|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
Review
“Elegant.”
—The New York Times Book Review
"A new crime novel by Susan Hill is an event eagerly awaited by all aficionados of fiction who enjoy a mystery best when excitement, suspense and superb story-telling are allied to psychological truth and fine writing."
—P. D. James
"Susan Hill's Serrailler novels, with their persuasively-drawn copper and his equally well-rounded family, are real treats."
—Daily Express
"Nothing's quite as it seems, except Hill's brilliantly compelling prose."
—Daily Mirror
"A crime tale with an emotional core."
—The Herald
"Susan Hill is extremely rare if not unique in having achieved enormous literary success in two genres, that of so-called straight novels and crime fiction... deeply engrossing and enjoyable."
—Antonia Fraser, The Lady
From the Hardcover edition.
Product Description
Susan Hill's most exciting crime novel yet, another gripping and psychologically acute story set in the darker side of a Cathedral town. Now available in trade paperback from Vintage Canada.
Simon Serrailler is on a sabbatical when he is recalled to Lafferton to investigate the murders of two local prostitutes. By the time he returns, another girl has disappeared. Is this a vendetta against prostitutes by someone with a warped mind? Or a series of killings by an angry customer? But then one of the Cathedral wives goes missing, followed by another young married woman, on her way to work. Serrailler follows lead after lead, all of which become dead ends. It is only through a piece of luck, a chance meeting and a life put in grave danger that he finally gets a result...
Susan Hill has a genius for evoking atmosphere and suspense, and her characters are so real that the reader is caught up not only in the mystery but in the drama of their lives.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Susan Hill's Serraller as Complex as Ever,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Shadows in the Street (Hardcover)
Susan Hill is a very prolific author, but I know her work mainly for her Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler series of crime novels, of which The Shadows in the Street is the most recent. After a grueling taskforce job is completed, Simon is resting and recouping on a remote island off the coast of Scotland, until he is called back to investigate a string of murders and disappearances of women, mostly prostitutes, in his home village of Lafferton. Meanwhile, his twin sister Cat is still recovering from the death of her husband Chris, trying to cope with the reactions of her three small children, dealing with her busy medical practice and feeling overwhelmed by it all; it doesn't help that her Anglican Church has a new Dean, fresh from London, who is evangelical and full of plans to change the structure of the services that she loves; the fact that the Dean's wife is a petty tyrant bent on changing everything to suit herself, up to and including turfing Simon out of the flat in which he lives at the top of a building possibly owned by the Church, is just one more irritant in Cat's life. These two story lines converge, gradually, and although I spotted the likely killer fairly early on, it's a testament to Hill's writing skills that I wasn't entirely certain until the last pages of the book. As with many crime novelists these days, Hill's strength lies largely in her psychological insight into not just the killers in her stories, but the victims and the police investigators and other people affected by the crime. Cat still strikes me as a relatively straightforward character, but that might simply be because Simon is so closed off and complex that she just comes across as someone easier to understand; but their relationship, and the relationships among other family members and members of the wider community, are all richly described; the readers feels s/he knows these individuals, or others very like them, in their own communities. Highly recommended, but this is a series where it's necessary to start at the beginning (The Various Haunts of Men) and work your way through the entire series in order to get the most out of it.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Ms. Hill took the easy way out ....,
This review is from: The Shadows in the Street (Hardcover)
As an author who is known for her psychological insights and thrillers, I was disappointed by the two portrayals of mental illness in The Shadows in the Street. It seems to me that Ms. Hill went for the easy solution - the psychotic killer who has multiple personalities. It is a trite ending and one that doesn't do justice to the build up of characters and story.It also does not do justice to people who have Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly called Multiple Personality Disorder), and have almost always developed it as a means to cope with severe trauma. It harkens to the horror movie that makes the bad guy someone with such a condition, in order to make him act completely irrationally and violently. This is completely not true for people who have this and other psychiatric conditions often negatively portrayed in media, and unfortunately and author who would normally seem to know better - who doesn't need to go for the easy way out - perpetuates harmful myths that actually hurt real people who cope with these illnesses and experiences. In addition there is the portrayal of the oh-so-hard to live with person with bipolar/manic depression. This characterization is universally negative and pessimistic. It is implied by characters, including Dr. Cat - the family doctor who is usually so knowlegeable - that as a result of this illness, no one could possibly have a life worth living, that such a person is an incredible burden to their family. This is supported by many other characters as well. There is no positive indication that there are those who live very good lives with this very troubling condition. I am not saying the experience of bipolar disorder is'a 'get out of jail free' card, nor am I saying that it's a prison sentence for yourself and anyone who cares about you - it is an illness with varying degrees of severity and willingness for people to do the extremely hard work which is necessary in order to thrive in healthful ways for yourself and others. Ms. Hills portrayal was universally pessimistic and Dr. Cat's acquiesence, if not assertion of this perspective, gave it the false ring of truth. I remain a fan but this was very disappointing ...
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Great Case for Serailler!,
By
This review is from: The Shadows in the Street (Hardcover)
Reason for Reading: Next in the series.I enjoy Susan Hill as a writer so much, even though I've only read three of her books so far! Fortunately she has an extensive backlist that will keep me busy for a long time. This latest Simon Serrailler novel continues on very much with the private lives of the Serrailler family, namely his sister and her children and his father and his new wife. They dynamics of Simon's private life takes up a good amount of space in these novels. The book also starts out by introducing all the characters and having them going about their daily lives that one becomes wrapped up in the story and is well into the book before a murder even happens. Prostitutes are being strangled and found in the river of the Chapel town that Simon and his family live in. They have two strong suspects but neither can be proved nor do they really seem to fit as the unsub. Trying to work an angle involving an unsub who has some psychological reason for going after prostitutes is thrown for a loop when the resident Dean (Reverend)'s wife goes missing, then next a married a mom with two children. A case that has Simon and his teams going nowhere fast as every clue ends up back where they started. I enjoy these mysteries tremendously. The characterization is wonderful. All players are fully fleshed out with backstories and personalities. The mystery is intelligent and clever. I had my eye on the culprit but can't really say I solved this one as I also had my eye on a few others! I read the book quickly over the weekend; it was one of those can't put it down 'til I'm finished books. The type of mystery found here is best described as a psychological suspense. The pace of the writing keeps in tempo with the pace of the case, at times slow as we bang our heads on desks trying to make sense of it all and then boom! we're off on another lead or another body has been found. Another great entry to the series. Recommended.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
