A Question of Identity, Susan Hill
This is the seventh of Susan Hill's series of mysteries featuring DCS Simon Serrailler. I'm always glad to see the newest book advertised, knowing that I'll soon be back in the small cathedral city of Lafferton, with its echoes of Salisbury and Exeter, but also of Barchester. The story here, however, opens in Yorkshire in 2002, where Alan Keyes is on trial for the murders of three elderly women. All were killed in their homes, bungalows in a senior-citizen housing area, where he had worked at times on construction. To the shock of those in the courtroom, including the victims' relatives, he is acquitted on all three counts. As word of the verdict spreads rapidly, angry crowds gather outside the court building, and the police are forced to take Keyes into protective custody.
The story then jumps ahead ten years, to Lafferton, where we soon meet Rosemary Poole, who phones her daughter and son-in-law with the news that she has just qualified for a bungalow in a senior-citizen housing area. At that point, I had a pretty good idea what was going to happen, which didn't keep me from falling for a couple of Hill's red herrings. I don't want to say too much about the plot, to avoid spoilers. I've commented in previous reviews that Lafferton has had an unusually high number of serial killers in recent years, considering its small size. I was initially a bit disappointed that this book seemed to feature yet another one. But Susan Hill does something very intriguing with the protagonist of this story, which set my concerns at rest.
As much as I enjoy the mysteries in these stories, which Hill always brings to neat and logical conclusions, it is her characters that draw me back each time. Though this book like the others is listed as "A Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler Mystery," he is one of the usual large cast, each with his or her own story, and the narrative shifts constantly among their points of view, allowing us to see events through different eyes. I really admire the way Hill manages this, keeping each story distinct, weaving some in with the main case that Simon is investigating, leaving others to run their own course. It's interesting that though these are mysteries, with the nominal central character a police officer, we don't learn much about his colleagues and subordinates; only a few are even identified by name. In that sense, I don't think of these stories as typical police procedurals - which is not at all a complaint.
Throughout the series, my favorite character has been Simon's sister Cat Deerbon, a doctor like their parents, now widowed and raising her three children. She has often been involved in his cases, and in fact she was almost a victim in the first book in the series. Here her story focuses on her work in the Imogen House hospice, facing serious budget crises, and on her family, where the conflicts between 14-year-old Sam and 12-year-old Hannah are escalating. She and Simon are both worried about their stepmother, Judith, who has become withdrawn and distant. They sense trouble in her marriage to their difficult father Richard, but she will not talk to either of them about it. Simon is involved in a difficult relationship of his own, and when Cat brings it up, he in turn shuts down. I was pleased to see that he is actually still in a relationship, given his history with women, but sorry to see that Hill again pulls the emotional rug out from under him. I did find myself wondering if Cat will ever consider dating again.
Another member of Cat's household (family, really) is Molly, a medical student who helps with the children and the house in exchange for room and board. In the last book, The Betrayal of Trust, she was brutally attacked and almost killed. Here she is still suffering from the aftereffects, struggling with depression and panic attacks, unable to cope with school. As sad as it was to see her suffering, it was refreshing to see a realistic portrayal of the trauma of violence. Too often, in books and television shows, characters who have been kidnapped, held at gunpoint, or who witness a murder seem completely unaffected, moving on to the next plot point, usually with a joke. I was also glad to meet Jocelyn Forbes again, who played such a key part in the last book, and to see where her story has taken her.
I really enjoyed this book. My only quibble is how long we'll have to wait for the next one. Now I'm off to read Jane's review on Fleur Fisher in her world, and Audrey's on books as food, which I had avoided for fear I'd inadvertently plagiarize their always-excellent posts.
I've just noticed that this is my 250th post, which doesn't quite seem possible. Thank you again for reading along.
Showing posts with label Susan Hill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Susan Hill. Show all posts
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
A welcome return to Lafferton
The Betrayal of Trust, Susan Hill
I had a very long wait for this book, the sixth of Susan Hill's Simon Serrailler novels. Last year I read the five previous books over the course of several months, and I had just posted about the last (The Shadows in the Street) when I saw a new book advertised on her website. I immediately put in an order. This was in July 2011, the book was published in November, and due to some mix-up it arrived in the mail just last week. Since it was on order last year I figure it still counts under the TBR challenge.
And I have to say, this book was worth the wait. It opens with a storm sweeping through Lafferton and the surrounding areas, flooding the streets and bringing down trees. In clearing the storm debris washed down from the Moor, a clean-up crew finds human bones. They are quickly identified as the remains of Harriet Lowther, a school-girl who disappeared sixteen years ago. Then another set of bones are discovered in the same area, another female. Simon is set to working what is a very cold case, though no one has forgotten Harriet.
Susan Hill does two things differently in this book. This is the first in the series that doesn't involve a serial killer. As I mentioned in my review of The Shadows in the Streets, Lafferton has had an unusual number of them. Here Hill has written what I think of as a more traditional mystery with a central case to solve, and she does it brilliantly. We really get to see Simon investigating, and to compare how investigations have changed in the years since Harriet disappeared. For one thing, budgets have been slashed, leaving Simon without a team, forcing him to take on much of the work himself. This means we get to see much more of Simon than in previous books, with more access to his thoughts and feelings. Though these books are referred to as "Simon Serrailler novels," to my mind this is the first book that really focuses on Simon. In addition to the case, the determinedly-single Simon meets someone, and he is more open with this person than with anyone else, even his sister Cat. The relationship faces some major obstacles, including I think Simon's own state of mind and heart, and I am very interested to see where Hill takes it. I do hope it won't be like his last attempt at a relationship, the fate of which we learned from a postcard sent to his sister (a disappointing anti-climax).
Simon and his case are not the only focus of the book. In the first chapter, in addition to Simon, we see Cat at her farmhouse, worrying that her lodger Molly is caught out in the storm. Molly, a medical student, helps care for Cat's three children, in addition to shadowing Cat. We also meet a patient of Cat's, Jocelyn Forbes, an older woman living alone. Jocelyn has developed some troubling symptoms that are later diagnosed as motor neuron disease (better known in the US as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease). Her father died of this at a young age, and she is determined not to suffer its effects as he did. In between chapters on Simon's investigation, and the progress (or not) of his relationship, we follow Jocelyn as she looks into options for assisted suicide, and Cat in her work at the hospice she helps run. We also meet Lenny, a retired teacher, who must find care for her partner Olive, suffering from dementia, who is finally placed in a new care facility near Lafferton. There is a lot going on here as the story shifts around this large cast, with chapters from their different points of view. Hill carries us through it on her characters, which I think is one of her greatest strengths as a writer. She makes these people three-dimensional, and I came to care about them. I had no idea how Jocelyn would connect to Simon's case - though I had a good idea about Lenny - but I wanted to find out what happened next, what decisions she would make. I did miss Cat, my favorite character in the series, who plays less of a role in this one.
I have only one real quibble with this book: the ending. Simon solves the case, but he decides there is no case to answer. "There are no witnesses and it's too long ago for there to be any forensic evidence," he tells one of the perpetrators. This person has just confessed, though, and there is in fact a witness, whose belated evidence cracks the case. The families of the two victims presumably have to be told what happened, what Simon discovered, as do his superiors. In a case that garnered national publicity, it is hard to believe that he could make that decision, that it would even be possible. An amateur detective like Peter Wimsey could - though Peter would never let a murderer go free - but an officer of the law can't, can he? Isn't that the decision of the courts, the Crown Prosecutor?
I had a very long wait for this book, the sixth of Susan Hill's Simon Serrailler novels. Last year I read the five previous books over the course of several months, and I had just posted about the last (The Shadows in the Street) when I saw a new book advertised on her website. I immediately put in an order. This was in July 2011, the book was published in November, and due to some mix-up it arrived in the mail just last week. Since it was on order last year I figure it still counts under the TBR challenge.
And I have to say, this book was worth the wait. It opens with a storm sweeping through Lafferton and the surrounding areas, flooding the streets and bringing down trees. In clearing the storm debris washed down from the Moor, a clean-up crew finds human bones. They are quickly identified as the remains of Harriet Lowther, a school-girl who disappeared sixteen years ago. Then another set of bones are discovered in the same area, another female. Simon is set to working what is a very cold case, though no one has forgotten Harriet.
Susan Hill does two things differently in this book. This is the first in the series that doesn't involve a serial killer. As I mentioned in my review of The Shadows in the Streets, Lafferton has had an unusual number of them. Here Hill has written what I think of as a more traditional mystery with a central case to solve, and she does it brilliantly. We really get to see Simon investigating, and to compare how investigations have changed in the years since Harriet disappeared. For one thing, budgets have been slashed, leaving Simon without a team, forcing him to take on much of the work himself. This means we get to see much more of Simon than in previous books, with more access to his thoughts and feelings. Though these books are referred to as "Simon Serrailler novels," to my mind this is the first book that really focuses on Simon. In addition to the case, the determinedly-single Simon meets someone, and he is more open with this person than with anyone else, even his sister Cat. The relationship faces some major obstacles, including I think Simon's own state of mind and heart, and I am very interested to see where Hill takes it. I do hope it won't be like his last attempt at a relationship, the fate of which we learned from a postcard sent to his sister (a disappointing anti-climax).
Simon and his case are not the only focus of the book. In the first chapter, in addition to Simon, we see Cat at her farmhouse, worrying that her lodger Molly is caught out in the storm. Molly, a medical student, helps care for Cat's three children, in addition to shadowing Cat. We also meet a patient of Cat's, Jocelyn Forbes, an older woman living alone. Jocelyn has developed some troubling symptoms that are later diagnosed as motor neuron disease (better known in the US as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease). Her father died of this at a young age, and she is determined not to suffer its effects as he did. In between chapters on Simon's investigation, and the progress (or not) of his relationship, we follow Jocelyn as she looks into options for assisted suicide, and Cat in her work at the hospice she helps run. We also meet Lenny, a retired teacher, who must find care for her partner Olive, suffering from dementia, who is finally placed in a new care facility near Lafferton. There is a lot going on here as the story shifts around this large cast, with chapters from their different points of view. Hill carries us through it on her characters, which I think is one of her greatest strengths as a writer. She makes these people three-dimensional, and I came to care about them. I had no idea how Jocelyn would connect to Simon's case - though I had a good idea about Lenny - but I wanted to find out what happened next, what decisions she would make. I did miss Cat, my favorite character in the series, who plays less of a role in this one.
I have only one real quibble with this book: the ending. Simon solves the case, but he decides there is no case to answer. "There are no witnesses and it's too long ago for there to be any forensic evidence," he tells one of the perpetrators. This person has just confessed, though, and there is in fact a witness, whose belated evidence cracks the case. The families of the two victims presumably have to be told what happened, what Simon discovered, as do his superiors. In a case that garnered national publicity, it is hard to believe that he could make that decision, that it would even be possible. An amateur detective like Peter Wimsey could - though Peter would never let a murderer go free - but an officer of the law can't, can he? Isn't that the decision of the courts, the Crown Prosecutor?
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The Woman in Black
The Woman in Black, Susan Hill
I read quite a few of Susan Hill's books last year, starting with The Small Hand and then going on to her Simon Serrailler mystery series. When The Woman in Black, originally published in 1983, was recently re-issued, I added a copy to the TBR pile.
Like The Turn of the Screw, it starts out with Christmas Eve ghost stories, but it isn't at all a holiday story. As the story opens, Arthur Kipps is preparing to join his family in the drawing room of his country home, Monk's Piece. He and his second wife Esmé have no children of their own, but she brought four children from her first marriage. The family gathers around the fire, with the lights out, and the stories are told, each more gruesome, more fantastic, than the last. As Arthur listens, he becomes increasingly uncomfortable, haunted by memories. When the young people demand a story from him in turn, he abruptly leaves the room, unable to explain. Standing outside in the frosty darkness, he resolves to write an account of the one ghost story he does know, from personal experience, one that he has never shared with anyone, the memory of which he has tried for many years to suppress. This account will be left unopened, unread, until after his death.
The story that follows is his account. Many years ago, as a young lawyer, he was sent to represent the firm at the funeral of a long-time client, Mrs. Alice Drablow, and to sort out her estate. Mrs. Drablow lived at Eel Marsh House, near the village of Crythin Gifford, in the Fen country. When Arthur arrives in the village, he finds that the house is isolated, accessible only by a causeway that is underwater at high tide. He also finds the villages unwilling to talk about Mrs. Drablow, uneasy when they realize why he has come. Arthur and the deceased's agent, Mr. Jerome, are the only mourners at the funeral, until he notices a woman in black at the back of the church, and later standing among the graves. No one else sees her, and Arthur's mention of her clearly startles and dismays Mr. Jerome.
Realizing there is a mystery here, Arthur makes his way out to the deserted house, where he encounters her again. He is determined to discover who she is, perhaps through the lifetime of papers that Mrs. Drablow accumulated, which must be sorted out for the estate. Against the advice of nearly everyone he meets, he decides to stay in the house to finish the job as quickly as possible. What happens there makes up the rest of the story.
I finished this book in one afternoon, and it did keep me reading, to find out what happened next and how it all turned out. (The ending, while I saw it coming, was still a shock.) I enjoyed seeing Arthur piece the story together through the family archives (and I couldn't help thinking that the local historical society might be interested in the papers he is discarding as rubbish). Despite all the ghostly encounters, though, I didn't find the story all that scary. I think the narration is part of the problem. Arthur is clearly terrified by the ghostly manifestations he experiences, but I didn't feel that terror, and the repetition of the manifestations dulls the effect a bit, or at least it did for me. I was perhaps not the most sympathetic reader, because while I know the conventions of the ghost story demand that he stay in the isolated house, against all advice, I still wanted him to be more sensible - pack up the papers and take them back to the nice comfortable inn. I was also frustrated by the villagers' unwillingness to talk to Arthur, about any aspect of Mrs. Drablow's life or history in the place. I know it is a small village, but isn't there always a town gossip? The events at Eel Marsh House have personally affected people in the village; as painful as it has been, wouldn't they want to talk to Arthur, at least to warn him? As the story unfolded, I found myself distracted by the details of Mrs. Drablow's life: what happened to her husband? Were the manifestations a constant of life at Eel Marsh House? If so, how did she manage to keep servants? There is a reference to a house-keeper, but no explanation of what happened to her either.
A film version starring Daniel Radcliffe is coming out later this year, and I think this will make a good movie. The atmosphere in the village and at the house, the manifestations, could all be conveyed very effectively on film, according to the rule of "Show, don't tell." I will be interested to see it.
I read quite a few of Susan Hill's books last year, starting with The Small Hand and then going on to her Simon Serrailler mystery series. When The Woman in Black, originally published in 1983, was recently re-issued, I added a copy to the TBR pile.
Like The Turn of the Screw, it starts out with Christmas Eve ghost stories, but it isn't at all a holiday story. As the story opens, Arthur Kipps is preparing to join his family in the drawing room of his country home, Monk's Piece. He and his second wife Esmé have no children of their own, but she brought four children from her first marriage. The family gathers around the fire, with the lights out, and the stories are told, each more gruesome, more fantastic, than the last. As Arthur listens, he becomes increasingly uncomfortable, haunted by memories. When the young people demand a story from him in turn, he abruptly leaves the room, unable to explain. Standing outside in the frosty darkness, he resolves to write an account of the one ghost story he does know, from personal experience, one that he has never shared with anyone, the memory of which he has tried for many years to suppress. This account will be left unopened, unread, until after his death.
The story that follows is his account. Many years ago, as a young lawyer, he was sent to represent the firm at the funeral of a long-time client, Mrs. Alice Drablow, and to sort out her estate. Mrs. Drablow lived at Eel Marsh House, near the village of Crythin Gifford, in the Fen country. When Arthur arrives in the village, he finds that the house is isolated, accessible only by a causeway that is underwater at high tide. He also finds the villages unwilling to talk about Mrs. Drablow, uneasy when they realize why he has come. Arthur and the deceased's agent, Mr. Jerome, are the only mourners at the funeral, until he notices a woman in black at the back of the church, and later standing among the graves. No one else sees her, and Arthur's mention of her clearly startles and dismays Mr. Jerome.
Realizing there is a mystery here, Arthur makes his way out to the deserted house, where he encounters her again. He is determined to discover who she is, perhaps through the lifetime of papers that Mrs. Drablow accumulated, which must be sorted out for the estate. Against the advice of nearly everyone he meets, he decides to stay in the house to finish the job as quickly as possible. What happens there makes up the rest of the story.
I finished this book in one afternoon, and it did keep me reading, to find out what happened next and how it all turned out. (The ending, while I saw it coming, was still a shock.) I enjoyed seeing Arthur piece the story together through the family archives (and I couldn't help thinking that the local historical society might be interested in the papers he is discarding as rubbish). Despite all the ghostly encounters, though, I didn't find the story all that scary. I think the narration is part of the problem. Arthur is clearly terrified by the ghostly manifestations he experiences, but I didn't feel that terror, and the repetition of the manifestations dulls the effect a bit, or at least it did for me. I was perhaps not the most sympathetic reader, because while I know the conventions of the ghost story demand that he stay in the isolated house, against all advice, I still wanted him to be more sensible - pack up the papers and take them back to the nice comfortable inn. I was also frustrated by the villagers' unwillingness to talk to Arthur, about any aspect of Mrs. Drablow's life or history in the place. I know it is a small village, but isn't there always a town gossip? The events at Eel Marsh House have personally affected people in the village; as painful as it has been, wouldn't they want to talk to Arthur, at least to warn him? As the story unfolded, I found myself distracted by the details of Mrs. Drablow's life: what happened to her husband? Were the manifestations a constant of life at Eel Marsh House? If so, how did she manage to keep servants? There is a reference to a house-keeper, but no explanation of what happened to her either.
A film version starring Daniel Radcliffe is coming out later this year, and I think this will make a good movie. The atmosphere in the village and at the house, the manifestations, could all be conveyed very effectively on film, according to the rule of "Show, don't tell." I will be interested to see it.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
A last visit to Lafferton (for now)
The Shadows in the Street, Susan Hill
Over the past few months I have been slowly reading my way through Susan Hill's mysteries set in the English cathedral town of Lafferton, and I have finally come to the fifth and last (so far). Hill has announced on her website the publication of the next book in November, and I have already pre-ordered my signed copy.
The mystery in this book again revolves around a serial killer. For a small cathedral town, Lafferton has more than its share of serial killers, and I was thinking that they are rare in older mysteries, which usually have one main murder, and then sometimes the killer strikes again to silence a witness or avert suspicion. In Strong Poison, when Harriet Vane and Peter Wimsey are theorizing about murders, Harriet says, "She's a person with a monomania - no, no - not a homicidal one. That's dull, and not really fair to the reader." Serial killers seem to be a more modern phenomenon.
The killer in this book is targeting prostitutes. Lafferton has a growing problem with prostitution, including the trafficking of young girls from Eastern Europe. This is of course a very real problem in America as well as England, which Hill explores through several characters. The most compelling is Abi Righton, a single mother of two who wants to escape the streets. She appears early in the story and becomes the focus of much of it.
As in previous books, much of the story also focuses on Simon's sister Cat, actually my favorite character. Cat is now a single mother herself, struggling with her medical practice and her three children. In addition, Cat is caught up in conflict over the Cathedral parish, where a new Dean and his wife are making sweeping and unpopular changes. Ruth Webber, the Mrs Dean, is so abrasive that she has won the nickname "Mrs Proudie," and the tensions definitely invoke Anthony Trollope and Barchester. But the conflict, between evangelical and more traditional Anglicans, reflects a very real situation in the Church of England today. Cat is firmly on the side of tradition, ritual, liturgical music - and I would guess from this book alone that Susan Hill is as well.
Hill ended the last book (The Vows of Silence) on a bit of a cliff-hanger. Simon, taking the initiative, followed an impulse to seek out someone from his past, a woman he had pursued who had rejected him, to see if she was now open to a relationship. I expected to find out fairly quickly in this book what happened next, but Simon is absent from Lafferton for much of the first part of the book. We learn the resolution of the cliff-hanger from a postcard Cat receives, which I found a definite anti-climax. Yet as with the first book, the rich cast of characters made up for that, and for the absence of Simon himself. I think I'd actually miss Cat much more than Simon at this point.
Over the past few months I have been slowly reading my way through Susan Hill's mysteries set in the English cathedral town of Lafferton, and I have finally come to the fifth and last (so far). Hill has announced on her website the publication of the next book in November, and I have already pre-ordered my signed copy.
The mystery in this book again revolves around a serial killer. For a small cathedral town, Lafferton has more than its share of serial killers, and I was thinking that they are rare in older mysteries, which usually have one main murder, and then sometimes the killer strikes again to silence a witness or avert suspicion. In Strong Poison, when Harriet Vane and Peter Wimsey are theorizing about murders, Harriet says, "She's a person with a monomania - no, no - not a homicidal one. That's dull, and not really fair to the reader." Serial killers seem to be a more modern phenomenon.
The killer in this book is targeting prostitutes. Lafferton has a growing problem with prostitution, including the trafficking of young girls from Eastern Europe. This is of course a very real problem in America as well as England, which Hill explores through several characters. The most compelling is Abi Righton, a single mother of two who wants to escape the streets. She appears early in the story and becomes the focus of much of it.
As in previous books, much of the story also focuses on Simon's sister Cat, actually my favorite character. Cat is now a single mother herself, struggling with her medical practice and her three children. In addition, Cat is caught up in conflict over the Cathedral parish, where a new Dean and his wife are making sweeping and unpopular changes. Ruth Webber, the Mrs Dean, is so abrasive that she has won the nickname "Mrs Proudie," and the tensions definitely invoke Anthony Trollope and Barchester. But the conflict, between evangelical and more traditional Anglicans, reflects a very real situation in the Church of England today. Cat is firmly on the side of tradition, ritual, liturgical music - and I would guess from this book alone that Susan Hill is as well.
Hill ended the last book (The Vows of Silence) on a bit of a cliff-hanger. Simon, taking the initiative, followed an impulse to seek out someone from his past, a woman he had pursued who had rejected him, to see if she was now open to a relationship. I expected to find out fairly quickly in this book what happened next, but Simon is absent from Lafferton for much of the first part of the book. We learn the resolution of the cliff-hanger from a postcard Cat receives, which I found a definite anti-climax. Yet as with the first book, the rich cast of characters made up for that, and for the absence of Simon himself. I think I'd actually miss Cat much more than Simon at this point.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Another visit to Lafferton
The Vows of Silence, Susan Hill
Since I discovered Susan Hill's mystery series featuring Simon Serrailler back in March, I've been reading my way through the books- slowly, because it's only five books so far, and probably a long wait for the next one.
The Vows of Silence is the fourth in the series. It is as enthralling as the others, with the police on the hunt for a gunman targeting primarily young women. As in the other books, the POV shifts between characters, including the gunman, who naturally isn't named. Because of his POV sections, we understand his motivation and actions much sooner than the police do. I was actually a little surprised that it took them so long to see the pattern of his victims.
For me, though, this story was overshadowed by the parallel story of Simon's sister Cat and her family. Cat has been my favorite character in the series, a loving daughter, wife, mother and sister, as well as a gifted doctor, and a woman of faith. At the end of the last book, they were setting off for an extended stay in Australia, leaving Simon on his own soon after the death of their mother. As this book opens, Cat and Simon are both rejoicing in their return home. Their joy is quickly interrupted by a medical crisis that threatens Cat's family, and by Simon's anger over their father's new relationship.
By the end of the book, Simon has lost another family member, one of the few close to him. In each book, Hill has stripped away his connections, leaving him more isolated. Aware of his isolation, and somewhat troubled by it, he decides to reach out to someone, a woman who initially rejected him. The book ends without telling us how she responded. (I immediately picked up the next book to see What Happens Next, but there was no mention in the first couple of chapters that I paged through, so I virtuously put it down again).
Since I discovered Susan Hill's mystery series featuring Simon Serrailler back in March, I've been reading my way through the books- slowly, because it's only five books so far, and probably a long wait for the next one.
The Vows of Silence is the fourth in the series. It is as enthralling as the others, with the police on the hunt for a gunman targeting primarily young women. As in the other books, the POV shifts between characters, including the gunman, who naturally isn't named. Because of his POV sections, we understand his motivation and actions much sooner than the police do. I was actually a little surprised that it took them so long to see the pattern of his victims.
For me, though, this story was overshadowed by the parallel story of Simon's sister Cat and her family. Cat has been my favorite character in the series, a loving daughter, wife, mother and sister, as well as a gifted doctor, and a woman of faith. At the end of the last book, they were setting off for an extended stay in Australia, leaving Simon on his own soon after the death of their mother. As this book opens, Cat and Simon are both rejoicing in their return home. Their joy is quickly interrupted by a medical crisis that threatens Cat's family, and by Simon's anger over their father's new relationship.
By the end of the book, Simon has lost another family member, one of the few close to him. In each book, Hill has stripped away his connections, leaving him more isolated. Aware of his isolation, and somewhat troubled by it, he decides to reach out to someone, a woman who initially rejected him. The book ends without telling us how she responded. (I immediately picked up the next book to see What Happens Next, but there was no mention in the first couple of chapters that I paged through, so I virtuously put it down again).
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Back to Lafferton, again
The Risk of Darkness, Susan Hill
I am still working my way through the Simon Serrailler series. As with Louise Penny's marvelous books, I'm finding that I don't want to rush to the next one, but to take some time before returning again to Lafferton.
This third book has several different story lines that weave together across the book. While grounded in Lafferton, much of the action moves away as the hunt continues for the killer of the child David Angus, whose disappearance was left unsolved at the end of The Pure in Heart. Another child has disappeared, in Yorkshire this time, and Simon spends his time back and forth working the cases. We also get the continuing stories of his family, particularly Cat, whose husband is restless and burning out in the demands of the medical system.
The identity of the killer is revealed fairly early, after a heart-pounding seaside rescue. There is a twist to that identity that caught me completely off-guard and sent me back to the start of the book to re-read in light of the revelation. Much of the book is concerned with building the case to answer, and with the killer's mother and step-father, struggling to accept what they have learned.
Among the new characters introduced is Jane, a young woman priest at the Cathedral. She gets caught up in another story threading through the book, that of Cat's patients Max and his dying wife Lizzie. Max's delusional grief leads him to violence, which draws Simon in. At the same time, in yet another thread, Jane's mother in London is viciously attacked. Simon feels an immediate connection to Jane, and I was disappointed that at the end of the book she seems to have disappeared as completely as Freya (though not as finally). Simon also loses a co-worker to a promotion, and Cat's family (temporarily) to Australia, and there is another death in his family as well. He doesn't have many personal connections, or much success at making new ones.
Two more books in the series, and hopefully more to come.
I am still working my way through the Simon Serrailler series. As with Louise Penny's marvelous books, I'm finding that I don't want to rush to the next one, but to take some time before returning again to Lafferton.
This third book has several different story lines that weave together across the book. While grounded in Lafferton, much of the action moves away as the hunt continues for the killer of the child David Angus, whose disappearance was left unsolved at the end of The Pure in Heart. Another child has disappeared, in Yorkshire this time, and Simon spends his time back and forth working the cases. We also get the continuing stories of his family, particularly Cat, whose husband is restless and burning out in the demands of the medical system.
The identity of the killer is revealed fairly early, after a heart-pounding seaside rescue. There is a twist to that identity that caught me completely off-guard and sent me back to the start of the book to re-read in light of the revelation. Much of the book is concerned with building the case to answer, and with the killer's mother and step-father, struggling to accept what they have learned.
Among the new characters introduced is Jane, a young woman priest at the Cathedral. She gets caught up in another story threading through the book, that of Cat's patients Max and his dying wife Lizzie. Max's delusional grief leads him to violence, which draws Simon in. At the same time, in yet another thread, Jane's mother in London is viciously attacked. Simon feels an immediate connection to Jane, and I was disappointed that at the end of the book she seems to have disappeared as completely as Freya (though not as finally). Simon also loses a co-worker to a promotion, and Cat's family (temporarily) to Australia, and there is another death in his family as well. He doesn't have many personal connections, or much success at making new ones.
Two more books in the series, and hopefully more to come.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Back to Lafferton
The Pure in Heart, Susan Hill
This is the second in Susan Hill's Simon Serrailler series. As I posted before, I was immediately drawn into the first, The Various Haunts of Men, immersed in the characters and the world of Lafferton. As I'd also posted, though, I found it odd that the book was labeled "A Simon Serrailler Mystery" when the book seemed to be about so many people other than Simon.
The Pure in Heart, on the other hand, is a Simon book. It opens in Venice, where he is on one of his regular drawing tours. The story shifts quickly back to Lafferton, and to Simon's family and colleagues, as a child-snatching case unfolds. Cat and Chris, Richard and Meriel, Nathan and Emma, Karin, are all there - and one character's absence weighs heavily. Among the new characters is Andy Gunton, just coming out of prison and trying to find his place again. I wanted him to find it and to be safe, I hope we see more of him. Though the story shifts between their POVs, and introduces even more characters, this book seems rooted in Simon.
Though the title may refer to the kidnapped child, David, it also refers to Simon and Cat's sister Martha, profoundly disabled from birth. At the end of this book, we know a family secret involving Martha - a secret only two other people know - and not knowing when or even if this secret will be revealed should add an interesting level of tension to the next book.
This is the second in Susan Hill's Simon Serrailler series. As I posted before, I was immediately drawn into the first, The Various Haunts of Men, immersed in the characters and the world of Lafferton. As I'd also posted, though, I found it odd that the book was labeled "A Simon Serrailler Mystery" when the book seemed to be about so many people other than Simon.
The Pure in Heart, on the other hand, is a Simon book. It opens in Venice, where he is on one of his regular drawing tours. The story shifts quickly back to Lafferton, and to Simon's family and colleagues, as a child-snatching case unfolds. Cat and Chris, Richard and Meriel, Nathan and Emma, Karin, are all there - and one character's absence weighs heavily. Among the new characters is Andy Gunton, just coming out of prison and trying to find his place again. I wanted him to find it and to be safe, I hope we see more of him. Though the story shifts between their POVs, and introduces even more characters, this book seems rooted in Simon.
Though the title may refer to the kidnapped child, David, it also refers to Simon and Cat's sister Martha, profoundly disabled from birth. At the end of this book, we know a family secret involving Martha - a secret only two other people know - and not knowing when or even if this secret will be revealed should add an interesting level of tension to the next book.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Where The Small Hand led me
The Various Haunts of Men, Susan Hill
I had a post last month about Susan Hill's ghost story The Small Hand, which ended up being more about Howards End is on the Landing and where that book led me. And now The Small Hand has led me to more of Hill's books. When I was in Murder by the Book looking for it, I found one of her Simon Serrailler series. I hadn't realized that she wrote mysteries. I flipped through the book and thought it looked like something I'd want to read, but because I was buying other books I virtuously put it back on the shelf. That virtue didn't last long (book restraint rarely does), because I kept thinking that I should have gotten it. And the next time I was in, I did. The one I found on the shelf was actually the second in the series (The Pure in Heart), but due to my OCD book habits I have to read series in order. So I started with The Various Haunts of Men. And within the first few pages, I knew I was right. There's nothing like the feeling of discovering a new author, a new character - especially when it's a series and you can get to know the characters over time, watching them develop.
Like the St. Cyr series I posted about yesterday, these have a compelling main character, but also a wonderful supporting cast, especially his sister Cat and mother Meriel. It's interesting that though this first book is labeled "A Simon Serrailler Mystery," Simon is absent for much of the book, and we only see him through other characters. Though he is constantly discussed and described by other characters, there is nothing from his POV until very late in the book - so I don't feel I knew him as well as I do some of the other characters.
I love the setting of Lafferton, particularly the cathedral close. Just the words "cathedral close" bring Trollope to mind, and knowing that Hill is a Trollope aficionado make me wonder if she chose that setting deliberately. I saw on her website that she says to think of Lafferton in terms of Salisbury or Exeter - I added Barchester to the list. Trollope quotes a review in his autobiography to the effect that his novels are like a part of England mined out and put under a glass dome, so the readers can watch the people of the book going about their daily lives. I think Hill has something of the same gift.
I mentioned Hill on the Marzipan/Dorothy Dunnett list, because I thought there was something a bit Lymondish about Simon. A couple of people responded that they really like this five-book series. Reading that, I thought, wait, I only have four! but I have to have the whole series! Since I'm giving up bookstores for Lent, it was providential that this happened on Tuesday, Mardi Gras, so that I could squeeze a last ABE order in under the wire.
I had a post last month about Susan Hill's ghost story The Small Hand, which ended up being more about Howards End is on the Landing and where that book led me. And now The Small Hand has led me to more of Hill's books. When I was in Murder by the Book looking for it, I found one of her Simon Serrailler series. I hadn't realized that she wrote mysteries. I flipped through the book and thought it looked like something I'd want to read, but because I was buying other books I virtuously put it back on the shelf. That virtue didn't last long (book restraint rarely does), because I kept thinking that I should have gotten it. And the next time I was in, I did. The one I found on the shelf was actually the second in the series (The Pure in Heart), but due to my OCD book habits I have to read series in order. So I started with The Various Haunts of Men. And within the first few pages, I knew I was right. There's nothing like the feeling of discovering a new author, a new character - especially when it's a series and you can get to know the characters over time, watching them develop.
Like the St. Cyr series I posted about yesterday, these have a compelling main character, but also a wonderful supporting cast, especially his sister Cat and mother Meriel. It's interesting that though this first book is labeled "A Simon Serrailler Mystery," Simon is absent for much of the book, and we only see him through other characters. Though he is constantly discussed and described by other characters, there is nothing from his POV until very late in the book - so I don't feel I knew him as well as I do some of the other characters.
I love the setting of Lafferton, particularly the cathedral close. Just the words "cathedral close" bring Trollope to mind, and knowing that Hill is a Trollope aficionado make me wonder if she chose that setting deliberately. I saw on her website that she says to think of Lafferton in terms of Salisbury or Exeter - I added Barchester to the list. Trollope quotes a review in his autobiography to the effect that his novels are like a part of England mined out and put under a glass dome, so the readers can watch the people of the book going about their daily lives. I think Hill has something of the same gift.
I mentioned Hill on the Marzipan/Dorothy Dunnett list, because I thought there was something a bit Lymondish about Simon. A couple of people responded that they really like this five-book series. Reading that, I thought, wait, I only have four! but I have to have the whole series! Since I'm giving up bookstores for Lent, it was providential that this happened on Tuesday, Mardi Gras, so that I could squeeze a last ABE order in under the wire.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Ghost Stories
The Small Hand, Susan Hill
The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, Penelope Lively
One of the books that had the biggest impact on me last year was Susan Hill's Howards End is on the Landing, which had been recommended through a Dunnett group. Every page felt like part of a conversation about books and reading that I never wanted to end - even though we disagree about Jane Austen and Terry Pratchett, but at least she properly appreciates Trollope. And Hill introduced me to two other authors, the Rev. Francis Kilvert with his amazing diaries from the 1870s; and Patrick Leigh Fermor and his travel narratives, possibly the best writer I have ever read. She also reintroduced me to Nancy Mitford - and from there I've discovered Deborah Devonshire and her collaborations with Charlotte Mosely, especially a book of the "Mitford girls'" letters over 50 years.
Last week an email from MBTB announced that they had Hill's new book, The Small Hand, subtitled "A Ghost Story." The main character, Adam Snow, is an antiquarian book dealer. One evening, lost in country backroads, he stops at an overgrown garden, where he feels a small hand slip into his. Adam uncovers more about the garden and its designer, and the hand leads him into the past (literally, I think, though I was a bit confused by that bit). His work as a book dealer leads him to a Trappist monastery in France that holds a First Folio - and that section reflects Hill's great admiration for PLF's A Time to Keep Silence. This is well-written, a fast read with some chilling moments and a couple of major twists, the ending of which left me with some questions (was the old woman in the house real?).
The second ghost story is a children's book, one that won the 1973 Carnegie Medal - and I can see why. I have loved Penelope Lively's books since I came across City of the Mind, which is my favorite book about London. I had recently read her autobiography Oleander, Jacaranda (too long on the TBR pile), and was reminded that her early books were children's books. The Ghost of Thomas Kempe was the first one I could get from the library. Like Hill's it is a ghost story rooted in history - and very much a Lively book, from the characters and the dialogue to the awareness of the layers of history, of other lives lived before us, which always hits me so clearly in England. I thought this was a marvelous book - without the grues of Hill's book, but a rich story.
The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, Penelope Lively
One of the books that had the biggest impact on me last year was Susan Hill's Howards End is on the Landing, which had been recommended through a Dunnett group. Every page felt like part of a conversation about books and reading that I never wanted to end - even though we disagree about Jane Austen and Terry Pratchett, but at least she properly appreciates Trollope. And Hill introduced me to two other authors, the Rev. Francis Kilvert with his amazing diaries from the 1870s; and Patrick Leigh Fermor and his travel narratives, possibly the best writer I have ever read. She also reintroduced me to Nancy Mitford - and from there I've discovered Deborah Devonshire and her collaborations with Charlotte Mosely, especially a book of the "Mitford girls'" letters over 50 years.
Last week an email from MBTB announced that they had Hill's new book, The Small Hand, subtitled "A Ghost Story." The main character, Adam Snow, is an antiquarian book dealer. One evening, lost in country backroads, he stops at an overgrown garden, where he feels a small hand slip into his. Adam uncovers more about the garden and its designer, and the hand leads him into the past (literally, I think, though I was a bit confused by that bit). His work as a book dealer leads him to a Trappist monastery in France that holds a First Folio - and that section reflects Hill's great admiration for PLF's A Time to Keep Silence. This is well-written, a fast read with some chilling moments and a couple of major twists, the ending of which left me with some questions (was the old woman in the house real?).
The second ghost story is a children's book, one that won the 1973 Carnegie Medal - and I can see why. I have loved Penelope Lively's books since I came across City of the Mind, which is my favorite book about London. I had recently read her autobiography Oleander, Jacaranda (too long on the TBR pile), and was reminded that her early books were children's books. The Ghost of Thomas Kempe was the first one I could get from the library. Like Hill's it is a ghost story rooted in history - and very much a Lively book, from the characters and the dialogue to the awareness of the layers of history, of other lives lived before us, which always hits me so clearly in England. I thought this was a marvelous book - without the grues of Hill's book, but a rich story.
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