Customer Reviews

The Shadows in the Street: A Simon Serrailler Novel (Simon Serrailler 5)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

To paraphrase the author`s own words from the book - "what delighted (the reader) was the prose, the sense of place, the richness of the text".
Susan Hill`s ability to draw bijou personalities of her minor characters, bringing them to life to play their individual parts in the drama which is the murder of prostitutes in the town of Lafferton contributes largely to the enjoyment of the mystery. She describes the areas of the town with such clarity that you can walk along the canal in the darkness, feel the infinite strength of the ancient Cathedral and the peace of the Close, smell the flowers and absorb the atmosphere created by sunshine, the rain and the shadows .
Once again, her confident yet self-contained Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serailler uses his understanding of human emotions and actions in order to pursue the objective - who is strangling the girls and why do they deviate to include two other local women , ordinary residents of the town. He and his team have to avoid red herrings in their high profile investigation which involves not only the public but the residents of Cathedral Close where he himself lives not far from his sister Cat, a doctor and her three children who are mourning the death of Cat`s husband. Will he final solve the case? Such is the author`s artistry, it is impossible to work out who the perpetrator is until the final pages.
A truly rewarding read - I look forward to reading more from Susan Hill. I have become a devoted fan.

Could not put it down, another Susan Hill success as always very well written with plenty of gripping human interest.

Hill can always be trusted to develop a strong, well writtern novel. This series doesn't become repetative which makes it an enjoyable read.

Up to the high standard of the previous Simon Serralier novels. Also read the Woman in Black by the same author which I really enjoyed

Wasn't, as good as the first four books by HIll. But there again well written. I thought the writer was struggling towards the ending, it could have been better.
I'm p.m.

Love Susan Hills work. A gripping thriller beautifully written well researched and written with deep understanding of the characters. More please

I really enjoyed this book and am now reading all the others in the series. I feel I know the characters and want to find out what happens to them. I guessed the murderer before the end of the book but that didn't detract from the enjoyment.

This is not the crime novel described in the Amazon review. To me a crime novel is one where the author puts clues into the story, including red herrings, so that readers can try to work out "whodunnit". This book does not do that. Instead one of the minor characters is eventually revealed, out of the blue, to be a prostitute hating nutter and that's that, case solved. OK, develop the characters of the police and others by all means, but for a book to be a crime novel the author needs to put in some clues!

Others seem to like the book, which is fine. But for me it was very disappointing.

Susan Hill books are real page turners and once started I did not want to put them down till they were finished. Recommended reading.

Previous reviewers have explained the nature of this series, how it's much more than crime stories, so I needn't go into that. There are so many layers to each book, all skilfully handled: the crime, the detection, the Serailler family, the victims, the criminals, and none of these are overdone or dwelt on at the expense of the narrative. I have read six, still think the first was perhaps best, and must admit to dropping out after the fourth which I thought was a little rushed, as thougn the author was tiring of her characters. There was a mighty event in that book which I thought merited more depth of feeling. However, I was in hospital for a week in December and looking for something to read, picked up the first book again and was back on the hook. I have now read and re-read the six books with great enjoyment and admiration. One of the best features is the way Susan Hill writes with sympathy about the ups and downs of ordinary lives, how unexceptional people deal with, or fail to deal with, exceptional and horrifying events. I can only urge anyone who hasn't yet entered this world to start now. By the way I'm not very sure if I like Simon, he's a bit of a selfish prig at times, although I think he admits it. I'm also not sure how to pronounce Serrailler, is it English or French?