Review: The Vows of Silence by Susan Hill

Protagonist: Simon Serrailler
Setting: Lafferton, England
Rating: 5.0
A serial killer is shooting and killing young women, most of them newly married. We know the why -- chapters from the killer’s point of view show us he was spurned once by his fiancee for another man -- but not the who. In the meantime, Lafferton plans for a big fair and a bigger wedding (the royals Charles and Camilla are supposed to show). Will the serial killer strike then?

In previous books (and this series must be read in order; Vow is the fourth), Hill has been light on the crime aspect. But in this novel, she delivers a solid police procedural.

As always, there’s also a lot going on with the Serrailler family: their newly widowed father, Richard, is seeing a new woman. And Cat, back from Australia, is dealing with a serious illness in her family. There’s a new character, Helen, a widow who has begun dating a man; her fundamentalist son doesn’t approve of him. A couple of characters from previous books make an appearance, Karin McCafferty, a friend of Cat’s, and Jane Fitzroy, much more than a friend to Simon.

Hill's themes are about death, but not always the death that comes with serial killers or other crimes. She writes gracefully about families, love and life, and that makes her series, for me, a standout.

August reads

The Sister by Poppy Adams (debut novel)
Protagonist: Virginia Stone
Setting: Dorset, England
Rating: 4.0
This book takes place in the space of six days and revolves around Virginia (Ginny), a reclusive moth expert, and her sister, Vivien, who after a 47-year estrangement, returns to the crumbling manor that was once the family home. Having lived alone for years, Ginny has sold off almost all of the furniture, closed off most of the rooms and never opens the front door to those who come calling. Into her carefully structured life comes Vivien, who had always been the more lively and headstrong daughter. Flashbacks, as narrated by Ginny, provide a tale of these two sisters and their parents. Family secrets come out. Beyond this, there is not much I can say about this modern gothic tale – to say much else would give it away. I will say this: the tale is ambiguous, leaving much to the reader to infer. While I enjoyed The Sister – so much, that I was unable to put it down while reading it – it still vexed me a bit that the author doesn’t really answer all the questions. It’s up to you, dear reader, to figure things out.


The Night Ferry by Michael Robotham (audio)
Protagonist: Det. Alisha Barba
Setting: London and Amsterdam
Rating: 3.4
The Night Ferry is the third of four books in which Australian author Michael Robotham employs a neat concept: each book takes a minor character from a previous book and makes them the protagonist. Alisha Barba was Det. Insp. Vincent Ruiz's sidekick in the previous book, Lost. Wounded in the last book, the young detective is recovering at home when she gets a letter from her estranged friend Cate pleading with her to attend their high school reunion. But at the reunion, Cate and her husband are run down by a motorist. Later, at the hospital, Alisha learns that Cate was faking her pregnancy, even wearing a prosthesis belly. This takes her to Amsterdam, in a complicated plot involving baby smuggling. I've really liked Robotham's previous books, but the plot here was lackluster, and didn't grab me. Alisha, however, is a wonderfully drawn character, and Robotham fans might want to read this just for her story.

A Mind to Murder by P.D. James (2nd in series)
Protagonist: Adam Dagliesh
Setting: Steen Clinic, London
Rating: 3.6
This is only James' second novel, and while it doesn't compare to her later novels (full of rich characters and interesting settings), this is still a better-than-average mystery. It's a locked-room variation, with the murder having taken place inside the Steen Clinic, with a limited number of suspects. The victim is the psychiatric clinic's administrator, Enid Bolam, an unbending woman who is not well-liked. There are plenty of suspects, but James gives us a neat twist at the end. It's certainly not the first P.D. James book I would recommend, but it was enjoyable.


The Risk of Darkness by Susan Hill (3rd in series)
Protagonist: Det. Chief Insp. Simon Serrailler
Setting: Lafferton, England
Rating: 4.6
Hill's books are not the usual traditional mystery stories, and that puts off many crime fans. By my rating, though, you can see I very much like the Hill novels. This one picks up a few months after The Pure in Heart, which dealt with the kidnapping of 9-year-old David Angus. In this book, there's another kidnapping, but this time the kidnapper is caught -- more by blind luck than great policing. This happens fairly early in the book, so the novel is not a mystery nor a police procedural. Instead, Hill deals with the way crimes affect the people involved and their families -- both the victims' and the criminals' families. These novels are also very much a look at the Serrailler family and this one continues in that vein, with some major happenings. I wouldn't recommend this book without reading the others that came before. If you're a fan already, this one doesn't disappoint.

Chill Factor by Stuart Pawson (audio, 7th in the series)
Protagonist: Det. Insp. Charlie Priest
Setting: Heckley (Yorkshire)
Rating: 4.4
Salesman Tony Silkstone readily confesses to murder -- for killing the man who murdered his wife. To most, he's a hero for doing so. But a small clue leads Priest to believe there's more to the story. This is a methodical, plodding police procedural -- done by an author who's wonderful at these. Pawson brings his characters to life with great wit. He's one of the best with one-liners. For example, this from Priest on a colleague's love life: "I didn't ask who 'she' was. Pete's love life has more dead ends and branch lines than the London Underground." Or this on eating at a Persian restaurant: "I paid the bill, which went a long way toward compensating the proprietor for the oil wells he lost when the Shah was deposed." This is a great series, and one that doesn't necessarily need to be read in order.

A Death in Vienna by Frank Tallis
Protagonists: Det. Oskar Rheinhardt, psychoanalyst Max Lieberman
Setting: Vienna, 1902
Rating: 4.5
This book is a traditional locked-room mystery: Medium Charlotte Lowenstein is found dead in her locked room, with what appears might be a suicide note. Yet there's a bullet wound to her body. However, there's no gun and, when an autopsy is done, there's no bullet in her body. Those in Lowenstein's circle think it's a supernatural killer, but Rheinhardt, assisted by his friend Lieberman (who reminds one of Sherlock Holmes) thinks otherwise. This is an interesting book, with Vienna beautifully described and with a bit of history about the developing science of psychoanalysis. I was really immersed in the characters and, with one thread left hanging, I'll have to seek out the second book in the series.

Rating system:
5.0: Wow!
4.0: A book I'd recommend
3.0: Mediocre to good
2.0: Pretty Bad

Favorite authors and more

Oh, happy day! My library system has a new program in which you can sponsor books. Each time your author writes a new book, you can pay for the book (at the library's lower cost) and be the first patron to read the book (with an expanded due date, too!). Thanks to the program, this weekend I walked away with I Shall Not Want, the sixth in Julia Spencer-Fleming's series. I discovered JSP last year and devoured all five books. As JSP says in this interview at Bookreporter, there will be a seventh novel, but the series will be limited. I'm not averse to that -- I think series should have a limit. But I will be digging into I Shall Not Want very soon!

One favorite author, Martin Edwards, writes about another favorite author, Peter Lovesey, and his most recent book, The Headhunters. Hmmm, another to add to my TBR list.

Susan Hill (yes, another favorite author. I have a long list, OK?) writes that she was puzzled about a recent review of the Serrailler series (the third of which is on my nightstand).

And over at The Washington Post, publisher Jonathan Karp has a must-read piece on the state of publishing. And what happens to books that don't sell ...

January Reads

The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Rating: 3.5
A post-apocalyptic book in which all of Earth is gray and ash, and survivors have to be wary of each other. A father and son take to the road in order to survive. Many have found the ending to be uplifting, and it is, to some extent. The writing is sparse, but beautiful. Yet, in the end, I found this to be the most depressing book I've ever read.

A Clubbable Woman by Reginald Hill (first in the series)
Protagonists: Andrew Dalziel and Peter Pascoe
Setting: Yorkshire
Rating: 4.0
A small-town female fatale is found dead inside her home, clubbed to death. Was it her husband, at home with a concussion? It could be anyone, really, since, as Pascoe tells Dalziel: "I didn't know the lady as well as you, sir, but she seems in all particulars to have been a pretty clubbable woman." Although the first in what is now a 23-book series, Dalziel and Pascoe are already fully formed.

The Man Who Invented Florida by Randy Wayne White (third in the series)
Protagonist: Marion "Doc" Ford
Setting: Sanibel Island and Mango Island (Everglades), Fla.
Rating: 3.0
The weakest of the three books I've read so far, as there's hardly a mystery in this one. This book involves a crazy scheme by Doc's uncle, from whom Doc has been estranged. I might have given up on this book, but White does write some great passages about Florida. When he writes about a dolphin giving birth, you wish you had been there to see it in person.

The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill
Protagonist: Insp. Simon Serrailler
Setting: Lafferton, England
Rating: 4.7
Hill's book are slow-moving, drawing portraits of Serrailler and his family, as well as the victim's family. In this one, Serrailler is in Venice when he's abruptly called home for a family emergency. Back home, a young boy is kidnapped, and Serrailler, already back home early, jumps into the case. I like Hill's books because she never gives you the expected -- which a mystery writer should do, but many don't succeed as does Hill.

Miami Blues by Charles Willeford (first in the series)
Protagonist: Det. Hoke Moseley
Setting: Miami, Fla., 1980s
Rating: 4.3
Just out of jail, "Junior" flies into Miami from California, unintentionally kills a Hare Krishna at the airport and then, coincidentally, ends up moving in with the Krishna's sister. When Moseley grows suspicious, Junior starts to go after the detective himself. While hard-boiled is not my usual fare, Willeford really nails down my hometown in the '80s. The quirky characters and situations are a plus. I'll definitely spend more time with Moseley in Miami.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (audio)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (audio)
Protagonist: Harry Potter
Setting: Hogswarts and the non-muggle world
Rating: 5.0
The final two books in this fantastic series. Enough has been written about this series, which I'm sure is destined to become a classic. But I'll say that Rowling's story-telling is so masterful (and Jim Dale so wonderful as the audiobook narrator) that I became a little Potter-addicted, toward the end. I couldn't wait to get in my car and drive, so I could hear what happened next!

Rating system:
5.0: Wow!
4.0: Pretty good
3.0: Mediocre to good
2.0: Pretty Bad
DNF: Did not finish