Ultra disappointed..now okay I had a good time with this author a few years ago and I remember the novel "The Various Haunts of Men" as being well written and a mystery that I wanted to continue..I was ready for more of the same with this book but unfortunately it ended terribly, built up a story and didn’t deliver on the promise of a reveal--all these characters are introduced for apparently no reason except to emphasize how important , aloof and handsome the main character Simon Serrailer is while he still basically comes of like a major jerk. I am not sure what the point of a lot of the subplots were if the story never gets resolved I mean for real who took David Angus and why, what will happen to Andy and will he stay on the right side of the law and why does the whole drama with Martha’s death just fades out?, I am confused and saddened that the writing and great English plot and character development was wasted on this lackluster story of a sad kidnapping and a police procedural with no conclusion..arrgh super frustrating for real. So like I said the story is about a police chief or DCI who is moody, arrogant, oh so handsome and still brooding over the death of his coworker and recently realized romantic interest when he is thrust back to reality with the illness of his handicapped sister and the disappearance of a bright innocent nine year old from in front of his house on a regular school morning..I was intrigued, I was reading every chance I got and –ugh I was let down. I admit there were brilliant parts that made me want to read and relish the story but then there were the overly drawn out and irrelevant parts like all the mentions to the great cat Mephisto who may as well have been a character, or the simply perfect lives of his sister and her family, and then that over the top stalker ex girlfriend like for real lady take the hint he is over you LOL this chick showed up unannounced at his and his sister's house, really just pathetic girl move on..—I don’t know how or why I trudged through this book and near the end it took a while to read.. even factoring in a break to party it up for a weekend or so..but I still finished with this book with disgust on my face because of its abrubt ending which is just ludicrious for three hundred plus pages of foreshadowing and hype and really author Hill I expected more, I am going to wait on trying book three to get this bad taste out my mouth and I do wish this next mystery is ten times better, for shame this book is so well written to fizzle out so much,….for shame.
'The Pure In Heart' by Susan Hill is described as 'neither a thriller nor a whodunnit', which sums it up perfectly. The story follows Simon Serrailler, a policeman with an artistic side, and the rest of his family, as they go through several different events together. Simon is still recovering from an unexpected death, and is faced with challenges both in his personal and professional life. The story also follows Mrs. Angus, whose nine year old son David goes missing whilst waiting for the car ride to school one day. This is Simon's main case, and no one can work out what has happened. Lastly, we also witness Andy Gunton, a former convict, coming back home from business and trying to get back on his feet. I really enjoyed this book as a whole. It was a real page-turner, and I'm definitely a fan of mixed-genre books. It was not your standard mystery book at all, as much of it was away from the actual mystery, but that's what I liked about it. It was cleverly written, with a very internal feel to the characters. I felt for all of them, and it was incredibly hard not to become wrapped up in the whole story - I wasn't reading it for an ending, but to just see relationships and situations develop together. The ending definitely pointed towards more to come, and so I am looking forward to reading the rest of them (although maybe I should read the previous one first!).It was particularly interesting how Hill managed to write about so many different situations without any confusion resulting from them - something which can be quite hard to do. At parts I did find myself wanting to hurry ahead so I could get back to another character, but I guess that's down to personal preference over who we relate to the most.
What do You think about The Pure In Heart (2006)?
Susan Hill, I love your Simon Serrailler series.This is the second book in the series I have read and thoroughly enjoyed. Please read the series in order, otherwise you might be a bit lost as to relationships, etc.DCI Simon Serrailler is on a painting holiday in Venice when he is called home to the bedside of his dying youngest sister, Martha. Returning to work early, he is thrust into a case where a little boy disappears from outside his home while waiting to be collected from school. The Pure in Heart is neither a thriller nor a whodunnit, but a crime novel arising out of character and circumstance. Susan Hill says she is intrigued by the psychology of crime, and this definitely shines through in her writing.If you like a novel that careers through its plot at 100mph, then this is probably not for you.But if you like cleverly crafted stories with wonderful character development, you will love this one!
—Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice*
This is the second novel featuring DCI Simon Serrailler. The first - The Various Haunts Of Men - I read a few years ago, but I couldn't really remember anything about the plot, although certain significant events are referred to in this book. There are a few different stories running through this novel: a young boy is snatched from his home, DCI Serrailler's disabled sister hovers between life and death, an ex-con struggles to go straight, despite his best intentions. By the end of the book, although there have been developments, none of these aspects of the plot have been tied up. It seems they will continue into book 3, of which I have a copy, so I will have to read it fairly soon before I forget anything.This was a gripping novel, with some very likeable characters - the DCI is quite enigmatic. One gripe that I had though was with some of the dialogue, as I tended to lose track of who was saying what, if the people in question had a similar speaking style.There were a few short chapters, just a page or two, that were in the voice of the missing boy. These were particularly harrowing to read, as he pleaded to be returned to his mummy. An integral part of the story, but still unpleasant. I think things like that affect me a lot more since I became a mum myself.On the whole, an enjoyable read, and I'm looking forwards to reading book 3 (and I think there is a fourth one after that too).
—Michelle
This was very disappointing to me in a lot of ways. We see a lot more of Simon Serrailler in this second book in the series but he is not very likable other than his love for his sister Martha.This was not exactly a mystery or suspense. In fact, I don't know what the hell to call it. It was more of a British soap opera inside two covers than anything else. Here is what happened-(1) Simon the cop, Cat the doctor, and their triplet brother in Australia had a sister Martha who was born 10 years aft
—Terri Lynn
