, and sometimes no resolution at all, just the realization that there are a lot of bad people out there.
I'm caught up til the next one.
I'm caught up til the next one.
August 12, 2023
EXCERPT: January and Christmas vanished without a trace. The pavements of Starly village were greasy under a day of drizzle and there was an unhealthy mildness in the air.
A police patrol car, a dark grey saloon with 'Doctor' on the windscreen and Simon Serrailler's silver Audi were all parked on double yellow lines outside the Chinese pharmacy. Crime scene tape was stretched across a side entrance that led to the flat above the shop with a uniform constable standing by the gate to keep back the prying public of two teenagers straddling their bikes and smoking ostentatiously.
ABOUT 'A CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCE': It's mid-winter and a body is discovered in a flat just outside Lafferton. It's a drugs overdose but something doesn't feel right. The place is entirely empty. Damp walls, bare floorboards. Not even a bed.
And then there's the man known as Fats. Preying on young children to run errands for him. Burner phones with instructions messaged through. Bribes followed by threats.
Can Serrailler finally break the drugs network that's spreading through the area or is it just too powerful for him?
MY THOUGHTS: I am fond of the Serrailler family, with perhaps the exception of Simon and Cat's father. Each new installment in this series is like visiting with old friends. Simon is still on his own but getting restless, not with his police work but with his personal life. Cat is as busy as ever, and as conscientious as ever. Familywise, things seem to be chugging along quite peacefully. But of course, it can't last.
I like the mix of personal with professional lives that Hill writes so well. Neither overwhelms the other and they just blend seamlessly together.
I didn't enjoy reading about the 'county lines' set up to distribute drugs in the area. Although it makes for a good story involving two young local children and how they get embroiled, trapped in the enterprise, the grooming disturbs me far more than any outright violence would. I just hope that Hill's writing will strike a chord with some parent out there who may recognize what is going on with their own child.
Just as in real life, there's not a lot of happy endings contained within. In fact, it makes for some pretty grim reading, alleviated only by the close Serrailler family relationships. But the ending gives me hope and I look forward to seeing how things develop in book #12, The Sound of Footsteps, due to be publisher later in 2023.
⭐⭐⭐.8
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".
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.
I own my copy of A Change of Circumstance by Susan Hill.
A police patrol car, a dark grey saloon with 'Doctor' on the windscreen and Simon Serrailler's silver Audi were all parked on double yellow lines outside the Chinese pharmacy. Crime scene tape was stretched across a side entrance that led to the flat above the shop with a uniform constable standing by the gate to keep back the prying public of two teenagers straddling their bikes and smoking ostentatiously.
ABOUT 'A CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCE': It's mid-winter and a body is discovered in a flat just outside Lafferton. It's a drugs overdose but something doesn't feel right. The place is entirely empty. Damp walls, bare floorboards. Not even a bed.
And then there's the man known as Fats. Preying on young children to run errands for him. Burner phones with instructions messaged through. Bribes followed by threats.
Can Serrailler finally break the drugs network that's spreading through the area or is it just too powerful for him?
MY THOUGHTS: I am fond of the Serrailler family, with perhaps the exception of Simon and Cat's father. Each new installment in this series is like visiting with old friends. Simon is still on his own but getting restless, not with his police work but with his personal life. Cat is as busy as ever, and as conscientious as ever. Familywise, things seem to be chugging along quite peacefully. But of course, it can't last.
I like the mix of personal with professional lives that Hill writes so well. Neither overwhelms the other and they just blend seamlessly together.
I didn't enjoy reading about the 'county lines' set up to distribute drugs in the area. Although it makes for a good story involving two young local children and how they get embroiled, trapped in the enterprise, the grooming disturbs me far more than any outright violence would. I just hope that Hill's writing will strike a chord with some parent out there who may recognize what is going on with their own child.
Just as in real life, there's not a lot of happy endings contained within. In fact, it makes for some pretty grim reading, alleviated only by the close Serrailler family relationships. But the ending gives me hope and I look forward to seeing how things develop in book #12, The Sound of Footsteps, due to be publisher later in 2023.
⭐⭐⭐.8
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".
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.
I own my copy of A Change of Circumstance by Susan Hill.
October 11, 2021
Confession time; I own a copy of every Simon Serrailler book published so far - including several signed duplicates - which might give you some idea of how invested I am in this author and this character. So I had this on pre-order from the moment I saw it advertised.
And then it came. And I read it. And I wish I hadn’t.
Where do I start?
The first four chapters were a warning. Chapter one started on page 1 and finished on page 3. Chapter two went from 4 to 7, three covered two-thirds of pages 8 and 9, four was two and a third pages long. I hate short chapters and these were not just short, they were almost a slap in the face. The one joy of Simon Serrailler novels was the author’s ability to let the reader immerse themselves in the world within the pages, to allow the words to draw you in and fill your mind with rich descriptions and sounds and scents. Two and a half pages of a chapter? That’s schlock writing for people with no stamina or who just want a blokey-action book.
But I persevered. After all this is Simon Serrailler - the detective who has proved his value in earlier novels, who gives his all and cares about his staff and his family, and who can’t seem to work out his own personal life. Like most readers I’ve got to know his quirks and habits, almost as much as his family, and with this latest book I was hoping for some serious development in his personal life, especially after the - frankly rather drab offering - last book which left me wondering what the hell happened!
Anyway, I started reading ... At one stage I seriously wondered if this had been ghost written by someone else who had simply been given a rough outline and told to write ‘x’ amount of pages! There was virtually no reference to major events in his life, and as for his family, they were almost strangers. Cat was still a doctor but the reader could have removed all reference to her from the book and it wouldn’t have changed anything. She was just ‘there’, as was Kieran whose injury had no ‘purpose’, no ‘reason’. I was waiting for it to have some effect on the story as a whole but it didn’t. And the same for Wookies escapade. They were irrelevant and tedious and didn’t add anything to the narrative.
As for Sam. FFS. He is not a child. He is 20 years old. He has a supportive family of highly educated adults and he is arsing around like a teenager unable to make up his mind. I don’t know what the author is planning to do with Sam, but he’s had several novels in which to get his act together and someone needs to take him in hand. A few books back, I would have expected Simon to step up and do that, but the DCI currently is as much use as a chocolate teapot.
This was a HUGE disappointment. No rich details, no deep thought, no passion (and by that I mean the passion of words, not physical passion). Rachel made another reappearance but it was all so confused and ‘edgy’ that I had no idea what either of them felt for each other and her rapid disappearance from Simon’s life a few books back was never explained. And the ending? The ending was just stupid.
As for the editing. Come on, even the newest indie author knows the importance of ‘white space’ on a page and yet A Change of Circumstance has two pages that have no paragraph breaks whatsoever. One is all dialogue which is just sloppy, and the other is ‘train of thought’ rambling which might work but the page itself looked so overwhelming I struggled to get through it.
311 pages, 66 chapters.
This may be the last Simon Serrailler novel I ever read.
And then it came. And I read it. And I wish I hadn’t.
Where do I start?
The first four chapters were a warning. Chapter one started on page 1 and finished on page 3. Chapter two went from 4 to 7, three covered two-thirds of pages 8 and 9, four was two and a third pages long. I hate short chapters and these were not just short, they were almost a slap in the face. The one joy of Simon Serrailler novels was the author’s ability to let the reader immerse themselves in the world within the pages, to allow the words to draw you in and fill your mind with rich descriptions and sounds and scents. Two and a half pages of a chapter? That’s schlock writing for people with no stamina or who just want a blokey-action book.
But I persevered. After all this is Simon Serrailler - the detective who has proved his value in earlier novels, who gives his all and cares about his staff and his family, and who can’t seem to work out his own personal life. Like most readers I’ve got to know his quirks and habits, almost as much as his family, and with this latest book I was hoping for some serious development in his personal life, especially after the - frankly rather drab offering - last book which left me wondering what the hell happened!
Anyway, I started reading ... At one stage I seriously wondered if this had been ghost written by someone else who had simply been given a rough outline and told to write ‘x’ amount of pages! There was virtually no reference to major events in his life, and as for his family, they were almost strangers. Cat was still a doctor but the reader could have removed all reference to her from the book and it wouldn’t have changed anything. She was just ‘there’, as was Kieran whose injury had no ‘purpose’, no ‘reason’. I was waiting for it to have some effect on the story as a whole but it didn’t. And the same for Wookies escapade. They were irrelevant and tedious and didn’t add anything to the narrative.
As for Sam. FFS. He is not a child. He is 20 years old. He has a supportive family of highly educated adults and he is arsing around like a teenager unable to make up his mind. I don’t know what the author is planning to do with Sam, but he’s had several novels in which to get his act together and someone needs to take him in hand. A few books back, I would have expected Simon to step up and do that, but the DCI currently is as much use as a chocolate teapot.
This was a HUGE disappointment. No rich details, no deep thought, no passion (and by that I mean the passion of words, not physical passion). Rachel made another reappearance but it was all so confused and ‘edgy’ that I had no idea what either of them felt for each other and her rapid disappearance from Simon’s life a few books back was never explained. And the ending? The ending was just stupid.
As for the editing. Come on, even the newest indie author knows the importance of ‘white space’ on a page and yet A Change of Circumstance has two pages that have no paragraph breaks whatsoever. One is all dialogue which is just sloppy, and the other is ‘train of thought’ rambling which might work but the page itself looked so overwhelming I struggled to get through it.
311 pages, 66 chapters.
This may be the last Simon Serrailler novel I ever read.
April 11, 2022
I truly enjoyed this latest installment in Susan Hill's Simon Serrailler series. This volume deals with an elicit drug network and how teens and even pre-teens are lured into delivering drugs. It held my attention throughout and made me laugh a little and cry a lot.
The following description made me laugh out loud, "He was bald, having shaved his head so often the hair had eventually abandoned hope."
A quote from Doctor Cat Deerbon regarding the medical effort to save a life, "Every last door must be closed, every last avenue explored, and every last hope like a candle that must be allowed to run its course until it flickers out." Unfortunately, for one set of parents, the effort cannot save their daughter.
"You carried every child for life, from the moment of birth." The death of a child is almost unendurable and the effects life-long. "He remembered her [the mother] as slight, thin, small-boned, but now she looked brittle as a bird, and old age lay in wait close by, though she was probably not far into her fifties."
It's not all doom and gloom, there are some truly joyful moments also. Serrailler relishes his niece's fabulous new job and the glow of the excitement that shone on her face as she relayed her news to the family. "He wished he could have captured it in a photograph, but it was too alive and changing every second like the surface of the sea, Hannah's every breath registered on her features." The family dog, Wookie catches the atmosphere of excitement and leaps up, throwing himself at Hannah and begins to "lick her joyfully."
The following description made me laugh out loud, "He was bald, having shaved his head so often the hair had eventually abandoned hope."
A quote from Doctor Cat Deerbon regarding the medical effort to save a life, "Every last door must be closed, every last avenue explored, and every last hope like a candle that must be allowed to run its course until it flickers out." Unfortunately, for one set of parents, the effort cannot save their daughter.
"You carried every child for life, from the moment of birth." The death of a child is almost unendurable and the effects life-long. "He remembered her [the mother] as slight, thin, small-boned, but now she looked brittle as a bird, and old age lay in wait close by, though she was probably not far into her fifties."
It's not all doom and gloom, there are some truly joyful moments also. Serrailler relishes his niece's fabulous new job and the glow of the excitement that shone on her face as she relayed her news to the family. "He wished he could have captured it in a photograph, but it was too alive and changing every second like the surface of the sea, Hannah's every breath registered on her features." The family dog, Wookie catches the atmosphere of excitement and leaps up, throwing himself at Hannah and begins to "lick her joyfully."
March 13, 2022
In this latest of Hill’s series, the Simon Serailler story continues with his position at Lafferton Police keeping him more at his desk than in the past as he manages his team. And there are new problems to manage as drugs are finding there way into the smaller towns and villages now and the runners are involving local kids.
On a personal note, Simon is as lost as he has been for some time in trying to figure out his future, not with the police but romantically. As his sister Cat has pointed out, once he finds someone he likes, he generally pushes them away or runs away himself. Cat has a stressful time now in her new Concierge medical practice. While she has more control, there are still drawbacks and she has encountered poor care of a patient in hospital.
As always in this series, each novel is a combination of the domestic and the police story. Here we see the stresses of each bleeding through to the other, as they do in real life. I did feel that this book was a bit more episodic than others in the series, with shorter chapters and quicker changes of scene or character. As I continued, I came to see this as reflecting both the stresses on the characters and the specific type of crime that was attacking their area. By the end, that feeling had gone completely. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
On a personal note, Simon is as lost as he has been for some time in trying to figure out his future, not with the police but romantically. As his sister Cat has pointed out, once he finds someone he likes, he generally pushes them away or runs away himself. Cat has a stressful time now in her new Concierge medical practice. While she has more control, there are still drawbacks and she has encountered poor care of a patient in hospital.
As always in this series, each novel is a combination of the domestic and the police story. Here we see the stresses of each bleeding through to the other, as they do in real life. I did feel that this book was a bit more episodic than others in the series, with shorter chapters and quicker changes of scene or character. As I continued, I came to see this as reflecting both the stresses on the characters and the specific type of crime that was attacking their area. By the end, that feeling had gone completely. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
February 24, 2025
Wonderful book, top notch writing, true to life characters, and no complaints from this girl. There supposedly is another book to be released in this series, called the Sound of Footsteps, but there seems to be some mystery surrounding the publication. If anyone knows what the story is, do tell! I am hooked. However, if the series has to end, I suppose this book is adequate. Truly a lovely series.
September 15, 2021
DCI Simon Serrailler #11
DCI Simon Serrailler had long regarded drugs ops in the Lafferton area as a waste of time. Small-time dealers are picked up outside the local secondary school, they're given a fine or suspended and away they go. But when the body of a young drug addict is found in neighbouring Starly, the case pulls Simon into a whole new way of running drugs Vulnerable kids like Brookie and Olivia, who will give Simon a bitter taste of this new landscape.
Children are being recruited to transfer drugs and money. DCS Simon Serrailler has been called out to investigate a suspected overdose. It just happens to be above a shop where Chinese herbal drugs are sold. Simon's sister Dr Cat, also faces issues in her medical practice. This is a well written story but we seem to spend a lot of time with Cat and her family. This book can be read as a standalone.
I would like to thank #NetGalley #RandomHouseUK and the author #SusanHIll for my ARC of #AChangeOfCircumstance in exchange for an honest review.
DCI Simon Serrailler had long regarded drugs ops in the Lafferton area as a waste of time. Small-time dealers are picked up outside the local secondary school, they're given a fine or suspended and away they go. But when the body of a young drug addict is found in neighbouring Starly, the case pulls Simon into a whole new way of running drugs Vulnerable kids like Brookie and Olivia, who will give Simon a bitter taste of this new landscape.
Children are being recruited to transfer drugs and money. DCS Simon Serrailler has been called out to investigate a suspected overdose. It just happens to be above a shop where Chinese herbal drugs are sold. Simon's sister Dr Cat, also faces issues in her medical practice. This is a well written story but we seem to spend a lot of time with Cat and her family. This book can be read as a standalone.
I would like to thank #NetGalley #RandomHouseUK and the author #SusanHIll for my ARC of #AChangeOfCircumstance in exchange for an honest review.
May 10, 2022
Always happy to read a new Serrailler. Susan Hill excels at characterization. Back to waiting for the next one.
August 16, 2021
This is another very good Serrailler book from Susan Hill, but I have just a few reservations.
The primary driver of the book is a drugs network penetrating a town outside the major cities – the so called county lines. An apparent heroin overdose draws the police’s attention to the problem more forcibly, and we also get the stories of a two young people who are drawn into the network as couriers and their suffering as a result. In addition, the stories of Simon himself and his sister Cat continue to progress.
The whole thing is, of course, extremely well written in that way Susan Hill has of crafting elegant, readable prose which never draws attention to itself but carries the reader along beautifully. The story, too, is a timely one and in many ways well done; the stories of the children involved and of the effects on their families are vivid and gripping, for example. However, I did find the policing aspect just a little clunky and preachy; at one point the Chief Constable gives a long and rather sententious speech to his officers, after which, one comments, “Didn’t have the chief down for a rallying-cry-before-battle sort of guy, did you?” Well, no I didn’t – and he was all the better for it. Serrailler himself sounds a bit like a politician with a pre-written answer at times, too, and I’ve come to expect better from Susan Hill.
All that said, this is still several cuts above the majority of contemporary crime novels. Serrailler is, frankly, often annoying in his approach to his personal life, which is realistic and quite deliberate by Hill and which I rather admire – although there is a hint of more settled things to come. So, although this may not be the finest of the series, it is still very good.
(My thanks to Random House for an ARC via NetGalley.)
The primary driver of the book is a drugs network penetrating a town outside the major cities – the so called county lines. An apparent heroin overdose draws the police’s attention to the problem more forcibly, and we also get the stories of a two young people who are drawn into the network as couriers and their suffering as a result. In addition, the stories of Simon himself and his sister Cat continue to progress.
The whole thing is, of course, extremely well written in that way Susan Hill has of crafting elegant, readable prose which never draws attention to itself but carries the reader along beautifully. The story, too, is a timely one and in many ways well done; the stories of the children involved and of the effects on their families are vivid and gripping, for example. However, I did find the policing aspect just a little clunky and preachy; at one point the Chief Constable gives a long and rather sententious speech to his officers, after which, one comments, “Didn’t have the chief down for a rallying-cry-before-battle sort of guy, did you?” Well, no I didn’t – and he was all the better for it. Serrailler himself sounds a bit like a politician with a pre-written answer at times, too, and I’ve come to expect better from Susan Hill.
All that said, this is still several cuts above the majority of contemporary crime novels. Serrailler is, frankly, often annoying in his approach to his personal life, which is realistic and quite deliberate by Hill and which I rather admire – although there is a hint of more settled things to come. So, although this may not be the finest of the series, it is still very good.
(My thanks to Random House for an ARC via NetGalley.)
January 27, 2022
I ended up skimming this - partly because the descriptions of recruitment of vulnerable children to county lines gangs was upsetting, and partly because I find Cat and Simon extremely annoying.
Cat, who seems to be working herself to the bone just as much as she did when she was an NHS GP, handily has a poor 'deserving' private client to focus on, whose care is funded by an anonymous donor. As ever, she is the only competent, caring doctor in the book and is surprised when the overworked worn down nurses at the hospital don't appreciate her pointing out all the things they are doing wrong. Then there's Simon (the author is clearly in love with him, despite the faults she gives him), who should be disciplined for his treatment of Fern (in this book - I can no longer recall what happened in the last one). If I were Rachel I would run a mile. Finally, the author credits her proof-reader, but between them they seem to share the view that any number of ideas and phrases can be joined together in a single sentence with the use of commas.
I think I've reached the end of the road with this series.
Cat, who seems to be working herself to the bone just as much as she did when she was an NHS GP, handily has a poor 'deserving' private client to focus on, whose care is funded by an anonymous donor. As ever, she is the only competent, caring doctor in the book and is surprised when the overworked worn down nurses at the hospital don't appreciate her pointing out all the things they are doing wrong. Then there's Simon (the author is clearly in love with him, despite the faults she gives him), who should be disciplined for his treatment of Fern (in this book - I can no longer recall what happened in the last one). If I were Rachel I would run a mile. Finally, the author credits her proof-reader, but between them they seem to share the view that any number of ideas and phrases can be joined together in a single sentence with the use of commas.
I think I've reached the end of the road with this series.
February 11, 2022
The latest in the Simon Serrailer series, it was as usual, gritty and pulled no punches, dealing with drugs and county lines. I was a little disappointed by the ending, which lost it a star. It didn't feel it was finished, perhaps the story will continue into the next book and Simon' s story was a little too neat and tidy at the end.
June 8, 2022
I feel like I need to start by saying I've read all the books in this series and I continue to persevere with them despite enjoying them less and less. This book sees Simon Serailler involves in a heroin overdose that could be murder and an investigation into County Lines drug activity. Against this we also catch up with Cat and her family. In the usual style everyone has something alcoholic in their hand at every opportunity and there is plenty of pain and suffering of a character we have become invested in.
I really struggled with this. The main police story seemed to go no where. It was really slow and not very interesting. Simon seems to have a personality transplant and now seems completely incapable of making a decision about anything - not a particularly desirable characteristic in a Superintendent. It continues to annoy me that everyone is drinking alcohol in every spare moment. I read that the author planned to finish this series about 2 books ago - I think she probably should have. The ending of this book is ridiculous. Literally completely stupid. I think the author has given up - and it shows.
I really struggled with this. The main police story seemed to go no where. It was really slow and not very interesting. Simon seems to have a personality transplant and now seems completely incapable of making a decision about anything - not a particularly desirable characteristic in a Superintendent. It continues to annoy me that everyone is drinking alcohol in every spare moment. I read that the author planned to finish this series about 2 books ago - I think she probably should have. The ending of this book is ridiculous. Literally completely stupid. I think the author has given up - and it shows.
September 21, 2021
I’m a big Susan Hill fan; I love her creepy, shiver-inducing, but never gory, horror stories. I also love crime fiction, so many years ago I read an earlier book in her Simon Serrailler series. It was good; I enjoyed it. So I was very disappointed when A Change of Circumstance failed to live up to my expectations.
This wasn’t a crime story, it was a domestic, kitchen-sink tale where the main character just happened to be a police officer – I wouldn’t even call it a drama it was so plodding (no pun intended). The case that was taking up Simon’s working hours this time was so unoriginal that I think it’s already been done by every one of the TV soaps. The only puzzle was whether Simon would make his mind up about the domestic affairs which seemed to be occupying his mind for far more time than finding any villains.
If you’re a committed reader of this series, then you’re probably invested enough to care about Simon’s domestic circumstances, his sister’s kids’ careers and love lives, and the endless ‘will he, won’t he’ saga of his own commitment issues, but I’m not and I didn’t.
This wasn’t a crime story, it was a domestic, kitchen-sink tale where the main character just happened to be a police officer – I wouldn’t even call it a drama it was so plodding (no pun intended). The case that was taking up Simon’s working hours this time was so unoriginal that I think it’s already been done by every one of the TV soaps. The only puzzle was whether Simon would make his mind up about the domestic affairs which seemed to be occupying his mind for far more time than finding any villains.
If you’re a committed reader of this series, then you’re probably invested enough to care about Simon’s domestic circumstances, his sister’s kids’ careers and love lives, and the endless ‘will he, won’t he’ saga of his own commitment issues, but I’m not and I didn’t.
December 4, 2021
Love this whole Series’s!
Particularly Loved this Book! # 11
Bring on Book 12! 🙌
Love Cat & the Deerbon family!
I need to give Wookie a Big Hug!
Susan Hill .. Writes like I do, in my Dream! I get her!
Particularly Loved this Book! # 11
Bring on Book 12! 🙌
Love Cat & the Deerbon family!
I need to give Wookie a Big Hug!
Susan Hill .. Writes like I do, in my Dream! I get her!
November 1, 2021
As traumatising as ever and yet I keep coming back for more.
October 3, 2021
A Change of Circumstance reminds me of the repositioning sails cruise ships do, to move, free of passengers, to another location to begin ferrying people in a different area.
This is listed as a mystery, but it's more of a domestic slice of life book about Simon and his family, and Brookie and his family, and Cat and all the DCs, and poor Mr Lionel, and the Chinese herbalist, and the junkie found dead of an OD/contaminated batch of heroin and a couple of animals and Olivia and whether Simon is going to get with Rachel and ugh.
The crime is laid out, so there's no spoilers in place by saying if you've read Oliver Twist, you've read this story before, only better in that book, because this crime is an homage to that. There's even an Olivia to help get any non-literary heathens up to speed on where they could track down the OG version.
Seriously, though, I really didn't care about Simon at all. This is the first book in the series I've read,but if the writing is like this in all of them - sometimes ending a chapter very abruptly, almost as if there's something that's been left out, or hopping between two or three heads without any break to help us figure out whose head we're in now - I won't be going back to book one, as I do with many other series, and I definitely won't be picking up/requesting the next one. The latter I really, really do not like: head-hopping only works if it's done well. This was not. The story was fractured and quite unenjoyable for that reason alone. Put all the rest in between all the domestic stuff, and it's a sandwich not worth eating.
Two out of five stars.
Thanks to Abrams/Overlook Press and NetGalley for the reading copy.
This is listed as a mystery, but it's more of a domestic slice of life book about Simon and his family, and Brookie and his family, and Cat and all the DCs, and poor Mr Lionel, and the Chinese herbalist, and the junkie found dead of an OD/contaminated batch of heroin and a couple of animals and Olivia and whether Simon is going to get with Rachel and ugh.
The crime is laid out, so there's no spoilers in place by saying if you've read Oliver Twist, you've read this story before, only better in that book, because this crime is an homage to that. There's even an Olivia to help get any non-literary heathens up to speed on where they could track down the OG version.
Seriously, though, I really didn't care about Simon at all. This is the first book in the series I've read,but if the writing is like this in all of them - sometimes ending a chapter very abruptly, almost as if there's something that's been left out, or hopping between two or three heads without any break to help us figure out whose head we're in now - I won't be going back to book one, as I do with many other series, and I definitely won't be picking up/requesting the next one. The latter I really, really do not like: head-hopping only works if it's done well. This was not. The story was fractured and quite unenjoyable for that reason alone. Put all the rest in between all the domestic stuff, and it's a sandwich not worth eating.
Two out of five stars.
Thanks to Abrams/Overlook Press and NetGalley for the reading copy.
November 25, 2021
Book reviews on www.snazzybooks.com
A Change of Circumstance is the 11th instalment in Susan Hill’s brilliant Simon Serrailer series. In the last book (The Benefit of Hindsight), I didn’t necessarily feel like we got the best of DCI Serrailer, but he’s back on great form in this novel having become more used to having a prosthetic arm and back investigating full time again.
This novel centres around the drugs industry as it starts to get its claws into Lafferton. I enjoyed the storyline as it felt like a bit of a different plot, though there were some parts of the book which felt like they went off on a bit of a tangent and were harder to feel absorbed in.
Still, it was lovely to be back with Simon and his colleagues as they try to stop local thugs using young children to run drugs, and work out if a recent suicide of a teenage girl might have actually been murder. We also get to see more of his sister Cat and her husband, Police Chief Kevin Bright. As always with this series, we get a great mix of police procedural and character development.
Susan Hill does a brilliant job of creating the ‘other’ characters in this novel – Olivia, her mother, Brookie and his father, all becoming embroiled in this horrible criminal world whether they want to or not. I feel like the characters are believable and I could imagine the desperation of these kids’ parents. It felt almost too real at times!
The book ends without as much of a resolution as I expected and kept me hanging on for more – looking forward to the next already. Another great instalment in this series which I’ll always want to read more from!
A Change of Circumstance is the 11th instalment in Susan Hill’s brilliant Simon Serrailer series. In the last book (The Benefit of Hindsight), I didn’t necessarily feel like we got the best of DCI Serrailer, but he’s back on great form in this novel having become more used to having a prosthetic arm and back investigating full time again.
This novel centres around the drugs industry as it starts to get its claws into Lafferton. I enjoyed the storyline as it felt like a bit of a different plot, though there were some parts of the book which felt like they went off on a bit of a tangent and were harder to feel absorbed in.
Still, it was lovely to be back with Simon and his colleagues as they try to stop local thugs using young children to run drugs, and work out if a recent suicide of a teenage girl might have actually been murder. We also get to see more of his sister Cat and her husband, Police Chief Kevin Bright. As always with this series, we get a great mix of police procedural and character development.
Susan Hill does a brilliant job of creating the ‘other’ characters in this novel – Olivia, her mother, Brookie and his father, all becoming embroiled in this horrible criminal world whether they want to or not. I feel like the characters are believable and I could imagine the desperation of these kids’ parents. It felt almost too real at times!
The book ends without as much of a resolution as I expected and kept me hanging on for more – looking forward to the next already. Another great instalment in this series which I’ll always want to read more from!
January 8, 2022
The plotline is good, dealing with drug issues and the so-called county lines that entice children to become involved in the distribution and the subsequent pressures put on them. Unfortunately, as a Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler becomes far too involved in the basic workings of the cases. He treats his team with some disdain and people bringing him information as beneath contempt. His relationships with women show him in a poor light and it is some question that he is inappropriately dealing with a female Detective Constable. The whole plotline is once again, in my view, dominated by his family relationships. In the end, the plot runs out of steam, apparently concluded but little by the hand of Serrailler. Overall a poor story in a good series.
2 stars only from me.
2 stars only from me.
November 7, 2021
Simon Serallier is a great character and this series flows. I love his family and his sister Cat. The present day issues the books feature are relatable as current problems. This one highlights care for the elderly and grooming kids as drug runners. The good guys are good and the bad guys are bad and Simon is a good guy. Complex in other ways, his character seeks love and connection that relates back to his heartbreak from the very first book in the series that wowed the reader. Best read as a series.
Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley
Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley
November 1, 2021
I have read all the books in the series and enjoyed them all. I feel sure that when they started they were crime novels with a bit of the detectives family background. This felt like a book about the detectives family with a crime as a bit of a backdrop. I’m sure many people will enjoy that balance but for me personally it’s gone a bit too much over to the family side
March 3, 2022
A terrific British police procedural. #11 in the series but my first and it was very easy to grasp all the characters and their dynamic with one another. A bit on the grim side for me but a great read. I will definitely go back and look for the first books in the series.
January 6, 2023
Oh dear! Another downturn. Although this latest episode of the Serrailer series tackled the important issue of drug trafficking and the exploitation of children by ‘county lines’ overall it felt like listening to an Archers omnibus. The family has become more important than the policing.
July 3, 2022
The ending felt a bit rushed, but on the whole, this was another excellent installment in a series that ages like a fine wine.
October 21, 2021
I couldn’t wait for this book to arrive once I had pre-ordered. It was worth waiting for although a little light on the crime. The author has tackled the County Lines situation. It gives an excellent picture of the destruction it causes. I felt the ending was weak. What the author has done well is weaving the family stories of Simon and his sister Cat. There was much more of this in the book which I enjoyed. I hope the next book is not too far behind as do not want to lose the anticipation from the ending of this book.
November 9, 2025
The book felt like the author was tired of writing the series and the editors were tired of editing. Many typos and the story was very abrupt and hard to follow dialog exchanges. Have mostly enjoyed this series, too bad it didn’t end with a better job of wrapping up characters.
April 25, 2022
For a long time, this novel plods along. Not a lot happens, and when it does, the action concerns the drug trade and how suppliers are using young people to do the dirty work. Young people are easily intimidated, are cheap to employ and rarely act out. When the trade turns deadly, the novel picks up. Of course, this is the usual circumstances (pun intended) of a Simon Serrailler novel. The charm of these books, as well as the dread perhaps, is that we get a deep look at Simon and his complex, sometimes irritating, personality. We often meet his family, in particular, his sister, Cat. Cat is probably the real hero of these books, though she seldom actually solves crimes. But her dogged (yes, there is a faithful dog involved) pursuit of care for her patients is a thing to behold. This time around we also get a bit of Cat's children, mostly Sam, a young man still trying to find what his life's work should be, while navigating a romance that has clearly gotten by him. Simon's love life, or lack of it, always plays a role in these books. It's always difficult to know what will happen next in the romance department, but at least he gets some joy finding the culprits. Hill's prose is steadfast and sharp. It's seldom eloquent, but neither are the characters. They are just addicted to their jobs, dedicated to their family and determined to make a difference. Not bad goals.
October 12, 2021
Just as the story was coming to a head, things came to an abrupt end with a toe-curling Mills and Boon flourish.
Susan Hill either reached her word count or got bored of the grubby county lines plot and decided not to tie up the loose ends. Or perhaps they’ll be picked up in the next book, as the author has done before. Yawn.
Whatever the reason, the sudden end was jarring, partly because so much time had been spent on random episodes concerning a sprained knee and an injured dog.
However, for the most part I thoroughly enjoyed the rambling middle class family saga and Stephen Pacey’s brilliant narration.
Plus there was a (somewhat bizarre) shoutout for Mick Herron’s Slough House series, which are possibly my favourite books.
Having recently listened to a number of Inspector Dalgliesh stories, the similarities are notable: they’re both beautifully (if wordily) written and both rather smug - yet they’re languorous and well-plotted with great narrators.
However both become less interesting when the detective falls in love. With a great career, a fabulous house, a beautiful, intelligent partner and a bit of light sketching/poetry on the side, it’s all rather nauseating.
Susan Hill either reached her word count or got bored of the grubby county lines plot and decided not to tie up the loose ends. Or perhaps they’ll be picked up in the next book, as the author has done before. Yawn.
Whatever the reason, the sudden end was jarring, partly because so much time had been spent on random episodes concerning a sprained knee and an injured dog.
However, for the most part I thoroughly enjoyed the rambling middle class family saga and Stephen Pacey’s brilliant narration.
Plus there was a (somewhat bizarre) shoutout for Mick Herron’s Slough House series, which are possibly my favourite books.
Having recently listened to a number of Inspector Dalgliesh stories, the similarities are notable: they’re both beautifully (if wordily) written and both rather smug - yet they’re languorous and well-plotted with great narrators.
However both become less interesting when the detective falls in love. With a great career, a fabulous house, a beautiful, intelligent partner and a bit of light sketching/poetry on the side, it’s all rather nauseating.
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