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A Question of Identity: Simon Serrailler Book 7 by [Susan Hill]

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Susan Hill

A Question of Identity: Simon Serrailler Book 7 Kindle Edition

by Susan Hill (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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How do you catch a killer who doesn't exist?

One snowy night in the cathedral city of Lafferton, an old woman is dragged from her bed and strangled with a length of flex.

DCS Simon Serrailler and his team search desperately for clues to her murderer. All they know is that the killer will strike again, and will once more leave the same tell-tale signature.

Then they track down a name: Alan Keyes. But Alan Keyes has no birth certificate, no address, no job, no family, no passport, no dental records. Nothing.

Their killer does not exist.

'As addictive as Rankin' Scotsman

Length: 369 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled	Audible Narration: Audible Narration Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible narration. Add narration for a reduced price of $3.99 after you buy the Kindle book. Ready	Language: English

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Review

"Not all great novelists can write crime fiction but when one like Susan Hill does the result is stunning" (Ruth Rendell)

"Eagerly awaited by all aficionados of crime fiction" (P.D. James)

"This is a crime series that specialises in side-stepping conventions, always to exhilarating effect.. The books succeed in harnessing all the genre's addictive power while maintaining a complexity and fascination all their own" (Independent)

"The real joy of the Serrailler series is Serrailler himself…rich in incident and intrigue" (Christopher Bray Express)

"The crime part of the novel…is very good. But as in all these books, we are also engaged in the continuing story of the Serrailler family… All this gives the novel a much richer texture than is usual in crime fiction…(Susan Hill) writes as an honest and disturbing witness to our times" (Allan Massie Scotsman) --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

A cruel and strange murder confronts detective Simon Serrailler in the seventh novel in this highly successful crime series
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Publisher

Susan Hill is a prize-winning novelist, having been awarded the Whitbread, Somerset Maugham and John Llewelyn Rhys awards, as well as having been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. She wrote Mrs de Winter, the bestselling sequel to Rebecca, and the ghost story The Woman in Black, which was adapted for the stage and became a great success in the West End. Her books include a collection of exquisite short stories, The Boy Who Taught the Beekeeper to Read, and the highly successful crime novel series about the detective Simon Serrailler. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Back Cover

The seventh Simon Serrailler crime novel

How do you find a killer who doesn’t appear to exist?

Duchess of Cornwall Close: sheltered accommodation, a mix of bungalows and flats, newly built and not quite finished. Despite the bitterly cold weather, elderly residents are moving in. They don’t notice the figure in the shadows. Someone who doesn't mind the cold.

Then, one snowy night, an old lady is murdered – dragged from her bed and strangled with a length of flex.

DCS Simon Serrailler and his team desperately search for a match, aware that the killer will strike again. But when they track down a name -- Alan Keyes – they can find no birth certificate, no address, no job, no family, no passport, no dental records. Nothing. Alan Keyes does not exist.

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

‘A new crime novel by Susan Hill is an event eagerly awaited by all aficionados’ P.D. James

Susan Hill is the author of over fifty books, including the six previous Serrailler crime novels: The Various Haunts of Men, The Pure in Heart, The Risk of Darkness, The Vows of Silence, The Shadows in the Street and The Betrayal of Trust. The play of her famous ghost story, The Woman in Black, has been running in the West End since 1989 and is now a major film starring Daniel Radcliffe. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Book Description

A cruel and strange murder confronts detective Simon Serrailler in the seventh novel in this highly successful crime series
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Susan Hill’s novels and short stories have won the Whitbread, Somerset Maugham and John Llewellyn Rhys awards, and the Yorkshire Post Book of the Year, and been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. She is the author of 56 books. The play adapted from her famous ghost story, The Woman in Black, has been running in the West End since 1989; it is also a major feature film. Her crime novels featuring DCS Simon Serrailler are currently being adapted for TV.

Susan Hill was born in Scarborough and educated at King’s College London. She is married to the Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells, and they have two daughters. Susan Hill was appointed a CBE in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Honours.

www.susan-hill.com --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

'As addictive as Rankin.' (The Scotsman)

'Not all great novelists can write crime fiction but when one like Susan Hill does the result is stunning.' (Ruth Rendell)

'Eagerly awaited by all aficionados of crime fiction.' (P.D. James)

'The real joy of the Serrailler series is Serrailler himself ... rich in incident and intrigue.' (Express UK)

'Arguably one of the UK’s best crime fiction writers.' (Pride Magazine)

'Hill is, as ever, a true writer and a true storyteller ... Her writing, never fancy or over-elaborate, is sweet and and clear and true, lifting the story above mass-market mass-killer lit.' (The Spectator) --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

ASIN : B0093LFXZE
Publisher : Vintage Digital (25 October 2012)
Language : English
File size : 4281 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 369 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 72,613 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 467 in Ghost Mysteries
- 1,395 in Serial Killer Thrillers
- 2,492 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction

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539 ratings

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Elaine Tomasso

totally implausible

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 December 2015

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The premise of A Question Of Identity is so wholly unbelievable it made me negative towards it from the beginning. In 2002 Alan Keyes, wife beater and all round bad guy, is acquitted on a technicality of murdering 3 elderly ladies. Such is the outcry against him he is whisked away and given a new identity. That's implausibility number 1. Number 2 is that he can lead a totally blameless life for 10 years then start killing again. Number 3 is that he can feel like a split personality between his old and new lives - as he is described several times as a psychopath this is not only unbelievable it flies in the face of reality. I could go on but you get the point.
The criminal investigation in the novel is perfunctory and the murderer obvious from early on as Ms Hill seems to prefer to concentrate on the goings on of the dreary Seraillers, a family I cannot relate to and who do not seem to live in the modern world.
I swithered between 2 and 3 stars as my rating. It's definitely 2 at most for the content, which is, frankly, a load of nonsense,but I like the writing. There is good pace and it holds the attention. I finally plumped for 3 partly out of nostalgia for some of the previous books and partly because it reads well.

3 people found this helpful

EllyBlue

The latest in a series of crime-related novels which are well worth reading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 July 2015

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The Simon Serrailler series goes from strength to strength with this, the seventh in the series. Although the novels feature crimes to be solved and a detective, they are as much about the community of Lafferton (a fictional cathedral city) and some of the people who live there, which gives them a slightly unsettling extra dimension, as we get a sense of the sheer ordinariness of the place which is affected by the crimes. The format will be familiar from some of the earlier novels with the voice of the killer interspersed with the rest of the narrative. The story concerns the killings of several elderly women, strangled with a length of electric flex. The title is very appropriate as the killer is playing a role, and in a subtle parallel, Serrailler's niece and nephew are also embroiled in a dispute over possible roles for them in a play. For those familiar with the series, all the familiar characters are here, and the life of Serrailler's family move on. Although you could read this as a stand alone novel, I would thoroughly recommend that you start with the first one and work your way through to this just because you've got so much enjoyment to look forward to. Susan Hill is a fine writer and she has created a series of crime-related novels here which is well-worth reading.

3 people found this helpful

Sandradan1

A disturbing take on the efficiency of our justice system

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 October 2015

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This starts with a flashback to a trial: a man is found not guilty of three murders. Elderly, vulnerable women. Such is the public outcry that he is given a new identity.
Lafferton, ten years later. A woman is killed. Elderly, vulnerable, murdered the same way as those three women in 2002. But how can Simon Serrailler track down a villain who doesn’t exist: the man was given a new name, a new face, a new identity and was relocated. But we’re talking about murder, so surely one police department will help another?
This is an intriguing premise, all too believable. As ever with Hill’s novels, this is efficient and chilling. She introduces us to prospective villains, each seems a little questionable: but are we being unfair, reading something into signs that don’t exist, generalising, making assumptions? In parallel with the introduction of prospective villains, we are also shown prospective victims.
Whilst Simon Serrailler deals with this emotional case, his own heart is being pulled between love and guilt, and his sister Cat must manage two warring children.
An excellent tale which keeps the pages turning, an examination of the jury system. When ‘not guilty’ can be the wrong verdict, when ‘with reasonable doubt’ can condemn more vulnerable women. A disturbing take on the efficiency of our justice system.

Not her best - too easy to work out

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 February 2013

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I have read all the books in this series. When they first started the story lines were tense and kept you guessing. The insights to Simon's family was also good. However now the family issues seem to have taken over from the crime story. The family characters also appear thin and very boring. In this novel I identified the murderer, after the first murder. It was pretty easy to work out. I'm not sure that I will buy the next in the series, however I certainly won't pay the kindle price when it comes out, I will wait for it to go to paperback.

17 people found this helpful

Mercedes Del Ray

A great well written mystery

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 March 2015

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A great well written mystery, that I found rather unsettling and disturbing. I found the story rather slow to begin with - it took a while for me to get into the flow of it. Old ladies in their 80s and 90s being strangled with flex isn't bedtime reading really, but I wasn't able to stop once I'd got going.

I've read Simon Serrailler books in order, and think that it's better to do so because the author makes reference to previous cases and events in the later books in the series. There's just the right amount of family stuff as compared to the investigations that Simon Serrailler heads up. At work he seems on top of his game, but in his private life he's commitment shy and a bit of a bastard, so it's usually his unfortunate sister Cat who has to clear up the mess and counsel the women he's mistreated.

By the way this is the first book I've ever read that had two main characters that are part of a set of triplets - I've seen lots of twin protagonists but never triplets.

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