The Various Haunts Of Men (Simon Serrailler 1)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in The Various Haunts Of Men (Simon Serrailler 1) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'Susan Hill has always been able to tell a good story... and we should be delighted that she has turned her formidable talent to crime writing. This is the first of what promises to be a splendid series.' Daily Mail 20050617 This book must be judged as a potential successor to the great sequences of detective writing by PD James and Ruth Rendell...excellent Daily Telegraph The novel is not only a gripping whodunit but a subtle study of the mind of a psychopath Daily Mail She has the priceless ability to construct a solidly-researched narrative that keeps the reader turning the pages Independent
Book Description
'I loved this book...Not all great novelists can write crime fiction but when Susan Hill does the result is stunning' Ruth Rendell
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I practice in the English criminal courts, and usually avoid crime novels on a "busman's holiday" pretext; more often than not, however, the pedant in me corrects procedural and legal details as I read. Not the best way to relax whilst reading!
However, there were no such problems with "The Various Haunts of Men". Meticulously well researched, the author illuminates but never lectures on police practice and procedures, and gets even minor but tricky detail correct, such as the appropriate use of a search warrant.
But it is not as a lawyer's procedural primer that the book succeeds. It's just a damn good page-turner. The bite-sized chapters give pace; the characters and settings are thoroughly modern and thoroughly English, always a good thing; and the Serrailler family themselves are a most intriguing set of characters of whom I look forward to reading much more of.
It's also fun, if one is familiar with England and its county and cathedral towns, to guess at the closest match to Lafferton and Bevham. My best guess is that the former is Winchester to the latter's Southampton. No doubt others will have their own views.
An excellent story, with a most unexpected and unconventional twist. A good summer/winter/autumn/spring read. You'll want to read the whole series in one sitting after finishing this riveting book.
However, there were no such problems with "The Various Haunts of Men". Meticulously well researched, the author illuminates but never lectures on police practice and procedures, and gets even minor but tricky detail correct, such as the appropriate use of a search warrant.
But it is not as a lawyer's procedural primer that the book succeeds. It's just a damn good page-turner. The bite-sized chapters give pace; the characters and settings are thoroughly modern and thoroughly English, always a good thing; and the Serrailler family themselves are a most intriguing set of characters of whom I look forward to reading much more of.
It's also fun, if one is familiar with England and its county and cathedral towns, to guess at the closest match to Lafferton and Bevham. My best guess is that the former is Winchester to the latter's Southampton. No doubt others will have their own views.
An excellent story, with a most unexpected and unconventional twist. A good summer/winter/autumn/spring read. You'll want to read the whole series in one sitting after finishing this riveting book.
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For fans of the PD James/Ruth Rendell et al genre like myself, the wait between books can be nothing short of excruciating. It's with almost indecent enthusiasm, therefore, that one snaps up a new book by a new writer (new to me anyway, as I've never read Susan Hill's literary fiction). Often, though, new writers disappoint, as can authors' attempts to forge a niche for themselves in a new market - but that's certainly not the case with The Various Haunts of Men.
This is a great read - a gripping, page-turning thriller with engaging characters, a tight and twisting plot, and a strong sense of place and time. The suspense is sustained right through to the end, and the twists of the plot are gradually revealed so that the reader solves the mystery alongside the characters. It's packed with detail too - the seemingly trivial minutiae of modern life are described with a clarity that enriches the plausibility of characters and storyline.
Highly recommended - I'm sorely tempted to rush out and purchase the second in the series in hardback when the withdrawal symptoms kick in!
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was my first experience of Susan Hill as a crime novelist and I was not disappointed, despite guessing 'whodunnit' quite early on! Initially the number of characters we are introduced to can seem a little overwhelming, but most of them do gradually fit into the story, and I am sure many (the ones not killed off in this one that is) will recur in the next two books, which I will be delving into very soon I hope. There is a slightly unusual style in that Simon Serailler is supposed to be the main character and yet we never actually get into his head in this book, he is just on the fringe, we instead get introduced to his family and background, primarily his sister, the local GP...in fact his entire family are doctors or retired doctors...making him the big disappointment of the family! Overall I feel any faults with this story are outweighed by the good points and I will definitely continue to read this series.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Simon and family
I am a fan of Susan Hill at the best of times and I am enjoying the Simon Serrailler series to date. Read more
Published 1 month ago by teen reader
Gripping
Loved this book and can't wait to start the next in the series! It's a long time since I've read such a gripping novel and not been bored or put off by the over-use of offensive... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lorna Dempster
Not my cup of tea
I bought this book on recommendation of Jo Brand that I read in some magazine, so was disappointed that it didn't come up to expectations. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Chris R
Much too slow
Bought this cheap and glad I did not pay full price. It takes at least half the book to actually get going. Once it does it is an OK book, but far too slow for may taste. Read more
Published 3 months ago by M. Jones
Holds the attention well but some jarring details
I found the structure of the book to be well done: introducing a whole range of characters who tie into the story, many of them with quite plausible lives and characters - though... Read more
Published 3 months ago by AMCJ
A crime thriller that's not very thrilling at all
I was quite excited about the prospect of reading this book for my book group, as I've been impressed by the quality of Susan Hill's writing before (I'm the King of The Castle is a... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Sarah
Indescribable
When I started reading this book I first though that what I had in my hands a rare publisher's error; that I had a sub-standard first draft of a Mills & Boone novel within the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Malcolm Smith
A good, chilling Read
Susan Hill is a most accomplished author and I enjoyed this book. It has depth, atmosphere, a good plot and the characters are well drawn. Read more
Published 6 months ago by W. Tegner
Susan Hill, the novelist who doesn't believe in happy endings
Let me amend that title slightly - her endings have a certain emotional satisfaction, but a bleakness which has you going over alternative scenarios in your mind afterwards, and... Read more
Published 6 months ago by S. Robinson
Not cosy detective fiction
Don't buy this book if you are looking for comfortable crime fiction in the tradition of English female writers. Read more
Published 6 months ago by patrice
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
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?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
