The Vows of Silence - Susan Hill

You have the right to remain silent (1306 words)
by SWSt - written on 31/03/09 (Very useful, 192 readings)
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A new Susan Hill Simon Serrailler book is always an event to look forward to, given the quality of the previous three books in the series. Thankfully, this latest continues the standard set by the earlier trilogy. The Vows of Silence sees a gunman or gunmen killing people in Lafferton. As if that the pressure of trying to track down the killer(s) wasn t enough, the Serrailler family have mounting personal problems of their own to overcome. What makes the Serrailler novels such a joy to read is that they are not purely murder-mystery crime novels. At times, they are as much soap opera as crime book; such is the concentration on the family life of the Serraillers. If that ...

The Mist in the Mirror - Susan Hill

The Ninth Gate but even better......, (178 words)
by mcader - written on 26/02/09, updated on 26/02/09 (Very useful, 78 readings)
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This book has a great cover. Judge it by its cover! I remember this tale with affection for its sheer atmosphere seen through a quaint, 19th century style of writing but which adds to the vivid and absorbing quality. Her writing is always vivid and dark, and this is a tale in the old sense. It reminded me of the Polanski film The Ninth Gate, where curiosity leads us into an ultimate trap....It is a good old-fashioned ghost story, particular and yet elusive; vaguely compelling but it is not frightening. However, it is well-crafted to a point where the mystery that so unfolds can be ultimately estimated or deduced. The manipulating evil of a man lays a curse ...

The Pure in Heart - Susan Hill

Return to Lafferton (925 words)
by SWSt - written on 23/01/08 (Very useful, 110 readings)
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The Pure in Heart is Susan Hill s follow-up to The Various Haunts of Men, which introduced the world to DCI Simon Serailler and his family. The events of this book take place approximately 12 months after the first, and concentrate on efforts to find a missing child and his abductor. Straight away, an important thing to say is that you will definitely get more from this book if you have already read Haunts. It builds on events and characters introduced there, and there are constant references back to it. You can just about read Pure in Heart as a standalone book, but there will be several sections which do not make much sense to you. Hill simply assumes you will have ...