MostlyFiction Book Reviews » Susan Hill We Love to Read! Wed, 14 May 2014 13:06:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.3 THE SHADOWS IN THE STREET by Susan Hill /2010/the-shadows-in-the-street-by-susan-hill/ /2010/the-shadows-in-the-street-by-susan-hill/#comments Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:58:00 +0000 /?p=11845 Book Quote:

“The hardest part is trying to find a way of accepting that there is nothing you can do about any of it. Nothing you can do to change it, or to put the clock back, or put things right if they were wrong.”

Book Review:

Review by Eleanor Bukowsky (SEP 3, 2010)

Susan Hill’s The Shadows in the Street is her fifth Simon Serrallier mystery. Hill continues to engage us with fresh characters and intriguing story lines. Simon does not even appear in the early chapters, since he is vacationing on a remote Scottish island, “where people did not hurry and there was little noise other than the sounds of nature.” Back in Lafferton, Simon’s twin sister, Dr. Cat Deerborn, is worried about her oldest child, Sam, who is upset but stubbornly uncommunicative, “an oyster, closed up tight.”

The most compelling aspect of this novel is its frank depiction of young women who walk the streets trying to earn quick money.  Some of them “were probably no more than twenty, thin, hollow-eyed, their legs without tights under the short strips of skirt.” One of them, Abi Righton, has a small son and daughter whom she adores. She never touches drugs and, against all odds, dreams of going to college and getting a proper job. When a killer begins stalking and strangling prostitutes, Detective Chief Superintendent Serrallier and his team work tirelessly to find a clever and elusive murderer.

Hill’s well-delineated characters include fifty-three year old Leslie Blade, a solitary and eccentric librarian who lives with his homebound mother; Jonty Lewis, a vicious bully and drug addict who enjoys abusing women; Ruth Webber, the bossy and obnoxious wife of the new Dean of St. Michael’s cathedral; Judith, Simon and Cat’s sympathetic and gentle stepmother; and Ben Vanek, an ambitious Detective Sergeant who worships Simon. When no quick solution to the murders is forthcoming, the media and Simon’s boss impatiently demand results. Soon, Serrallier’s pleasant holiday fades to a distant memory as he directs his team to study CCTV tapes, distribute leaflets, and interview potential witnesses.

The Shadows in the Street is a grim tale about the ways in which people deal with bereavement, abject loneliness, and chronic mental illness. The author depicts the terrible plight of desperate single mothers who sell the only commodity that they have—themselves– in order to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. This is an engrossing police procedural in which a frustrated Simon faces the possibility that he may fail to solve an important case, Cat struggles to emerge from her year of misery, and a shadowy individual with a hidden agenda wreaks havoc on a lovely cathedral town. For maximum enjoyment, this series should be read in order, starting with The Various Haunts of Men.

AMAZON READER RATING: stars-4-0from 9 readers
PUBLISHER: Overlook Hardcover (September 2, 2010)
REVIEWER: Eleanor Bukowsky
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK? Not Yet
AUTHOR WEBSITE: Susan Hill
EXTRAS: Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: Read our review of:

Partial Bibliography:

Simon Serrailler Mystery Series:

Nonfiction:

]]> /2010/the-shadows-in-the-street-by-susan-hill/feed/ 0 THE VOWS OF SILENCE by Susan Hill /2009/vows-of-silence-by-susan-hill/ /2009/vows-of-silence-by-susan-hill/#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:46:14 +0000 /?p=5992 Book Quote:

“Love? He was bewildered. Something which had begun in a half-hearted way, something he had dared himself to do, had turned him inside out and he had no experience, no knowledge, no emotional resources to draw on for help. He felt churned up, with anxiety, confusion, regret even at having started this in the first place.”

Book Review:

Review by Eleanor Bukowsky (OCT 29, 2009)

In The Vows of Silence, the fourth Simon Serrailler mystery, Susan Hill picks up where she left off in The Risk of Darkness. Detective Chief Superintendent Serrailler remains a loner who relishes his job and enjoys his passion for drawing. His warm and compassionate sister, Dr. Cat Deerbon, her husband, Chris, and their three small children return from their nine-month stay in Australia, and Simon resumes his old habit of dropping by to hang out with Cat and her family. However, there are changes in store for the residents of the cathedral town of Lafferton, and not all of them are pleasant.

Hill has never shied away from depicting life’s tragedies. Characters whom we have come to care about experience misfortune and heartbreak, and the author makes no attempt to sugarcoat their grief. The whodunit involves an expert marksman who shoots young women and then disappears, leaving behind no forensic evidence. As the number of victims rises, Simon and his team pull out all the stops to catch the predator. However, without witnesses or any helpful leads, the detectives are frustrated by their inability to apprehend the killer.

The strength of this book lies in its lucid prose style, beautiful descriptive writing, smooth dialogue, and superb characterizations. There are touching scenes between a fifty-two year old man and a forty-six year old woman who are dating for the first time after losing their spouses. Hill sensitively captures their reluctance to take a risk with someone new, lest they experience further heartbreak. The author suggests that all change brings with it an element of uncertainty. When someone takes on a new job, establishes a new relationship, or moves to a new location, there is always the possibility of disappointment. However, if we remain mired in our comfortable and familiar routines out of fear, we may miss out on wonderful experiences and satisfying relationships.

Even for a Serrailler novel, The Vows of Silence has an overabundance of gloom and only a tiny glimmer of light to counterbalance it. It is unlikely that so many catastrophes would happen to so many people in so short a time. Still, Susan Hill draws us in and keeps us in thrall, as we eagerly wait to learn what will happen next.

AMAZON READER RATING: stars-4-0from 4 readers
PUBLISHER: Overlook Hardcover (October 29, 2009)
REVIEWER: Eleanor Bukowsky
AMAZON PAGE: The Vows of Silence
AUTHOR WEBSITE: Susan Hill
EXTRAS: Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION: Read our review of:

The Risk of Darkness

The Shadows in the Street

If you like this author, try these:

Karin Fossom

Tom Rob Smith

Elena Forbes

Partial Bibliography:

Simon Serrailler Mystery Series:

Nonfiction:

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