The various haunts of men : a Simon Serrailler mystery

Format:

Book

Title:

The various haunts of men : a Simon Serrailler mystery

Author:

Hill, Susan, 1942- author

ISBN:

9781585678761

Publication:

Woodstock, N.Y. : The Overlook Press, 2007.

Physical Description:

vii, 437 pages ; 24 cm

Number in series:

Summary:

"A lonely woman of 53 vanishes while out on her morning run--hidden in her cupboard is an expensive pair of cuff-links with a note: 'To You, with all possible love from your devoted, Me'. A 22-year-old girl never returns from an early morning walk. An old man disappears too. Experienced policemen know that most missing persons either turn up or go missing on purpose. But fresh young policewoman Freya Graffham is assigned to the case. She's new to the job, compassionate, dedicated, and inquisitive--maybe too inquisitive. What, she wonders, could possibly link the people who disappear on "The Hill," young and old, men and women, even a little dog? Freya and the enigmatic detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrallier have the task of unraveling the mystery behind this increasingly gruesome sequence of events."--Page 4 of cover.

Personal Subject:

Serrailler, Simon (Fictitious character)-Fiction.

Serrailler, Simon (Fictitious character)

Subject(s):

Police -- England -- Fiction.

Missing persons -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Genre:

Detective and mystery fiction

Fiction

Detective and mystery stories.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... McMinnville Public Library	Hill, S.	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Newberg Public Library	MYSTERY HILL	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Silver Falls Library	MYS HILL	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

As the story begins, a lonely woman vanishes while out on her morning run. Then a 22-year-old girl never returns from a walk. An old man disappears too. When fresh-faced policewoman Freya Graffham is assigned to the case, she runs the risk of getting too invested--too involved--in the action. Alongside the enigmatic detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrallier, she must unravel the mystery before events turn too gruesome. Written with intelligence, compassion, and a knowing eye--in the tradition of the fabulous mysteries of Ruth Rendell and P.D. James--The Various Haunts of Men is an enthralling journey into the heart of a wonderfully developed town, and into the very mind of a killer.

Author Notes

Susan Hill was born in Scarborough, United Kingdom on February 5, 1942. She received a degree in English from King's College in London in 1963. Her first book, The Enclosure, was published during her first year at university. She worked as a freelance journalist between 1963 and 1968 and has been a monthly columnist for the Daily Telegraph since 1977. She founded her own publishing company, Long Barn Books, in 1996 and publishes a literary magazine called Books and Company.

She has written works of fiction and non-fiction as well as children's books. She also edits short story compilations. Her works include Gentleman and Ladies, A Change for the Better, The Woman in Black, The Mist in the Mirror, and the Simon Serrailler Crime Novel series. She has won numerous awards including a Somerset Maugham Award for I'm the King of the Castle, the Whitbread Novel Award for The Bird of Night, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for The Albatross, and the Smarties Prize for Can It Be True?

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Weaving together a variety of subtly interrelated narratives, British author Hill (Air and Angels) embeds a thoughtful reflection on alternative medicine into a taut and suspenseful mystery, the first of a new crime series featuring Chief Insp. Simon Serrailler. Having transferred to the small cathedral town of Lafferton from London's "Met," police detective Freya Graffham explores her new community and becomes fascinated by Serrailler, her enigmatic superior. Though she fits well within the local police force, she finds herself unable to let go what seems like a routine missing persons report on a middle-aged spinster. When yet more townspeople turn up missing, her hunch is verified and a serious police search begins, bringing her into closer proximity with Serrailler at the same time it exposes her to danger. A dark but entirely convincing ending may startle some readers, but Hill's fine writing and nuanced insight into human nature should appeal to fans of such masters of the psychological thriller as P.D. James, Elizabeth George and Ruth Rendell, who provides a blurb. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Kirkus Review

Whatever you do, don't go clumping up the Hill. At first, nobody thought much about Angela Randall's disappearance, though it was odd that this prim, conscientious, middle-aged job-holder would simply leave without a word. But Sgt. Freya Graffham, new to the Lafferton CID, has a bad feeling and decides to investigate the case with some help from DC Nathan Coates. They make few inroads until a pudgy young girl goes missing, too. The vanished don't seem to have much in common except for outings on the Hill and hints of depression that had driven them to alternate-therapy practitioners. Another woman, trying to deal with a life-threatening cancer, has also turned to the fringe element to deal with her problem. Freya and Nathan, now under auspices of the enigmatic but dishy Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler, must separate do-gooders from charlatans ranging from an acupuncturist to a spiritualist to a psychic surgeon (don't ask). The suspense builds, climaxing with another death, then plummeting with the dnouement, which is nowhere near as gripping as the road leading to it. Freya's love obsession is a bit over the top, Simon is in need of serious fleshing-out, and surely it's old-hat to deride New Agers, incense, herbs and vegans. All in all, an inauspicious series beginning from an author (The Risk of Darkness, 2006, etc.) once short-listed for the Booker Prize. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal Review

Lafferton, an idyllic village just far enough from the madness of London, is a paragon of tranquility and peace, with a lovely cathedral and a stand of ancient stones on "the Hill." But then a woman goes missing from there, and then another, and another. Young policewoman Freya Graffham is assigned to investigate the suspected serial killings. Recently transferred from London, she is young, bright, inquisitive, dedicated, and smitten with Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler, although her new friends warn her that he's enigmatic, withdrawn, and withholding of both affection and commitment. As their relationship and the investigation unfold, the killer is revealed in a series of eerie first-person passages. He is close to both Simon and Freya-and getting closer. This is the first of Whitbread Award the winner Hill's three Simon Serrailler mysteries (following Pure in Heart and Risk of Darkness) to be published in the United States after receiving high praise in Britain. Hill is a master storyteller with real talent for building atmosphere and suspense. Readers will be instantly drawn to her likable characters and beautiful landscape and will be carried along by the plot, right up to the shocking final twist. Fans of British mysteries will love this new series and Simon Serrailler as well. Highly recommended.-Susan Clifford Braun, Aerospace Corp. Lib., El Segundo, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.