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Simon Serrailler #4
The Vows of Silence
A gunman is terrorising young women.
What links these seemingly random murders? Is the marksman with a rifle the same person as the killer with a handgun? Or do the police have two snipers on their hands?
Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler is in charge of the case, but is struggling to cope with a tragedy at the heart of his family.
The pressure is mounting…
What links these seemingly random murders? Is the marksman with a rifle the same person as the killer with a handgun? Or do the police have two snipers on their hands?
Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler is in charge of the case, but is struggling to cope with a tragedy at the heart of his family.
The pressure is mounting…
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
257 people are currently reading
1388 people want to read
About the author
Susan Hill
180 books2,265 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 421 reviews
January 21, 2010
OK, I understand that when a sort of formula is working you may not want to mess with it, but four books, four serial killers, only one little English cathedral town? Beloved characters: you ought to move. Hill is obviously much more than a competent writer, so I'm confused by the repeat plot. Also, the personal events that befall the main Serailler family are SO SAD, and not in a useful way. I honestly don't understand why some of the hard things that happen to them do in this book--it just seemed overly cruel. What's the message--that life really is this hard? Okay. But still, reading this sequel is a tearful lesson about The Random and Cruel Acts of the World, without much of the nuanced and interesting reflections on faith or belief that infused the other books. I hope the next one (which I will certainly read) brings a little relief.
May 10, 2013
It's amazing to me how much Susan Hill can incorporate into each episode of her Simon Serailler series. Yes they are police procedurals and mysteries, but they also provide continuing character studies of the primary, continuing characters as there lives change in many and unexpected ways. And secondary characters are not ciphers but are fully developed with full pasts, presents and hoped-for futures of their own.
In this episode, recent brides and newlyweds have been shot by a sniper without warning, with no apparent motive, no apparent rationale for order of attack, and Lafferton and the Police are desperately trying to make sense of this and prevent any further death. Then there are changes within Serailler's family.
Hill continues to play by her own rules as she moves forward in this series. No one is truly safe before this author's pen!
As for rating,I did have a guess as to the perpetrator but that didn't bother me because of the strength of the other stories and catching up from past episodes. There were some moments in this book that I found profoundly moving and well written, beyond the genre expectations. I waffled between 4 and 5, but landed on 5 for emotional grounds.
In this episode, recent brides and newlyweds have been shot by a sniper without warning, with no apparent motive, no apparent rationale for order of attack, and Lafferton and the Police are desperately trying to make sense of this and prevent any further death. Then there are changes within Serailler's family.
Hill continues to play by her own rules as she moves forward in this series. No one is truly safe before this author's pen!
As for rating,I did have a guess as to the perpetrator but that didn't bother me because of the strength of the other stories and catching up from past episodes. There were some moments in this book that I found profoundly moving and well written, beyond the genre expectations. I waffled between 4 and 5, but landed on 5 for emotional grounds.
August 8, 2016
As you can tell by the start & finish dates, this was a consuming & fast read for me. I am so glad I discovered the Simon Serrailler books by Susan Hill a year-and-a-half ago. I ration them, slot them into my reading as treats. The characters are so well-crafted, the Cathedral town feels familiar to me, the plots are full of lovely sleight-of-hand that keeps me guessing & often tempts to go to the end to alleviate the anxiety I feel on behalf of my favorite characters, she makes it hard to stick to my "no peeking" rule. It is always great to read about Simon and his extended family, although there are getting to be fewer of them 4 books in. I think I read somewhere the BBC or ITV is going to film these, I do hope they are well done. Highly recommended, deceptively complex, beautifully told mysteries, give them a try if you like English mysteries.
February 12, 2024
This series is stellar. The small English cathedral town is rocked by a series of shootings of young women, and Simon and his team are on the job, round the clock. It is a good solid mystery to be solved. But the draw, for me, are the characters. Every character-even the secondary ones-are studied and described, all with pasts, presents, and all have dreams for the future. The siblings at the center are Simon and Cat who are wonderfully and realistically portrayed. Simon and Cat are close and they have a brother, Ivo, who is the 3rd triplet, that we have not yet met. Cat has a busy life as the mother of three, a busy physician, married to another physician, Chris. They are Simon’s anchor as he continues to have personal issues-his job is sorted but his personal life is not. There is a big upset in this book, that affected me so much as I, too, have had a recent upheaval in my life, and it caused me to recognize many of the same feelings and questions I have. I feel as though their grief is mine. It was cathartic for me. Books that are well written can do this. I am better, for having read this.
I look forward to the next book in the series, needless to say.
I look forward to the next book in the series, needless to say.
October 16, 2023
This author draws you right in, and her books are hard to put down. What else do I want from a thriller? Pretty much nothing.
Oh, and she always brings in characters you can’t help but care about, and this (caring) happens almost immediately. I do wish some of them will recur, but I doubt they will. There are others who do recur, though, and I like that about this series.
There was a clue fairly early on that helped identify the killer, but only generally speaking, not the specific individual. As is typical in this series, we get glimpses into the killer’s creepy mind throughout the book. I could’ve done with fewer of those.
But overall I love a creepy British mystery, with recurring characters I enjoy, both young and old. Her writing is very good, I love the atmosphere, the murder mystery is sort of secondary for me; this series is a firm favorite.
The audios are all done by Steven Pacey, who is a real pro, and imo can’t really be improved. Highly recommended series in audio and print.
Oh, and she always brings in characters you can’t help but care about, and this (caring) happens almost immediately. I do wish some of them will recur, but I doubt they will. There are others who do recur, though, and I like that about this series.
There was a clue fairly early on that helped identify the killer, but only generally speaking, not the specific individual. As is typical in this series, we get glimpses into the killer’s creepy mind throughout the book. I could’ve done with fewer of those.
But overall I love a creepy British mystery, with recurring characters I enjoy, both young and old. Her writing is very good, I love the atmosphere, the murder mystery is sort of secondary for me; this series is a firm favorite.
The audios are all done by Steven Pacey, who is a real pro, and imo can’t really be improved. Highly recommended series in audio and print.
December 11, 2016
After the more leisurely second and third instalments of this series, this is the tightest book to date. A sniper is targeting young married women in Lafferton; Cat has returned from Australia and faces her most heart-rending challenge; a widow is taking her first steps in dating again; and Jane Fitzroy is finding her direction in life.
I guess you could read this novel without the rest of the series but the others really add resonance as people's pasts count here. Definitely don't read this is you're looking for a more typical police/crime novel since the perpetrator is not difficult to spot and, in any case, Hill is always more interested in her characters and the effect crime might have on them than writing a mystery.
I guess you could read this novel without the rest of the series but the others really add resonance as people's pasts count here. Definitely don't read this is you're looking for a more typical police/crime novel since the perpetrator is not difficult to spot and, in any case, Hill is always more interested in her characters and the effect crime might have on them than writing a mystery.
August 4, 2019
I've read three other books by British author Susan Hill, tow of her Gothic horror stories, including The Woman in Black and also one of her Simon Serrailler mysteries. The Vows of Silence is the 4th book in this series. As you can see I've not read them in any particular order so far but even though there are elements of Serrailler's past that crops up in this story, it didn't affect my understanding or enjoyment of the story.
Someone or maybe more than one person is shooting people in the town of Lafferton. Women are the targets, killed either close up by a handgun or from a distance with a rifle. DCS Simon Serrailler heads up this investigation. There are a number of side stories also flowing through this entertaining story, some related to Simon, some not. Simon's sister and family have returned from a year of living in Australia and something is wrong with her husband. Simon's father has returned from a vacation and surprises Simon with a lady friend! One of Simon's ex's Jane Hamilton also shows up, called back by a close friend who is dying of cancer. And one Helen Creedy, widowed, is persuaded by her daughter to finally start dating, a fact that is frowned upon by her son, who has become a strident religious fanatic.
The story is told from many perspectives, some involving the investigation and others the events that affect lives. We also meet the killer and find out facts about his life, what makes him / her become the killer. The story moves along in a meandering, slow but interesting fashion. Serrailler becomes just one of many main characters who wanders through the midst of these story lines.
The characters are all interesting and well-crafted. Serrailler is sometimes frustrating, dealing with issues from his past, especially involving his father. He has trouble coping with this new woman living in his "mother's" house. The case itself is interesting but we spend more time with the special response unit than with Serrailler when it comes the actual investigation. In fact, the daily humdrum of investigating the crimes is not as important as the story itself and the final resolution is more due to a sudden inspiration than clues gathered from forensics and those sorts of things.
But that doesn't matter really in this story. It's just excellent to read a well written, entertaining mystery story. I will obviously continue my exploration of Susan Hill's writing. I have a few more of her books on my shelves. (4 stars)
Someone or maybe more than one person is shooting people in the town of Lafferton. Women are the targets, killed either close up by a handgun or from a distance with a rifle. DCS Simon Serrailler heads up this investigation. There are a number of side stories also flowing through this entertaining story, some related to Simon, some not. Simon's sister and family have returned from a year of living in Australia and something is wrong with her husband. Simon's father has returned from a vacation and surprises Simon with a lady friend! One of Simon's ex's Jane Hamilton also shows up, called back by a close friend who is dying of cancer. And one Helen Creedy, widowed, is persuaded by her daughter to finally start dating, a fact that is frowned upon by her son, who has become a strident religious fanatic.
The story is told from many perspectives, some involving the investigation and others the events that affect lives. We also meet the killer and find out facts about his life, what makes him / her become the killer. The story moves along in a meandering, slow but interesting fashion. Serrailler becomes just one of many main characters who wanders through the midst of these story lines.
The characters are all interesting and well-crafted. Serrailler is sometimes frustrating, dealing with issues from his past, especially involving his father. He has trouble coping with this new woman living in his "mother's" house. The case itself is interesting but we spend more time with the special response unit than with Serrailler when it comes the actual investigation. In fact, the daily humdrum of investigating the crimes is not as important as the story itself and the final resolution is more due to a sudden inspiration than clues gathered from forensics and those sorts of things.
But that doesn't matter really in this story. It's just excellent to read a well written, entertaining mystery story. I will obviously continue my exploration of Susan Hill's writing. I have a few more of her books on my shelves. (4 stars)
May 24, 2020
Every time I pick up a Susan Hill book I am swept into the story.
In this fourth book of the series we continue to follow the lives of the Serrailler’s and the tragedy at the heart of the family. I was brought to tears by how well this part of the book was represented.
This book sees Detective Cheif Superintendent Simon Serrailler in charge of finding a gunman who is terrorising young women. As usual you are absorbed along the way with the different sub plots.
In this fourth book of the series we continue to follow the lives of the Serrailler’s and the tragedy at the heart of the family. I was brought to tears by how well this part of the book was represented.
This book sees Detective Cheif Superintendent Simon Serrailler in charge of finding a gunman who is terrorising young women. As usual you are absorbed along the way with the different sub plots.
June 1, 2015
A true 4* this one.......Susan Hill is back to her best with Gunmen terrorizing women in the Cathedral town of Lafferton. What — if anything — links these apparently random murders? Is the rifle marksman the same person as the killer with the handgun? Simon Serrailler uses well-tried police methods - questions neighbors, searches house-to-house and ponders, both the motives for the murders and his personal life. His sister Cat is back with her family from their six month sojourn in Australia, but tragedy strikes home in her warm and welcoming farmhouse.
Another good read.
Another good read.
December 15, 2013
Read this in one sitting except for breaks to hunt down more coffee.
Serrailler is dealing with a number of things after the end of the previous book. A killer who shoots young women and a new DS who seems to be an idiot.
There's also personal problems which come in threes, including a tragedy close to home.
Again Hill presents a group of characters who are more than window dressing for the main character. There are also secondary characters who are new to Lafferton but essential to the story. Looking forward to the next.
Serrailler is dealing with a number of things after the end of the previous book. A killer who shoots young women and a new DS who seems to be an idiot.
There's also personal problems which come in threes, including a tragedy close to home.
Again Hill presents a group of characters who are more than window dressing for the main character. There are also secondary characters who are new to Lafferton but essential to the story. Looking forward to the next.
December 22, 2010
I've now read the first four of the series. I like it a lot, but it is strange in some ways. The first book, for instance, hardly featured the protagonist at all; it was mainly about a new employee who was attracted to him. The next three, we have the protagonist, but I don't much like him. He's a cold fish who treats women badly. However, the mysteries are good, and I really like the guy's sister, a doctor. This is a really good series, and I don't have to like the protagonist, as evidenced by my current feelings for Thomas Lynley.
August 5, 2025
Susan Hill's Simon Serailler novels are shelved as mysteries in libraries and bookstores, and here on my virtual shelves as well. Having read the first (The Various Haunts of Men) and the fourth (this one), and some reviews, I think they are actually domestic fiction about a family, one of whose members happens to be a policeman.
I enjoyed both books, and will probably seek out the middle two and any sequels. But I enjoyed them as domestic fiction more than for the mystery. I learned from some of the other Goodreads reviews that each of the four books has Simon dealing with a serial killer, which stretches credulity given that the series is set in a relatively small cathedral town. I read a lot of police procedurals, and serial killers seem to crop up a lot, partly because in most real-life homicides the police know more or less "whodunnit." The need for proof can make tales of homicides which are domestic, gang-related, or committed during the commission of another felony interesting; but it's still a little more difficult to come up with plausible scenarios for detective work under those circumstances. So, nearly every writer of police procedurals has to have an occasional serial killer to deal with. But I'm just tired of them.
In a sense, though, the serial killer is not really the focus of The Vows of Silence. In fact, more people die in the book from accident, suicide and natural causes than by the hand of the killer. Although some chapters put us inside the killer's head, the victims are given equal time and their deaths are described more empathetically than is sometimes the case. Serailler seems to take a long time to come to a solution, but he has a lot of personal concerns to deal with, and in the end, those are the portions of the book I will remember. Recommended, but not as a mystery.
I enjoyed both books, and will probably seek out the middle two and any sequels. But I enjoyed them as domestic fiction more than for the mystery. I learned from some of the other Goodreads reviews that each of the four books has Simon dealing with a serial killer, which stretches credulity given that the series is set in a relatively small cathedral town. I read a lot of police procedurals, and serial killers seem to crop up a lot, partly because in most real-life homicides the police know more or less "whodunnit." The need for proof can make tales of homicides which are domestic, gang-related, or committed during the commission of another felony interesting; but it's still a little more difficult to come up with plausible scenarios for detective work under those circumstances. So, nearly every writer of police procedurals has to have an occasional serial killer to deal with. But I'm just tired of them.
In a sense, though, the serial killer is not really the focus of The Vows of Silence. In fact, more people die in the book from accident, suicide and natural causes than by the hand of the killer. Although some chapters put us inside the killer's head, the victims are given equal time and their deaths are described more empathetically than is sometimes the case. Serailler seems to take a long time to come to a solution, but he has a lot of personal concerns to deal with, and in the end, those are the portions of the book I will remember. Recommended, but not as a mystery.
June 12, 2022
Not my favorite in this series and I will tell you why...
Someone is killing young women, someone very difficult to pin down and find. Chief Superintendent Simon Serailler, is tasked with finding out who, why, how, and all of that. BUT...
A good chunk of the book isn't about the crime or the criminal case, tracking him/her/them down. It focuses on Simon and the various crises in his life. With his beloved mother recently deceased, his father now has a new girl friend. And Simon hates it. (OMG! How dare anyone date or love again after losing a spouse!) There's another close family member who's very sick very suddenly. PLUS, an old love might come back - if Simon will allow it. Hell, it's just hell to be Simon in this book. When he's needed by his family, he's usually off chasing this darn murderer. Such is life. Or life as a beleaguered character in a book.
Ms. Hill is able to elicit a huge emotional response though. She's writes human relations, life and all its tragedies as well as the best writers. In this regard she's right up there with Ruth Rendell, PD James, Elizabeth George and others. She digs so deep you want to make her stop. But the story fails, IMO, because it's not about an investigation so much as it is about Simon.
One other thing: there is an obvious theme connecting all the murders as they continue to pile up. Why NOT ONE person on Simon's investigative team, or Simon - brilliant as he is - saw the connection, I just do not know. When finally someone gets the light bulb to turn on (over their head) I'm sitting in my chair yawning: yep, you is all just characters in a book, but how the heck did you all turn so stupid?
haha, I still enjoy Ms. Hill's writing and some of her books are among my favorites.
Just not this one.
Three stars, C-
Someone is killing young women, someone very difficult to pin down and find. Chief Superintendent Simon Serailler, is tasked with finding out who, why, how, and all of that. BUT...
A good chunk of the book isn't about the crime or the criminal case, tracking him/her/them down. It focuses on Simon and the various crises in his life. With his beloved mother recently deceased, his father now has a new girl friend. And Simon hates it. (OMG! How dare anyone date or love again after losing a spouse!) There's another close family member who's very sick very suddenly. PLUS, an old love might come back - if Simon will allow it. Hell, it's just hell to be Simon in this book. When he's needed by his family, he's usually off chasing this darn murderer. Such is life. Or life as a beleaguered character in a book.
Ms. Hill is able to elicit a huge emotional response though. She's writes human relations, life and all its tragedies as well as the best writers. In this regard she's right up there with Ruth Rendell, PD James, Elizabeth George and others. She digs so deep you want to make her stop. But the story fails, IMO, because it's not about an investigation so much as it is about Simon.
One other thing: there is an obvious theme connecting all the murders as they continue to pile up. Why NOT ONE person on Simon's investigative team, or Simon - brilliant as he is - saw the connection, I just do not know. When finally someone gets the light bulb to turn on (over their head) I'm sitting in my chair yawning: yep, you is all just characters in a book, but how the heck did you all turn so stupid?
haha, I still enjoy Ms. Hill's writing and some of her books are among my favorites.
Just not this one.
Three stars, C-
July 30, 2012
This fourth entry into the Simon Serrallier series left me with some rather mixed feelings. After the third book, The Risk of Darkness, ended rather abruptly and despite several characters being abandoned it what felt like mid-story, they are not so much as mentioned here. I also expected there to be more with the kidnapper, but that plot line also has been cast aside. My concern over these plot lines led me to ruin a large part of the book - I thought I would read the synopsis for the fifth book - it should have been label “spoiler alert” because not only did I discover nothing to indicate one way or another that the third book would be revisited, but a huge development of the fourth book was completely given away!
Despite my dissatisfaction with the series and its continuity, I did greatly enjoy this book. Emotions run very high here and the plot offers quite a few genuine surprises. Simon, our series main character, continues to develop and is at his most likable here. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series, especially if it will be as fast-paced as this one!
Despite my dissatisfaction with the series and its continuity, I did greatly enjoy this book. Emotions run very high here and the plot offers quite a few genuine surprises. Simon, our series main character, continues to develop and is at his most likable here. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series, especially if it will be as fast-paced as this one!
January 15, 2012
I love Susan' Hill's books, though there is a sameness about them (serial killer terrorizes Lafferton). She's an excellent writer, reminding me of Elizabeth George only less wordy. She employs multiple points of view - including the victims and the killer - but it works very well; you always know who is speaking/thinking/experiencing the story. Her characters are appealing, especially the sleuth (Simon Serrailler) and his sister Cat. She weaves in and out of their family problems, his struggles as a policeman, his romantic entanglements (or avoidance of them). Susan Hill is one author I can depend on - I will always get her latest.
August 5, 2011
I still LOVE this series, but our Simon was a little slow to catch the connection here. Plus, could anything more happen to the poor Serraillers? And don't EVER move to Lafferton - chances are high you'll not make it out alive.
September 11, 2015
I love Simon Serrailler but I needed to see more of him in this book. I know it's Hill's style but there were some side-plots that I simply didn't care about. A number of them in fact. Rather disappointed if I'm honest.
May 24, 2022
You can't go wrong with Susan Hill
May 6, 2024
Another exciting adventure for Simon Serrailler to solve.
October 16, 2018
Still going. This is really a fun and purely entertaining series.
Read in audio.
Read in audio.
March 12, 2023
I felt this one lost its way a little towards the end, or maybe it was just the author's decision on the ending that made it feel that way. Overall, it was a very enjoyable read and another great addition to the series. Just felt the ending could have been drawn out a little more.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
April 19, 2025
Shelved under Mysteries; actually a Family Drama. Lafferton's police are the worst not to have figured out the crazily obvious connection between all the victims.
August 17, 2025
At the start I thought, how could a thriller with this subject matter be over 400 pages long? But it’s glaringly obvious, it’s the character development, diffrent plots of different characters that all connect in the end. And it was executed brilliantly! I have never been disappointed by a Susan Hill book
August 23, 2020
Where I got the book: audiobook on Audible.
Ah, Lafferton, Lafferton. A small cathedral town must be a terrible place to live if serial killers pop up as regularly as they do in this series—I wouldn’t dare leave the house. Add in the high incidence of Sudden Death from natural causes, suicide and bizarre accidents, and you get the impression that the Grim Reaper once visited the town for a short vacation and liked it so much that he stayed.
The Serrailler family and friends soap opera really lets rip in this novel, with Simon suffering much angst over his sister’s personal tragedy, having a fit of the sulks over his father’s love life (I wouldn’t say he’s cold, our Simon, as much as immature) and SUFFERING from, yet again, thwarted love. Because letting your detective have a normal love life would be—what? Too cheerful? Hill’s actually not all that good at the love bits and certainly not great with sex, which sort of happens offstage and is referred to in a very offhand British way without anyone ever getting worked up. I always find myself thinking of that scene in Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life where John Cleese and his wife make mundane small talk while performing the act for a classroom full of bored schoolboys.
There’s an extensive subplot about a widow who finds love, creating conflict with her born-again son, which I have decided was put in there partly as a red herring and partly to express Hill’s obvious dislike of evangelical Christianity, which she seems to conflate with the charismatic speaking-in-tongues end of the denominational pool. Faith is definitely something that Hill’s interested in, but she seems to prefer a more traditionalist Anglican flavor. I always start laughing when narrator Steven Pacey does his Anglican priest voice…
Oh yeah, and somewhere in there there’s that serial killer who shoots at brides. Much as I howl at yet ANOTHER serial killer, I would have liked this murder mystery to have contained a little more murder mystery, and this plot really wasn’t bad and should have been made more of. But there was all that subplot and soap opera, and when the crime resolution came it was kind of pushed into a corner and rushed over. Just another day in the life of an English detective, eh chaps?
Ah, Lafferton, Lafferton. A small cathedral town must be a terrible place to live if serial killers pop up as regularly as they do in this series—I wouldn’t dare leave the house. Add in the high incidence of Sudden Death from natural causes, suicide and bizarre accidents, and you get the impression that the Grim Reaper once visited the town for a short vacation and liked it so much that he stayed.
The Serrailler family and friends soap opera really lets rip in this novel, with Simon suffering much angst over his sister’s personal tragedy, having a fit of the sulks over his father’s love life (I wouldn’t say he’s cold, our Simon, as much as immature) and SUFFERING from, yet again, thwarted love. Because letting your detective have a normal love life would be—what? Too cheerful? Hill’s actually not all that good at the love bits and certainly not great with sex, which sort of happens offstage and is referred to in a very offhand British way without anyone ever getting worked up. I always find myself thinking of that scene in Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life where John Cleese and his wife make mundane small talk while performing the act for a classroom full of bored schoolboys.
There’s an extensive subplot about a widow who finds love, creating conflict with her born-again son, which I have decided was put in there partly as a red herring and partly to express Hill’s obvious dislike of evangelical Christianity, which she seems to conflate with the charismatic speaking-in-tongues end of the denominational pool. Faith is definitely something that Hill’s interested in, but she seems to prefer a more traditionalist Anglican flavor. I always start laughing when narrator Steven Pacey does his Anglican priest voice…
Oh yeah, and somewhere in there there’s that serial killer who shoots at brides. Much as I howl at yet ANOTHER serial killer, I would have liked this murder mystery to have contained a little more murder mystery, and this plot really wasn’t bad and should have been made more of. But there was all that subplot and soap opera, and when the crime resolution came it was kind of pushed into a corner and rushed over. Just another day in the life of an English detective, eh chaps?
May 25, 2020
My first Serailler novel that I've read and I have to say I was disappointed.
It felt like there was far too much going on simply in terms of the character's family. However, in comparison to other reviews I found the family parts the most interesting.
The story drags along with the killings and then all of a sudden Serailler solves it all with absolutely no explanation of how, except with an implausible gut instinct over a drink in the pub. Hill even went to the trouble of introducing the cliche tramp who gave them the name of the killer to the police but it never got passed on or such like. Usually this would create some suspense, but sadly in this case it didn't. Complete waste of time.
My biggest complaint was the creation of the Creedy characters! Why were they there? I finished the book and couldn't see any point in them being there. They added nothing to the story and I found I didn't care about them at all. Tragically, the son dies but this is a section I feel is written poorly. While the death is described, the aftermath of it simply gets a mention. The motive or point of the death is poorly explained and undeveloped. There is absolutely no depth to his character and it about sums up their characters, completely pointless. I assume they were put there as a red herring but if so, then it was a badly done red herring. It was clear early on the new boyfriend wasn't the killer or indeed, any of them.
Susan Hill is a fantastic author but this is not great. The book seems to start off well before it seems like she got bored and wanted to wrap it up quickly. Unless you're a massive fan of this series of books, I would simply avoid. Or alternatively read the first couple of chapters and the last couple, and save yourself reading a couple of hundred pages.
It felt like there was far too much going on simply in terms of the character's family. However, in comparison to other reviews I found the family parts the most interesting.
The story drags along with the killings and then all of a sudden Serailler solves it all with absolutely no explanation of how, except with an implausible gut instinct over a drink in the pub. Hill even went to the trouble of introducing the cliche tramp who gave them the name of the killer to the police but it never got passed on or such like. Usually this would create some suspense, but sadly in this case it didn't. Complete waste of time.
My biggest complaint was the creation of the Creedy characters! Why were they there? I finished the book and couldn't see any point in them being there. They added nothing to the story and I found I didn't care about them at all. Tragically, the son dies but this is a section I feel is written poorly. While the death is described, the aftermath of it simply gets a mention. The motive or point of the death is poorly explained and undeveloped. There is absolutely no depth to his character and it about sums up their characters, completely pointless. I assume they were put there as a red herring but if so, then it was a badly done red herring. It was clear early on the new boyfriend wasn't the killer or indeed, any of them.
Susan Hill is a fantastic author but this is not great. The book seems to start off well before it seems like she got bored and wanted to wrap it up quickly. Unless you're a massive fan of this series of books, I would simply avoid. Or alternatively read the first couple of chapters and the last couple, and save yourself reading a couple of hundred pages.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2012
Death continues to surround the Serrailler clan, and not just of the crime variety. While Cat Deerbon deals with a shocking development, Simon is on the trail of a sniper in Lafferton (for a quiet village they've sure had their share of crazed criminals lately!) This book was somewhat disappointing, though. I figured out who the sniper probably was pretty quickly and the red herring wasn't very convincing to lead me otherwise. Then, the fate of one of the characters really made no sense at all.
The author also seemed to be much more heavily anti-Christian in this installment than previously. Although some of her characters are believers, most of them are either very shallow Christians (Christmas and Easter types) or they are avowed atheists. One of the few strong believers she's introduced was made into a parody of extremism.
June 26, 2012
It took me a long time to listen to this book. I love the writing and the author's style, but I really dislike the main character, whom I find to be a self-absorbed, clueless snothead. So I only listen to a little at a time less I plot to kill him off. This one was especially poignant with his sister Cat going through hell as her husband Chris deals with a brain tumor.
April 22, 2015
Best yet of the series for me. Really steamed along and I love the development of the family story alongside, with the characterisations there. Though it has to be said that the Serraillers are a fairly unfortunate bunch with what life doles out to them.
February 21, 2013
Hill is not afraid to kill off any character or reveal any character's dark side. I wasn't even close in guessing this one. Ah joy! Fortunately, I have #5 right here.
January 21, 2024
This one was very depressing -- I could've done w/a lot less detail abt how brain cancer kills its victims. She jumped from character to character so fast that the non-primary narratives quickly became very disjointed and hard to follow, especially since it's never obvious that any of these people are expendable until they are. As a result, I still don't know how/why the vics were chosen because the only thing that was clearly motivational for the perp didn't happen til after the first two or three vics were killed.
Throughout these first 4 books in the series, she has shown some stylistic habits that drive me crazy:
1) I can never figure out how the book's title relates to the story.
2) She devotes a lot of time and space to the backstories of characters who end up being victims without shedding much light on why they were selected.
3) She likes to offer sub-sub-plots, often with a lot of detail, which are totally irrelevant to the main and primary sub-plot and, again, I can't figure out why. Had they been removed, I wouldn't have noticed any impact on the rest of the book.
4) While she's providing chapter and verse on victims and unrelated characters, so far she's mighty short on the life experience and motivations of the main characters who apparently will reappear in her Serrailler series.
However, in hopes that these quibbles resolve themselves over time, I will persevere!!
Throughout these first 4 books in the series, she has shown some stylistic habits that drive me crazy:
1) I can never figure out how the book's title relates to the story.
2) She devotes a lot of time and space to the backstories of characters who end up being victims without shedding much light on why they were selected.
3) She likes to offer sub-sub-plots, often with a lot of detail, which are totally irrelevant to the main and primary sub-plot and, again, I can't figure out why. Had they been removed, I wouldn't have noticed any impact on the rest of the book.
4) While she's providing chapter and verse on victims and unrelated characters, so far she's mighty short on the life experience and motivations of the main characters who apparently will reappear in her Serrailler series.
However, in hopes that these quibbles resolve themselves over time, I will persevere!!
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