The Various Haunts of Men

Simon Serrailler 1

De: Susan Hill

Narrado por: Steven Pacey

A woman vanishes in the fog up on "the Hill", an area locally known for its tranquillity and peace. The police are not alarmed; people usually disappear for their own reasons. But when a young girl, an old man, and even a dog disappear, no one can deny that something untoward is happening in this quiet cathedral town. Young policewoman Freya Graffham is assigned to the case; she's new to the job, compassionate, inquisitive, dedicated, and needs to know, perhaps, too much. She and the enigmatic detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler have the task of unravelling the mystery behind this gruesome sequence of events. From the passages revealing the killer's mind to the final heart-stopping twist, The Various Haunts of Men is an astounding and masterly crime debut and is the first in what promises to be a magnificent series featuring Simon Serrailler.©2004 Susan Hill (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

The Thinking Reader's Crime Fiction

Would you consider the audio edition of The Various Haunts of Men to be better than the print version?

Susan Hill is equally good on the page and on audiobook. Steven Pacey's tone, pace and expression are well judged.

What did you like best about this story?

The Serrailler family is so well depicted that I feel I know them. I have a strong mental image of the farmhouse kitchen, Simon's flat and the cathedral close.
Crime fiction which concentrates on the 'why' as much as the 'who' appeals to me. The crime is always in a social and even, in the broadest sense, political context.

What about Steven Pacey’s performance did you like?

The narration is not overstated. As a listener one is aware of the content rather than the performance.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Susan Hill is in touch with the full range of human emotions and shares them with us intelligently.

Great Listen

I was very impressed with this book. It kind of reminded me of the style of Jussi-Adler Olsen and Steig Larrson. The story was suspenseful and moved at a comfortable pace.

Fantastic

Great narration of an absorbing book. Fabulously entertaining. I listened to it in the car and it was wonderful.

A Great Debut

This book proved to be quite a *page turner* for me (or its audio equivalent), even though I've been making lots of noises in resent past about not liking to read about female victims and serial killers, be it fiction or otherwise. And then of course, I get excited about a book that is all about... mostly female victims (a dog too!) and... a serial killer. I went as far as sacrificing my bedtime reading session last night, which I always devote to an eye-eading book usually, but there was just one hour to go and I just HAD to finish it then and there. Describing the storyline without spoilers doesn't yield anything terribly original, and you can read the summary anywhere, but I'll say what made this one click for me was the main characters; the fact they all evolve in a small tight-knit community (some of the protagonists are family members of Simon Serailler, the hero of the series); also what I'd have to characterize as a woman's point of view, with lots of little details that only a woman would think to put in, which somehow made the whole mess bypass the inner critic who is always ready to ban disturbing reading from my life. I'll be continuing with the next book in the Simon Serrailler series for sure.

The narrator Steven Pacey added a lot to my enjoyment and I'm glad he narrated all the subsequent books so far.

From the thoughts of the murderer....

Although set conventionally in a country cathedral city with pleasant villages around, this detective story is certainly not "cosy". It is presented in the format whereby the thoughts of a very creepy killer are interspersed between the thoughts and feelings of the victims and description of the police actions. In this respect it is extremely well written and although you may often suspect what is about to happen it is still frighteningly suspenseful and almost impossible to stop listening.

The book also highlights the particular gullibility of those who are unhappy or depressed and how easy it is for them to be exploited and manipulated by the unscrupulous.

The large and varied cast of civilian characters, even minor ones, are interesting and well described. DCI Simon Serailler is as yet a fascinating enigma and it is fortunate that there are further books to come where we mayl find out more about him and his team. It is good to see that they are also narrated by Steven Pacey who makes each character an individual and adds much to the enjoyment of listening to this book and I definitely look forward to listening to the rest of the series.