Susan Hill's THE VOWS OF SILENCE Reviewed in ForeWord Magazine

Susan Hill's fourth Simon Serrailler mystery, The Vows of Silence, is reviewed in ForeWord Magazine's December issue: "There is a serial killer on the loose in the English country township of Lafferton and it has everyone, including Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler, flinching at every car that backfires. What makes this case especially baffling is that the killer seems to follow no pattern—the weapon is a rifle in one case, a handgun in another. The only linkage among the growing number of murders is a frightening one. The victims are all women.

This is the premise for Susan Hill’s fourth entry in the police procedural series about C.I. Simon Serrailler. What separates Ms. Hill’s work from the groaning shelf of mystery and procedural novels is her ability to tell a story without having the reader thumb back a few pages to feel caught up. Her style is straightforward and smoothes out the ridges of her complex plotlines. And there are enough twists and turns in The Vows of Silence to make the reader reach for a literary Dramamine.

As if it’s not enough to have everyone breathing down his neck over the unsolved murders, Simon Serrailler has enough personal problems to give the most optimistic among us a splitting headache. His sister Cat has returned from Australia with her husband, who is dying from an insidious brain tumor. Serrailler, very fond of his brother-in-law, broods about the inevitable. His mother has passed away some time ago and now his father has taken up with a woman he doesn’t approve of, and, oh yes, Simon is also estranged from his own love interest, the Reverend Jane Fitzroy, who has moved from Lafferton to put space between them. There’s an old cliché in the writing business that says you can never give your hero enough problems, an idea to which Ms. Hill obviously subscribes.

Susan Hill’s portrayal of English country life seems spot on. Her narrative voice, pacing, and, especially, her ability to create believable characters, makes reading a pleasure. Finally, The Vows of Silence passes this reviewer’s litmus test for any author who writes a series: it’s time to go back and read the first three Serrailler books. After that, I’ll join the burgeoning Hill fan club that awaits the fifth Simon Serrailler novel. - Reviewed by Michael Lee

Susan Hill's THE RISK OF DARKNESS is "Original, Wrenching and Unforgettable"

Eleanor Bukowsky offers glowing praise of Susan Hill's new mysery The Risk of Darkness on the terrific Mostly Fiction website: "Susan Hill's Simon Serrailler series is one of the most original, wrenching, and unforgettable of all the police procedurals to come out of England. In The Risk of Darkness, the writing and dialogue are as sharp as ever, and the fast-paced narrative is absolutely mesmerizing. All of the characters are superbly delineated, from the main character to those who make only brief appearances. Simon has many admirable qualities: He is devoted to his sister and mother; he is a dedicated office of the law; and he is an extremely gifted artist. Unfortunately, he is also self-centered, reclusive, and cold towards those women unlucky enough to fall in love with him. . . .In The Risk of Darkness, Susan Hill explores many thought-provoking themes that she introduced in her earlier works: What is the nature of evil? How can the loss of a loved one bring a person to the brink of despair? What price do homicide detectives pay for their exposure, day after day, to the worst offenses that human beings can commit? Is there any way that true justice can be meted out to child murderers? How do members of families and communities support and, in some cases, undermine one another? The author challenges us to shake off our complacency and take a hard look at the harsh realities of our contemporary world. One may quibble that The Risk of Darkness has too much heartbreak and too little joy. That may be true, but the book's strengths compensate for the sadness that the story generates. Fans of Simon Serrailler will eagerly await the release of the next installment, The Vows of Silence."

Great Books for Last Minute Shoppers

Christmas is only a few days away, and The Winged Elephant has a few suggestions for last-minute shoppers: Church Signs Across America is a great gift for everyone in the family - a guaranteed chuckle on Christmas morning. For kids, we recommend Beastly Feasts, the magnificent collaboration between Robert Forbes and illustrator Ronald Searle, and the new collector's edition of Emil and the Detectives, which features a new introduction by Maurice Sendak. For avid readers looking to spend the holidays curled up with a great novel, don't overlook Susan Hill's The Pure in Heart, Penny Vincenzi's The Dilemma, or Second Sight by Charles McCarry.

Take Susan Hill's Fiction Writing Course

The Overlook Press' own Susan Hill is offering a free Creative Writing Course! She's already being inundated with entrants! Here are the details straight from Ms. Hill:

1. It will begin in September 2007.

2. It will be on this blog but in a separate section from the main page - it will have its own dedicated area and all I will do on the main page is flag up the next lesson.

3. It will be open to anyone at all.

4. It will be FREE.

5. I will not be able to comment in detail on whole manuscripts but I will comment on individual work to a certain extent.

6. You will need to sign up for the course simply so that I will know if I am addressing one, or a thousand and one people. No comittment otherwise - I shan't know if you are there or not unless you comment etc.

7. You will need do some homework and this will include READING as well as writing. I do not believe you can learn to write well unless you read well, and read the work of those who have done the job better than you or I will ever do. So there will be reading and studying fiction and non-fiction as well as writing it.

Sign up today for your chance to study with the author of THE VARIOUS HAUNTS OF MEN and THE PURE OF HEART. And maybe your book will be featured in a future Overlook Press catalog!