When Susan Hill's Simon Serailler novels started coming out I was absolutely glued to them. Then I read the penultimate one (can't remember the title now) and was somewhat underwhelmed. But when Audible offered me this, the latest, I was curious to see how I'd like it. And I loved it. Now, what's a bit strange, is that when I looked it up on Amazon just now I found a whole slew of negative reviews saying 'Dreadful', 'Totally Disappointing' and so on and so on. Of course there are good ones on there too but I was amazed really that anyone would dislike it so much. 'Too Many Loose Ends' was another comment -- well so what? In my opinion that is the skill of writing a series -- give the readers something to mull and wonder over so that they want to buy the next book.
Another complaint was that this was not a proper crime novel. Well, yes, it deals with a cold case rather than a recent one -- a girl who disappeared fourteen years earlier and whose body suddenly turns up after a landslide. Simon sets out to solve it and he does. But there are many sub-plots and of course you do wonder how they are all related -- and of course in the end they are. But the issues raised along the way were really interesting. Euthanasia is an important theme, rearing its head because one character discovers that she has motor neurone disease and wants to end her life before it becomes unbearable. Although the general implication seems to be that this is not something Susan Hill is in favour of, the situation is dealt with enormously sympathetically so that whatever one's personal view may be, it is very easy to understand and sympathise with this woman's terrible fears and her subsequent decision. Also handled with great sensitivity is the horror of losing someone you love to Alzheimers. And that's not to mention the ongoing personal issues that face Simon's family -- his widowed sister, trying to cope with four children and keep her medical practice going -- her medical student daughter Molly, on the verge of taking her final exams and facing some difficult ethical problems along the way -- his stepmother, discovering uncomfortable facts about Simon's difficult father. And of course there's Simon himself, who faces a new and overwhelming situation in his own life, which is not resolved here but presumably will rear its head in the next novel and probably the next and the next...
So my verdict on this one is that it's an excellent novel. If I ever doubted Susan Hill's ability to keep up the standard of the series, this has totally restored my faith, and I can't wait for the next installment. Oh yes, and if you've ever wondered how to pronounce Serrailler, the reader of my audio book, presumably approved by Susan Hill, pronounced it 'Serayler'.
