This is the latest in the Simon Serrailler crime procedurals. Simon is back at work in Lafferton following his recovery from his arm amputation and heading up a serious crime group. Sister Cat, married to his boss Keiron, is settling to her new job with a private medical practice and her children continue to grow. Her daughter is away; elder son, Sam, is working as a hospital porter while he decides a future career and Felix is building a relationship with his new step dad Keiron (a busy professional) who is also adjusting to juggling life with a new family.
The “serious” crime Simon will have to lead on includes the investigation into an organised scam in which a local rural couple will be stripped of their valuable art and antiques collection while they are out. He decides it is the sign of a wider organised crime programme with more than local implications and orders a press blackout. This is a decision that will be questioned when another local couple are also robbed with much more serious consequences. But there will be steeper prices to pay for more than the initial victims of this incident, as the backdrop story to the crime is unveiled. Hill will also remember that crime and current policing is not restricted to the “serious” or planned ones and can occur seemingly at random and she will seek to explore the impact of stretched police (and other) resources on the overall service and those who rely on it.
Cat, in the parallel storyline of “hindsight” A will question both the implications of her leaving the NHS, but also her response to her most worrying medical case. A heavily pregnant mother is displaying more than usual anxiety about her soon to be born baby – are her premonitions to be taken seriously? Cat is now a “response” doctor, no longer responsible for overall care of a patient on her list. This becomes a particularly acute matter as this tale rolls out to, to form a quiet tragedy for all those involved.
I must confess that I did not think that this was one of Hill’s best in this series. Possibly the balance was awry between the personal and the crime – and the need to include all “the family” led to a certain dragging. Yes police are people too and have a private life; yes everybody juggles more than their working life. Yes, professionals rarely deal with just one working issue at a time and there will undoubtedly be “admin” and managerial constraints that impact on how they do their work. And yes, these are important issues in real life too so merit serious discussion. But overall I came away with the feeling that the underlying “plot line planning” was too obvious and that the book was rushed.
The "this story” characters around the main crime also seemed somewhat contrived and not very real. With another six weeks or so thought and time to mature the novel might have felt more real and less contrived. A disappointing read.

If, like me, you’ve drifted in and out of the Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler series, don’t worry. It’s easy to pick up ‘The Benefit of Hindsight’, the tenth in the series, and head straight back to Lafferton, populated by the likes of Simon’s sister Dr Cat Deerbon, her children, various police personnel and a smattering of village folk.
The first few chapters of the novel introduce us to two couples lucky enough to live in beautiful homes. However, their dwellings are the targets of an unknown sophisticated thief who has chosen them for their bounty and their secluded positions. The modus operandi of his gang is a quick and thorough in and out when the occupants are away for the evening. Sadly, robbery becomes murder when one couple return home unexpectedly early and Serrailler and his team are intent on tracking them down for the rest of the novel.
Whilst this crime is the central narrative thread, as ever Susan Hill is interested in exploring people’s passions, foibles, motives and fears within the relationships that make up the story. Serrailler’s PTSD is one focus whilst the crippling premonitions that naïve expectant mother, Cassie, has is another. The former depiction is very convincing, both for the ways in which the panic attacks are described and the victim’s reaction to them. The latter portrayal, not so much. In truth, I was not really sure why this sub-plot was included. Is there, for example, more to Colin, Cassie’s husband, than we have been led to believe? If so, the reader will have to wait for revelations in book eleven.
I suspect that loyal Serrailler fans will love this new instalment whilst those less smitten will acknowledge this as a well-written tale, albeit one that ultimately feels unfinished. Perhaps that’s the point – the readership must always be kept wanting!
My thanks to NetGalley and Chatto & Windus London for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

Some people have a policy of never writing about a book they don’t like. Very nice of them but I think that if I’ve been sent a book to review, I should tell it as I see it. I finished this book feeling disappointed, cheated and outraged that there was no proper ending and too many loose ends. I actually could not believe the 100% which appeared at the bottom of the Kindle page, because who ends a book like that? I was really angry with the author. Although there is a crime at the centre of the novel and one with many ramifications, it’s not enough to fill a novel, at least, not as written here. The book is padded out with chapters about things we already know: Simon’s demons (fed up with them); Cat’s niceness (she’s as lovely as ever); their father’s appalling behaviour (same old, same old). Nothing is added to our understanding of any of the characters.

This is formulaic, lazy writing; the formula being that of all the other Serraillier books. In addition, Susan Hill seems to have wanted to include everything she’s heard on the news that’s frightening about modern Britain. For example, two completely gratuitous incidents: a machete attack at the police station and the fatal stabbing of a teenage boy on a London street. I felt it failed completely as a detective mystery; the few moments of tension ending too quickly, so that there is no pace at all. Would this book have been published if it were a debut novel?

This is the tenth Serraillier mystery, so I’ve missed one.
I read this thanks to NetGalley and it will be out on October 3rd.

I’m pleased to say that this series is back up to its usual excellent standard after the rather disappointing The Comforts of Home. There is a very solid crime story, with Susan Hill’s trademark explorations of other themes and other stories involving her main characters.

Simon is back at work and we finally get a look at the process of mental and emotional recovery from severe trauma, which is faintly echoed in the story of the emotional struggles of one of Cat’s new patients. Both are very well done, with Hill’s usual combination of forensic observation and compassion, as is the development of the family story. The title refers to the judgements professionals have to make with insufficient information and their consequences, which Hill also deals with extremely well. I won’t reveal more to avoid spoilers, but I think she is back in her stride here, which for followers of this excellent series is probably all that need be said.

Susan Hill is a very fine writer and the Serrailler books are novels investigating human emotions, relationships and motivations with crimes running through the narrative rather than just Crime Novels. This is a fine example and is very warmly recommended.

(My thanks to Random House for an ARC via NetGalley.)

I love this series of books particularly because you carry on with the same characters straight after the end of a previous book. I must admit that when I got to the end I couldn't quite believe it as nothing was really finished with any satisfaction apart from Simon and Cat's self centred, awkward father being looked after very kindly by his grandson and girlfriend. More than he deserved really. Both cases of burglary, the latter including murder, remained unsolved, and Simon's love life seemed to be on the back burner with two new females as possible girlfriends. Perhaps the story line will continue in the next book but probably not although Simon's enforced gardening leave might lead us to more insights about life in the Lafferton police force. I'm not sure about Cat now being married to the head honcho at the station, which can and does cause problems. But still a great follow on although I would have preferred a longer book with some satisfactory endings,, more please.

It is always a joy to settle down with a Simon Serrailler novel, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read this one. Susan Hill is such a great writer that it is impossible not to get completely caught up in her characters, and intelligent plots. This book is so much better than the traditional police procedural, where the detective invariably solves an impossible crime. Instead, we are given a glimpse into people's lives, and the way in which crime affects many people, including Serrailler himself. Great characters, including the minor ones, and I'm afraid I now can't wait to read Susan Hill's next book!

Another excellent contribution to the Simon Serrailler series. Simon is back at work following the attack where he lost his arm but is increasingly suffering the after effects with some sort of PTSD. His sister Cat and her family also take centre stage, with her and Simon's father in a retirement home but nonetheless still up to his old tricks of manipulation and womanising.
The crime plot is gripping when there's a focus on it, but the real focus is on Simon, his family and their ongoing relationships. I don't think it would be wise to start with this, the tenth in the series, but it does the job well of making me feel I know these people well and wanting to know what happens next.

Another fabulous Serrailler book by Susan Hill. An excellent read - suspenseful and insightful, Ms Hill as ever achieves a wonderful balance of narrative and character.

After a serious dip in the last book, I'm delighted that Susan Hill has pulled things back together in this episode of what is becoming the Serrailler Saga. Her usual multistory technique takes in a range of stories and emotions but I don't want to give any spoilers as there are some surprises here for long-time followers of this series. Cat, to my relief, is back to her empathetic self despite having left the NHS, and there's an interesting unifying theme about judgments in a professional capacity that links to the title. Once again, don't come to this expecting a conventional crime/police procedural: this is about people who happen to be police officers and doctors where character includes but is beyond profession. Excellent, subtle, elegant.