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Susan Hill

The Various Haunts of Men: A Simon Serrailler Mystery Hardcover – 1 May 2007

by Susan Hill (Author)

745 ratings

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As the story begins, a lonely woman vanishes while out on her morning run. Then a 22-year-old girl never returns from a walk. An old man disappears too. When fresh-faced policewoman Freya Graffham is assigned to the case, she runs the risk of getting too invested--too involved--in the action. Alongside the enigmatic detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrallier, she must unravel the mystery before events turn too gruesome. Written with intelligence, compassion, and a knowing eye--in the tradition of the fabulous mysteries of Ruth Rendell and P.D. James--The Various Haunts of Men is an enthralling journey into the heart of a wonderfully developed town, and into the very mind of a killer.

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Product details

Publisher : Overlook Press (1 May 2007)
Language : English
Hardcover : 438 pages
ISBN-10 : 1585678767
ISBN-13 : 978-1585678761
Reading age : 18 years and up
Dimensions : 16 x 3.58 x 23.39 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 612,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 17,223 in Police Procedurals (Books)

Customer Reviews:
745 ratings

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About the Author

Susan Hill's novels and short stories have won the Whitbread Book, Somerset Maugham, and John Llewellyn Rhys Awards, the Yorkshire Post Book of the Year, and have been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The play adapted from her famous ghost novel, The Woman in Black, has been running in the West End since 1989. She lives in the UK.

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5 star		59%
4 star		26%
3 star		8%
2 star		4%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from Australia

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Sue Kirby

Well developed plot

Reviewed in Australia on 9 March 2020

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I loved the characters in this book. They were sublty drawn.

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Lacklustre

Reviewed in Australia on 13 July 2014

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Simon Serrailler was a bit player and the story disappointed as a thriller more a diary of a small country town

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Nana

Five Stars

Reviewed in Australia on 29 November 2015

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Love all of Susan Hill's books

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Paul T.

Dark but not Stygian!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 March 2017

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The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill
(Simon Serrailler # 1)

You expect crime novels to be a bit dark. It is, after all, intrinsic to the subject matter: crime is a nasty business. But what struck me about ‘The Various Haunts of Men’ is how positive, even uplifting some parts of it were. Especially compared with some crime writers, who’s work is unrelentingly gritty – dark grey shading to black – Susan Hill brings in a lot of light and colour and positive thinking.

The source of this is the characters. Although this is the first of the ‘Simon Serrailler’ series, the enigmatic DCI is more of a background figure in most of the book, and we learn more of him through conversations about him than we do directly. But other characters, even relatively minor ones, are vivid and fully developed – and a lot of them show a surprisingly positive outlook.

One of my favourites in this regard was ‘Cat’ Deerbon, Simon Serrailler’s sister and a local GP, who’s commitment to her patients and deep Christian faith make her an uplifting presence throughout the book. Other characters are also shown with as much light in them as darkness, as much hope as despair. They feel like real people who you can both sympathise with and laugh with.

Of course, that also means that when something bad does happen to them, you feel it all the more strongly.

Hill’s talent for description extends to the setting as well as the characters. Without the necessity for long passages heavy with detail, she evokes a strong sense of place in the various scenes – the Cathederal, the Hill with its standing stones, and so on. These come together to make the cathedral town of Lafferton a very authentic place.

She is somewhat weaker on plotting, though that’s not an obvious issue. The central premise – of several people (and a dog – who is in fact a fish in my opinion: i.e. a red herring!) going missing on The Hill, without any other apparent connection between them is intriguing, and promises a complex and devious story. But in fact, the solution is relatively straightforward once the facts are revealed. Clever, satisfying and chilling – but without the multiple twists and turns that you might have expected from such starting point.

Instead, the story follows police procedure and the decisions of individual people. It is very much character driven throughout, and from a technical point of view it is perhaps Hill’s ability to weave together so many different personalities, whilst keeping each one distinct, that is the most impressive aspect of her writing.

Another interesting facet was the slight tinge of the supernatural which hangs round the edges of the narrative. Susan Hill is, of course, known for her ghost stories and so a bit of supernatural might be expected, but there’s no hint of ghosts. It’s down to earth and matter of fact – and yet, in the same way that a hint of ‘something other’ can often touch our ‘down to earth and matter of fact’ lives, Hill brings into her story the feeling of things beyond normal experience impinging on our world. We see it in the various practitioners of alternative medicine – some quite legitimate, some merely quacks, some less easy to explain. We get a touch of it in the Cathedral as well, with it’s lingering sense of the numinous. No more is made of it than that, but it forms part of the character’s lives and therefore part of the story.

I only had one real problem with ‘The Various Haunts of Men’, and that revolves round a technical point of police procedure which I doubt if many people will have noticed or care about. However, to allow my pedantic side free reign for a moment…

When the Police go and check Angela Randall’s house (Chapter 5) they would presumably have had to force entry. This can be done by several means, all of them messy to a greater or lesser extent. But there’s no mention of this at all. Indeed, when Freya, the DS investigating, visits the house, she ‘closed the door softly behind her’ - which might have been difficult if, for example, it had been taken off it’s hinges by a copper making an entrance! Of course, this isn’t important to the plot, but with the attention to detail otherwise shown, it stood out to me.

Pedantic moment over, and overall this was a deeply absorbing story, both deeper in content and lighter in tone than many crime novels. There were more loose ends left than I liked, but I make allowances for the fact that this is the first in a series, and there may well be opportunities in those loose ends for further plots or sub-plots to be developed. I certainly hope to read more and find out.

25 people found this helpful

Peter Smith

Convoluted, confused and confusing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 November 2018

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I really have no idea what this book was supposed to be, not least because it didn't hold my attention long enough for me to finish it. It purports to be a kind of murder mystery, which it really isn't, and contains a vast throng of characters most of whom appear to have little or nothing to do with the core of the plot, such as it is. It is very slow, and very long, and for most of what I read of it, almost nothing of any note appears to happen. The only bright spot is that it is well written, but I got fed up with the endless descriptions of fields and hills and what the various characters were thinking and why, and I came to the conclusion that I really didn't care what happened to any of them. The book would have benefited from a decent editor who could cut out most of the dross, slimmed it down and turned into something halfway readable. Needless to say, I will not be venturing into the pages of another book by the same author.

12 people found this helpful

Tweedledum

Great characters, great plot, thoughtful writing.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 November 2019

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The first book in a great family saga. With murder added of course . Not for the faint hearted.

When I first read “the various haunts of men” several years ago, I found something about it too emotionally charged for me at the time and did not seek out the sequels.

Now, having returned to the series via the first audiobook I find myself ready to embrace Hill’s world and style of writing.

I love the way Hill weaves ethical and religious dilemmas into her plots . She encourages the reader to think “what do I think about this? What would I do or say? “ Her characters feel real, rounded , nuanced. Faith or lack of it is openly explored but without judgement and with a sure but light touch.

Having re-read The various haunts of men after a gap of several years I realised I really wanted to follow up with the rest of the series. Gone through the first 4 in under a week...

Few detective stories make me actually weep but these have done occasionally. Some aspects of the storylines have touched on some still raw nerves from my own family experiences .... though glad to say I am not referring to the actual murders!

From her first great book “In the springtime of the year” Hill has been determined to encourage her readers to grapple with their own thoughts and feelings and experiences around death by showing us how others have coped with a death they are facing . She has found the perfect vehicle in the Simon Serrailler series. The interplay between agnostic but deeply caring detective with Christian GP twin sister is just one of the fascinating relationships that are woven through the stories. Never patronising or spiritualising, never dumbing down or dismissing pain and doubt . There is deep honesty here, but, like so many great authors Hill knows when to shut the door, to turn the page so that the witnessing never becomes prurient.

2 people found this helpful

Louise G

I have to give this 5 stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 May 2020

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For me, Susan Hill is a new writer, thanks to the Duchess of Cornwall for her recommended reading list, but why oh why didn't I find her earlier?
It did not take me long to fall for this different style which despite the subject matter, is often lighter throughout and it just took me by the hand and led me to a satisfying conclusion. I enjoyed the descriptive pieces giving us a feeling of Lafferton and some of its streets, closes and homes large and small and the fabulous characters we get to know bit by bit with quite a bit of their backstory thrown in. As for DCI Simon Serrailler we learn more about his family than him really, he seems a bit elusive but knowing this is book 1 in a series of his name, I am sure there is plenty to learn of him and the rest of the characters and probably more in the future books which is exciting.

A character driven story with beautiful description and wonderful story telling, I also noted no bad language which was nice, for me an utterly compelling read which I have to give 5 stars and I am excited to continue this series as soon as possible to catch up with what I have been missing out on for so long.

Thank you for such a wonderful read Susan Hill

One person found this helpful

M. Harris

Slow Burner

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 December 2020

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This is the first book in the series and it took me a while to get into it. 40% through the novel before the first murder took place. Fortunately it then moved along at a good pace, with lots of interesting background, suspense and creepy characters. The love interest was an anticipated aspect to the story, but became a bit annoying as Freya became obsessed. Finally the culmination of the investigation took me totally by surprise. No spoiler, but it's been a while since I cried reading a police procedural, crime novel. Recommended Read.

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