July 20, 2023

For many years August was marked by the release of a new Louise Penny mystery. More recently, however, her new book was been published in the fall. This year? Does anyone know if a new Inspector Gamache will join the ranks of the previous 18 books? I have not seen or heard anything, and I started to panic that I may need to re-read them all again –for the third time.

Fortunately, I have a new plan. I will read all twelve of Susan Hill’s Simon Serraillier mysteries. Years ago I read The Various Haunts of Men, the first in the series probably about the time it was published in 2005 and before the second one was released. I remember enjoying it very much and am delighted to have rediscovered this series. And now there are twelve of them!

Last week I read #2, The Pure in Heart. I suspect I will want to re-read the first one, but this book does a good job of refreshing my memory about #1.

Simon Serraillier is a police detective in the English village of Lafferton. There is a charming map at the beginning of the book–that’s always a plus for me. Simon is on a vacation in Venice, however, at the beginning of this book. He has gone to relax and recover from the death of a colleague. Along with being a detective he is an artist and is preparing for an exhibition, which apparently happens in a future book.

He returns home when he learns that his younger sister, who has been severely handicapped since birth and resides in a care home, seems to be be dying. Soon after returning home a young boy in the village is kidnapped, and that serves as the main plot line.

The plot is important, of course, but I am intrigued by the characters, many of whom I assume will be continued presences in the next books. Simon has another sister, Cat, who is a physician and is pregnant with her third child, and a brother who lives in Australia. They are triplets. One of the side stories involves what Simon considers to be a casual relationship with an older woman, Diana, who wants the relationship to be more serious. And there is also his “sidekick” Nathan Coates–how important those sidekicks are in police procedurals.

I have been adding so many titles to my TBR lists in recent weeks, but they may each take a back seat to this series. The third one is called The Risk of Darkness. Excuse me while I make a trip to Half-Price Books in hopes of acquiring that one and any others in the series. Oh, and by the way, Susan Hill is more properly known as Dame Susan Elizabeth Hill. Lady Wells.

An Invitation

Do you enjoy reading series? Which ones have you loved? Are you waiting for the “next one” in a series? I would love to know.