The Various Haunts of Men

Simon Serrailler 1

By: Susan Hill

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Small Town Murders

Before listening to The Various Haunts of Men I have read only one book by Susan Hill - The Man in the Picture - and was captivated by its gothic atmosphere and stylish writing. Perhaps that raised my bar too high. I was a bit dissapointed by this book. The plot is familiar to anyone who follows Midsomer Murders - cosy villages and toy towns harbouring deep secrets and a host of macabre characters. However, it is still masterfully written, if unoriginal and forgettable. The characters rather flat and anyone with interest in crime/ mystery genre will be having deja vu's many times. I could fare better with my credit...

Narrator is very good, though...

I wish someone had warned me........

I had really been looking forward to this one, but I wish someone had warned me about the milquetoast characters, the cliches, and the ridiculous emotions of the protagonist. This is like an attempt by a love-sick 14 year old school girl to write a script for an long episode of Criminal Minds. The protagonist is a Detective Sergeant - well placed in the police department - but she has no concerns about having a crush on her boss and mentally gushes like a teenager (she didn't want to delete a voicemail message so she could keep a recording of his voice). Of course, she is sure she will be the one woman who can turn him from his history of bad relationships so he will become a man of emotional substance and fidelity. When confronted with a suspect in her home, she asks politely for her cell phone that he had taken ("could you give that back please") and thinks about escaping to run and shout manically into the night for the police, apparently forgetting that she IS the police and should have better resources than that. I thought her an embarrassment to the police force, not just to female detectives.

There seemed to be an awful lot of emphasis on physical appearance and superficial surroundings, with frequent descriptions of everything from bodies and hairstyles, to food and decor. One detective was repeatedly referred to as being unattractive (I think the phrase "his monkey face" was used several times), while a victim was almost never mentioned without reference to her either being overweight or having acne. Is that what we''re supposed to focus on about these people? Is that supposed to make the more "real",interesting, or sympathetic? It makes me roll my eyes in exasperation. Then add in the occasional conversation on the glories of motherhood or the wonders of small-town living, and it gets even more juvenile, in my opinion.

The villain in cliched, the setting is cliched, the doctor is cliched, and the depiction of the police is either sexist or comically inept. I'd recommend you take a pass.

Excellent book

Would you listen to The Various Haunts of Men again? Why?

Yes, it was an interesting story.

What did you like best about this story?

I found the story engaging and I did not see a twist in the story coming. The killer is quite a chilling character and it kept me guessing who it was among the characters. I liked the way the story unfolded, it set a good pace.

Have you listened to any of Steven Pacey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no, but he read it very well.

Any additional comments?

A very good audio book, and the start of a detective series, I am looking forward to hearing more.

"To you, with all possible love."

The first book in a new series, Simon Serrailler, and yet this named character has only a small presence overall. Instead, the reader is more introduced to the small town of Lefferton and the surrounding countryside and the inhabitants there, in particular the police and the medical practitioners, both regular and alternative. The story perspective moves between three people, also, plus there is a consistent background letter-like entry from one obviously disturbed person to another person from the writer's past, now either dead or at least made impotent in their ability to respond to what is being said.
It seemed an odd way to start a new series, especially given that it was quite !omg at a little under 15 hours, but, then, perhaps it was inspired: hopefully which it is will be revealed in book two.
Meanwhile the plot was very much a guess-who-dun-it amidst the everyday lives of quiet town folk with an odd misdirection thrown in and, for this reader at least, an unexpected ending. It was made especially enjoyable by the excellent narration of Steven Pacey who, with good pacing and intonation combined with obvious understanding of the text, also voiced individually all of the protagonists in the book. He greatly added to the listening pleasure as well as assisting with character development. A fine performance.

without having read the next in series, I am not sure how to star rate this book. It felt untidy, over populated and too long. And yet this same wide ranging approach might just be a super set up for all that follows. And I did enjoy it - so a recommended 4 star.