I have now read Susan Hill's three books featuring Simon Serrailer and unfortunately read the second before the first which was a stupid accident, but in no way has this diminished my enjoyment. Have just finished the Various Haunts of Men and even though I knew the identity of the murderer having had it mentioned, albeit briefly, in the Pure in Heart, the first book is so wonderfully written and with so many twists and turns and blind alleys, that I still wondered if I my memory was correct!
These three books are simply wonderful and gripping and once started I could not put them down and had to read straight through. The hero, if that is how he can be designated, DCI Simon Serrailer is one of these fascinating flawed tortured characters with an inbuilt inner life that allows nobody in.
I think there is a clue to his personality early on in the book when he tells us that in his other life as an artist, he only works in pencil, pen and charcoal. He never uses colour which suggests to me that here is somebody who likes fine detail and to be in control, paint and colour would be messy. He is also elegant, fastidious and handsome, just like my all time favourite detective, Roderick Alleyn, created by Ngaio Marsh. Wonder if Susan Hill has read any of her books?
