Sure Shot

In 2021 I discovered the Simon Serrailler crime novel series by Dame Susan Hill.  I quickly read the first three novels - The Various Haunts of Men (2004), The Pure in Heart (2005), and The Risk of Darkness (2006) in rapid succession. I then thought I would take a short break before reading more, but did not expect that my break would take two years!

Looking for a juicy crime thriller, I picked up the fourth novel in the Serrailler series - The Vows of Silence (2008) and quickly inhaled this story. 

The fictional English town of Lafferton is rocked by a crime wave with a series of shootings that would seem unrelated and random. The only commonality of the victims is that they are all engaged or newlywed women. Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler is leading the Serious Incident Flying Taskforce to track down this killer before he strikes again. With the locals on high alert and the media pressing for answers, Serrailler is also under pressure to keep the community safe at an upcoming society wedding and a community fair.

Serrailler is facing added stress outside of work. His beloved brother-in-law has taken ill, his father is dating again, and an old flame is back in town. His sister Cat is trying to hold the family together, while at the same time grieving the loss of a friend. I have grown fond of the Serrailler family over the course of these novels and enjoy the sibling bonds depicted in this family.

Aside from the main tale, Susan Hill infuses the novel with realistic side stories about people in the local community. Middle-aged widow Helen is a single parent to two teenagers, one of whom has been swept up in evangelism and is now behaving erratically. She has just met Phil through an online dating service and is trying to balance the exciting prospect of a new life with someone and the needs of her children.

Hill has a fascinating way of blending a police procedural with observances of domestic life. Through the vignettes of the Serrailler family and other members of the community, we see people grappling with illness, death, love, isolation and aging. Indeed I probably engage more with these tales than the crime activity as I noticed my rapid page turning was less about finding the killer and more about finding out what was happening with these characters.

Overall I enjoyed this novel and will undoubtedly continue to work my way through this collection. I hope that in future novels we see different types of crimes and potentially another location, lest Lafferton develop a Midsomeresque body count.

My reviews of other novels in the Simon Serrailler series are available on this blog:

• The Various Haunts of Men (2004) - Serrailler #1
•  The Pure in Heart (2005) - Serrailler #2
• The Risk of Darkness (2006) - Serrailler #3