The Various Haunts of Men cover art

The Various Haunts of Men

Simon Serrailler 1

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The Various Haunts of Men

By: Susan Hill
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
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About this listen

 A woman vanishes in the fog up on "the Hill", an area locally known for its tranquillity and peace. The police are not alarmed; people usually disappear for their own reasons. But when a young girl, an old man, and even a dog disappear, no one can deny that something untoward is happening in this quiet cathedral town. Young policewoman Freya Graffham is assigned to the case; she's new to the job, compassionate, inquisitive, dedicated, and needs to know, perhaps, too much. She and the enigmatic detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler have the task of unravelling the mystery behind this gruesome sequence of events. From the passages revealing the killer's mind to the final heart-stopping twist, The Various Haunts of Men is an astounding and masterly crime debut and is the first in what promises to be a magnificent series featuring Simon Serrailler.

You should listen to Susan Hill's brilliant Simon Serrailler trilogy in the correct order which is as follows:

  • Book 1: The Various Haunts of Men
  • Book 2: The Pure in Heart
  • Book 3: The Risk of Darkness
©2004 Susan Hill (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Crime Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Small Town & Rural Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Detective Crime Exciting Heartfelt Scary Suspense

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All stars
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Susan Hill usually manages to scare the pants off me and has pulled this off (if you pardon the pun) with applomb. She manages to lull us into a sense of security in this sleepy little dormer town even though we know things are going on. Hill constucts a gradual psychological build up amongst a cast of well developed characters right up to the 'twist of the knife' ending. The reader - Stephen Pacey - skillfully brings each character to life, adding to the drama and climax of the story.

This is the first of Hill's 'Simon Serrailler' series and I'm looking forward to listening to others in the series providing I'm somewhere safe and with the lights on.

Don't go out alone!

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A nicely told story until the bizarre fate of the killer that plagues the novel, especially with the focus of the book being told from the police view point. Well narrated. I'm not sure I'll get the next in the series.

Unsatisfying

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The twist was a bit unnecessary and sort of spoilt the rest of the series was looking forward to seeing how all the relationships developed it was a brilliant book up till that point

Entertaining

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Slow burner to start but thoroughly gripping once it was under way - the narrator was perfect.

A brilliant story

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I was so engaged from the very first sentence. It was absolutely thrilling. I loved the twists and turns, and felt emotional when listening to the ending. Thank you Susan Hill! ❤️❤️

Wow, just wow!

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a rattling good story, brilliantly narrated. I will definitely look for more of Susan Hill's yarns.

totally satisfying

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I loved listening to this book. The author Susan Hill invests so much time and care in bringing the characters to life that the reader can't help but care about them too. I chose this book because I love mysteries and 'whodunnits' and i much prefer plot-driven stories, where I can try and work things out myself. This audio book was in the audible sale, and so i thought that at best I'd have found a new author to enjoy, and at worst I'd only have lost £3.50! Dont get me wrong the plot is fantastic too, but this book is much more character-driven than i would normally like, and I'm so very glad I gave it a go! I will be buying more of this wonderful author's books, and I must also add that the narrator steven pacey cannot be praised highly enough. I've never heard anyone able to 'act' amazingly well with just a voice!! He told the story, he became the characters, he made you care, and even a cynic like me was definitely choked up towards the end!

an absolute pleasure to listen to

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This is my second book narrated by Steven. He is fantastic and brings any story he reads to life. I enjoyed this story as well and look forward to listening to more from this author ( hopefully read by Steven!).

Fantastic narrator

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I was not sure about this book at the start and (had not read anything about it) but soon became addicted. Various characters are introduced but you can never anticipate what will happen to them or who becomes the "main character" Looking forward to the next in the series.

Addictive and startling. No cliches here

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I loved this book until the last half hour, basically the conclusion, then I hated it. The writing is fab and the characters interesting but the ending spoilt it for me. If I don't like the ending then I fall out of love with the book.
Despite my rating, I would still recommend this book, it is a personal dislike. I shall try another by this author to see how I fare, it may be just destined not to work for me this relationship between writer and reader.

difficult rating

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