Freya Graffham is an extremely likeable Police officer, who's moved to a cathedral town to get away from the unwonted pressures of London life. She gets stuck into her local community, gets her teeth into a case or two, and develops a bit of a crush on DI Simon Serrailler, who is only a bit part in this story, really. This is an involving, believable story, and only its ending disappoints. Not because it's not a well-conceived and well-written one, but because ..... (spoiler alert) ( )

Interesting, kept me reading. She presents a large number of characters, makes them a bit sympathetic and then mows them down. It’s a bit confusing that this is the first in the Simon Serallier series , as he barely appears. I found the ending a bit of a letdown ( )

[The Various Haunts of Men] - Susan Hill - (England)
Genera: Crime/Police procedural
Narrator: Steven Pacey
4★
A woman vanishes in the fog up on "the Hill", an area locally known for its tranquility 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 town. Young policewoman Freya Graffham is assigned to the case; she's new to the job, compassionate, inquisitive, and dedicated. She and the enigmatic detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler have the task of unraveling the mystery behind this gruesome sequence of events.

This is the first in a series by Susan Hill, who is best known for her gothic, and chilling suspense novels. My favorite will always be [The Woman in Black]. I will admit to being a bit annoyed that this book really had nothing to do with Simon Serrailler. He was a secondary character through the entire story. Another thing that more than annoyed this animal lover was that they killed the dog! Seriously...was that really necessary to the story? The main character made some choices that were flat out idiocy. I understand that people do stupid things sometimes, but this woman, Freya Graffham, needed a 'handler". I found that I was actually continuing to read in order to see for her next "I'm going to get myself killed" choice. Before I knew it, I was at the end of the book, and by the grace of God and Susan Hill's pen...she was still alive...so all's well that ends well. I have to give Ms. Hill credit that she didn't write a "happy ever after ending".... nor did she write crappy dialogue trying to force readers into believing or disbelieving anything about her characters. She let the reader use their "God -given" brain to decide for themselves. 4 Stars and I'll continue to read this author. ( )

I am conflicted.

On the one hand, I found the characters compelling, and I thought the POV changes worked well. I also really enjoyed the setting of the town, and the thoughtful discussion of alternative therapies. As someone who enjoys PD James, I was excited to settle in with a new DI and his crew, and the crew is very appealing. It was a great read.

On the other hand **big spoiler** I HATE authors who unexpectedly kill off main characters. I am still harboring a grudge against Elizabeth George for exactly that behavior, so the part where the main character of the book (not Simon Serrailler, not at all) is murdered? Kinda killed it for me. I get that the trope of new young inspector comes to town, is female, is great at her job and therefore, without exception will become the target of a serial killer is done to death. I get why actually killing that character off makes an interesting statement on mysteries in general. But I really liked Freya, and Simon basically wasn't in this book, so I found it upsetting. I have no idea what to expect of the continuing series -- I may or may not stick with it. Also, I would very much have liked some of the other plot threads to be cleanly wrapped up -- did anything further happen with the psychic surgeon? What happened with Karin's diagnosis? Realistically vague, but I don't read these kinds of mysteries for realism, I read them for satisfying conclusions, and this one did not offer anything as comforting as that.
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Deceptively good mystery, that feels like it’s meandering a little until you realise that rather than a straightforward police procedural this is a much more character based book. It’s gripping and extremely convincing in its portrayal of jobbing coppers who have lives outside of the case. Hill leads the reader through the investigation and gets you feeling comfortable, then slams in a stunningly good ending. ( )