It was a very happy day for me when I discovered a new Simon Serrailler Case by the brilliant Susan Hill. This is an absolutely superb series of crime novels. Simon Serrailler is a detective chief superintendent in Lafferton, a fictional cathedral town in the south of England, Simon is also an artist who sometimes exhibits his art works and he has a flat in a beautiful Georgian house in the cathedral close. He has a twin sister, Cat, who is a doctor. Cat’s first husband died, leaving her with two sons and a daughter and she is now married to Kieron, Simon’s boss.
This case relates to the increase of drugs in the area and, in particular, to the practice of ‘county lines’ which has vulnerable young people acting as messengers, taking drugs in packets to assigned places, usually first having been given gifts and then told they owed the giver a favour, or being threatened with exposure or blackmail. There are some very nasty individuals involved and Simon’s purpose is to try and get to the higher-ups in the organisation and put an end to at least part of the insidious illegal drugs trade in his area.
Simon’s family life, and his romantic life, are fascinating subjects. In this book Simon is considering leaving his perfect flat in its wonderful setting and buying a house and moving out into the countryside. He is wondering if he is at last ready to share his life with Rachel, the woman he loves - or does he?
As with all of Susan Hill’s books I was faced with the dilemma of wanting to read until my eyes dropped out; or, alternatively, taking it slow so I didn’t get to the end too soon. Well, my eyes did drop out (or, almost) but I have put them back in and wish I had taken the slow option so there was still more of this terrific story waiting for me.
For anyone who hasn’t read Susan Hill’s Simon Serrailler series, I recommend starting them from the start. I rate them all 5 out of 5.
Published by Vintage.
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