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The essential Halloween reading list in 10 books 

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From the Heart by Susan Hill

Discover book 5 in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series

The Shadows in the Street

&lsquo;Exhilarating&rsquo; Independent 
 
When two prostitutes are found brutally strangled to death, Detective Simon Serrailler is called urgently back from his sabbatical. 
 
But by the time he reaches the town of Lafferton another girl has vanished. 
 
Then the wife of the Dean at the Cathedral goes missing. 
 
 Has the killer widened their net or is there more than one murderer at large? 
 
&lsquo;Brilliantly compelling&rsquo; Daily Mirror 
 
Discover the fifth edge-of-your seat novel in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series that over ONE MILLION readers have devoured.

A crime series that specialises in sidestepping conventions, always to exhilarating effect. These books succeed in harnessing all the genre's addictive power while maintaining a complexity and fascination entirely their own

Nothing's quite as it seems, except Hill's brilliantly compelling prose

Susan Hill's Serrailler novels, with their persuasively-drawn copper and his equally well-rounded family, are real treats

Susan Hill is extremely rare if not unique in having achieved enormous literary success in two genres, that of so-called straight novels and crime fiction... Deeply engrossing and enjoyable

There's something reassuringly Victorian about Hill's literary values

SUSAN HILL has been a professional writer for over fifty years. Her books have won awards and prizes including the Whitbread, the John Llewellyn Rhys and a Somerset Maugham, and have been shortlisted for the Booker. Her novels include Strange Meeting, I'm the King of the Castle, In the Springtime of the Year and The Mist in the Mirror. She has also published autobiographical works and collections of short stories as well as the Simon Serrailler series of crime novels. The play of her ghost story The Woman in Black is one of the longest running in the history of London's West End. In 2020 she was awarded a damehood (DBE) for services to literature. She has two adult daughters and lives in North Norfolk.

Discover book 3 in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series

The Risk of Darkness

THE VARIOUS HAUNTS OF MEN 
1. 'I loved this book. Masterly and satisfying. The result is stunning' Ruth Rendell 
2. 'This book must be judged as a potential successor to the great sequence of detective writing by P.D. James and Ruth Rendall ... excellent' Daily Telegraph 
4. 'Gripping ... and subtle' Daily Mail

Fans of Hill's earlier work like The Woman in Black will appreciate that she can still weave a jolly good story... Minor characters acquire an extra dimension in Hill's experienced hands... Crime fans on the look out for intelligent examples of the genre will enjoy The Risk of Darkness

The Risk of Darkness is an almost flawless novel

Hill has a genius for tackling controversial issues head on while paying tribute to the quotidian detail of ordinary people's lives. This series has become indispensable for lovers of quality crime fiction

This is a crime series that specialises in sidestepping conventions, always to exhilarating effect...These books succeed in harnessing all the genre's addictive power while maintaining a complexity and fascination entirely their own. The Risk of Darkness reminds us that the other side of darkness is light, and that risk-taking, in fiction as in life, sometimes pays off brilliantly

A writer of the calibre of Susan Hill is never going to produce a mere whodunit... this is a complex novel, weaving themes of loss, family, the vulnerability of women and what happens when people choose isolation over intimacy with others

They can stand on their own...this is a really good novel regardless of fiction genre

'Serrailler, Hill's brilliant detective, is the central character in the great writer's crime fiction novels' CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL 
 
Children are vanishing. 
 
 The village of Lafferton is shattered. 
 
 There are no witnesses and no leads - just a kidnapper at large. 
 
 Then Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler receives a call: a child has been snatched in Yorkshire. Has the abductor struck again? And will they find this child alive? 
 
 'Not all great novelists can write crime fiction but when one like Susan Hill does the result is stunning' Ruth Rendell 
 
 Discover the third edge-of-your seat novel in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series that over ONE MILLION readers have devoured.

Discover book 2 in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series

The Pure in Heart

'Serrailler, Hill's brilliant detective, is the central character in the great writer's crime fiction novels' CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL 
 
A little boy is snatched at the gate of his home while he waits for his lift to school. 
 
An ex-con struggling to go straight finds himself drawn back into a criminal ring. 
 
A young woman hovers between life and death. 
 
Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler is called in to investigate. But with dead ends mounting up and time running out, has he taken on a case so complex it threatens to defeat him? 
 
'All the ingredients for the perfect English crime novel' Daily Mail 
 
Discover the second edge-of-your seat novel in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series that over ONE MILLION readers have devoured

All the ingredients for the perfect English crime novel are here

For the first time in years, P.D. James has serious competition

'Serrailler, Hill's brilliant detective, is the central character in the great writer's crime fiction novels' CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL 
 
A little boy is snatched at the gate of his home while he waits for his lift to school. 
 
 An ex-con struggling to go straight finds himself drawn back into a criminal ring. 
 
 A young woman hovers between life and death. 
 
 Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler is called in to investigate. But with dead ends mounting up and time running out, has he taken on a case so complex it threatens to defeat him? 
 
 'All the ingredients for the perfect English crime novel' Daily Mail 
 
Discover the second edge-of-your seat novel in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series that over ONE MILLION readers have devoured

Discover book 1 in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series

The Various Haunts of Men

'Serrailler, Hill's brilliant detective, is the central character in the great writer's crime fiction novels' CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL 
 
 
PEOPLE ARE GOING MISSING. ONLY ONE THING LINKS THEIR CASES. 
 
THEY ALL DISAPPEAR ON THE HILL. 
 
A woman vanishes in the fog up on the Hill in Lafferton. The police have one lead - a pair of expensive cuff-links found in her flat, with a mysterious note attached to them. 
 
Then a young girl, an old man and even a dog disappear in quick succession in exactly the same place. 
 
Young policewoman Freya Graffham and Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler are given the task of unravelling the mystery. But can they find the Hill killer before he strikes again? 
 
'A gripping whodunnit and a subtle study of the mind of a psychopath' Daily Mail 
 
Discover the first edge-of-your seat novel in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series that over ONE MILLION readers have devoured.

A gripping whodunnit and a subtle study of the mind of a psychopath

I loved this book. Masterly and satisfying

This book must be judged as a potential successor to the great sequences of detective writing by PD James and Ruth Rendell...excellent

She has the priceless ability to construct a solidly-researched narrative that keeps the reader turning the pages

Hill's first crime novel has a grip of steel

For the first time in years, P D James has serious competition

'Serrailler, Hill's brilliant detective, is the central character in the great writer's crime fiction novels' CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL 
 
 
PEOPLE ARE GOING MISSING. ONLY ONE THING LINKS THEIR CASES. 
 
 THEY ALL DISAPPEAR ON THE HILL. 
 
 A woman vanishes in the fog up on the Hill in Lafferton. The police have one lead - a pair of expensive cuff-links found in her flat, with a mysterious note attached to them. 
 
 Then a young girl, an old man and even a dog disappear in quick succession in exactly the same place. 
 
 Young policewoman Freya Graffham and Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler are given the task of unravelling the mystery. But can they find the Hill killer before he strikes again? 
 
 'A gripping whodunnit and a subtle study of the mind of a psychopath' Daily Mail 
 
Discover the first edge-of-your seat novel in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series that over ONE MILLION readers have devoured.

Simon Serrailler Book 10

The Benefit of Hindsight

Discover book 10 in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series

Simon Serrailler, Hill’s brilliant detective, is the central character in the great writer’s crime fiction novels

Beautifully told, Hill’s gimlet eye and steely prose remind you how fierce she can be

The Benefit of Hindsight evolves organically by way of a brilliant fusion of parts: plot, setting, characters, dialogue... I read it at a sitting. Not just a good book but an experience

Superb... It's a book to start when you have time to spare as you're not readily going to put it down until you get to the last page... I read it in just over a day and I'm still thinking about the characters days later

I love the Simon Serailler series and this was my favourite for a while... the ongoing family drama is hugely compelling. Add to that cleverly woven mystery elements and this, for me, puts this series somewhere near the top of my literary crime favourites

'Serrailler, Hill's brilliant detective, is the central character in the great writer's crime fiction novels' CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL 
 
 
'Beautifully told, Hill's gimlet eye and steely prose remind you how fierce she can be' Daily Mail 
 
 One rainy night, a couple welcomes two strangers needing help into their home. It's an act they will regret for the rest of their lives. 
 
 On the other side of town a woman is brutally murdered and her husband is left unconscious. 
 
 Are the two crimes connected? 
Detective Simon Serrailler sets out to investigate but will his own demons get in the way? 
 
'Keepers the reader gripped until the last page' Sunday Express 
 
Discover the bestselling Simon Serrailler series that over ONE MILLION readers have devoured.

Discover book 6 in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series

The Betrayal of Trust

'Serrailler, Hill's brilliant detective, is the central character in the great writer's crime fiction novels' CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL 
 
Heavy rain falls on Lafferton. As the rain water slowly drains away, a shallow grave - and a skeleton - are revealed. 
 
It doesn't take long to identify the remains as those of missing teenager, Harriet Lowther, who was last seen sixteen years ago. 
 
But a cold case isn't a priority: if Detective Inspector Simon Serrailler is to solve the case, he will have to do it alone.

Hugely enjoyable... This is a satisfying crime story and a fearless examination of controversial issues surrounding terminal illness

The Betrayal of Trust isn't only a page-turner - though it certainly fulfils that expectation - it's also a thought-provoking novel about those who suffer and those who care for them

Hill can't write a bad sentence and her characters are all completely convincing - no more so than her long-serving detective Simon Serrailler

Her intellectual stance is engaging, her plot unpredictable and her detective a likeable presence

Far more than a whodunit...written with a novelist's flair, in that the characters, however fleeting, are carefully drawn and believable

A crime series that specialises in sidestepping conventions, always to exhilarating effect... These books succeed in harnessing all the genre's addictive power while maintaining a complexity and fascination entirely their own

Susan Hill's Serrailler novels are a real treat

An excellent next instalment and an absorbing novel

Susan Hill is to be congratulated on her tour de force: a novel rather more serious than a superior page-turner, though it is that as well. All us all, a highly commendable performance, thoughtful, uncomfortable, and worthy of our undivided attention

What one is aware of throughout is Hill's keen intelligence, the range of her sympathy and her depth of moral concern...reading these novels which combine good plots with well-drawn characters and intelligent probing of the way we live now, is so enriching

It is when Hill descends to write about mere mortals...that one remembers she is among our finest novelists

Not all great novelists can write crime fiction but when one like Susan Hill does the result is stunning

A well-crafted crime novel… Hill writes so clearly, and the plot is so well put together, that you can't help gobbling it up

'Serrailler, Hill's brilliant detective, is the central character in the great writer's crime fiction novels' CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL 
 
Heavy rain falls on Lafferton. As the rain water slowly drains away, a shallow grave - and a skeleton - are revealed. 
 
It doesn't take long to identify the remains as those of missing teenager, Harriet Lowther, who was last seen sixteen years ago. 
 
But a cold case isn't a priority: if Detective Inspector Simon Serrailler is to solve the case, he will have to do it alone.

Susan Hill

'Heartstoppingly chilling' Daily Express 
 
Read the truly terrifying classic English ghost story behind the play. 
 
Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, the sole inhabitant of Eel Marsh House. The house stands at the end of a causeway, wreathed in fog and mystery, but it is not until he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black - and her terrible purpose. 
 
'No one chills the heart like Susan Hill' Daily Telegraph 
 
**If you love The Woman in Black, try The Various Haunts of Men, the first book in Susan Hill's Simon Serrailler series**

Susan Hill

The Woman in Black

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