4.5 Stars from me

Hats off to Susan Hill for the Simon Serrailler series is a masterclass in the crime thriller / police genre. He is a sublime character and A Change of Circumstance hits the perfect balance of being a gritty storyline amid an excellent crime thriller.

I would love to see this series televised and cannot understand why it hasn't been already (or if it has, quite how I've missed it).

Now, I've clearly missed a couple of the books as last time I read about Simon he very much had two arms so that was a bit of a curveball, but it certainly hasn't dented his confidence or his ability to solve crimes.

I loved the plot in this one as it touches on a problem that is rife in schools up and down the country and anything that highlights this is a good thing in my opinion. Susan Hill captures human emotion and sentiment perfectly within these pages and she sets the perfect tone within the reality of families. The differences between Brookie and his family and the homelife of Simon's sister, Cat, and her family are stark and beautifully juxtaposed within the book.

Truly can see this one hitting the TV screens and I for one greatly look forward to it.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

What can I say! Susan Hill has done it again and written an excellent novel with Simon Serrailler as the main character. I like the way that Simon's family have become part of each novel as it gives insight into the man he is.
I don't think this book is my favourite in the series - but it's still very good!

Lafferton, the small town at the heart of the Simon Serrailler crime novels by Susan Hill, has until now only known small-scale drugs crime. In ‘A Change of Circumstance’, a young local man is found dead of a presumed overdose in a flat above the Chinese pharmacy in neighbouring hippy village Starley. County lines drug gangs are using local Lafferton children and people are beginning to die. This is the eleventh instalment of this excellent series.
Hill’s Serrailler novels are always a delight to read, thoroughly grounded in the town of Lafferton with familiar characters and landmarks set against beautiful countryside. A reminder that crime happens in pretty places too. I wasn’t so sure about the veracity of some of the police procedure but the stories of Brookie and Olivia feel real enough, both children from fractured families pulled into crime by lies and bribes. ‘A Change of Circumstance’ is a horrible portrayal of the manipulation and abuse of children but lacking in the narrative drive of earlier books. I finished it quickly but it is short – 315 pages compared with first in the series ‘The Various Haunts of Men’ which is 448 pages long.
As always, a network of minor storylines add depth and colour to the main themes and Simon’s sister Cat is the beating heart of the drama. Now a GP for a private doctors’ service, she is called out to an elderly man who refuses to go into hospital. Her Yorkie terrier Wookie goes missing while son Sam is home from medical school and being secretive about his study plans. Small details that add to the real life feeling of the series, typical family life.
It’s an odd ending to the drugs case, almost as if a television drama stopped five minutes before the end. I felt slightly let down in not seeing the arrest of the guilty party, instead it is more a hint than an action scene and I missed that final feeling of justice done. The ending to Simon’s story is the change of circumstance of the title. I’m still not quite convinced but it will add a new angle to the next Serrailler story.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

Before reading this book by Susan Hill I read the first in this series (The Various haunts of Men). We rejoin Chief Inspector Simon Serailler and the various members of his family. Drug gangs are targeting Lafferton especially local kids thus ensuring that local villages and suburbs become tragic casualties. Once again, Simon Serailler confides in his GP sister Cat about his personal life so we have the crime story alongside the more personal aspects involving his family. Cat has left the NHS and now works in the private medical sector. I didn't think this book always flowed very well and I also thought the ending was a bit disappointing. However, I do like Susan Hill's style and would definitely read more of her work. Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book, as well as The Various Haunts of men.

After having read this 10th book by Susan Hill featuring Simon Serrailler I really am beginning to feel a part of this family.
Just cannot wait till the end of the day when I can curl up in bed and join the family again.
I see there is another story, really cannot wait to read the next one.

Would really recommend these Simon Serrailler stories to all enjoy a good read.

Another in the series about Simon Serrailler. I've read the whole series and enjoy the way the characters are developing and the main characters consistent from one book to the next. The books can be read alone, but it's worth reading them as a series.
This series focuses on the problem of 'County Lines' the use of young children as drug couriers and links in the chain.
Simon and his extended family are central to the story, at times more important than he is. His family is complicated and it's the twists and turns of this, in tandem with the evolving policing storyline which keeps you gripped.
I enjoyed this latest episode in the series and look forward to the next.

I wasn't sure I would enjoy this book when I discovered it centred around the 'county lines' drug trafficking, and I did find some parts made me quite uncomfortable. The story surrounds a young addict who has overdosed in a flat above a Chinese health store, and leads to young people being drawn in to become mules for drugs, and the devastating impact this has on them and their families.

Some parts were well written, others seemed to skate over and omit information the reader might have liked to know. The whole section about Wookie's disappearance seemed a little pointless, as we didn't find out where or why he went. I expected it to have a purpose. The writer seems keen to tell the readers more about Simon Serrailler and his sister Cat's lives and family than he does about the crimes to be solved. Maybe I was late to the party, but I'm not particularly invested in them as characters - Simon still seems a little one-dimensional to me - so I'm not really concerned whether he buys a house in the country or shacks up with Rachel again. I was left with a lot of questions, and found the ending rather unsatisfactory.

Overall, I enjoyed the book more than the previous one in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The first in the Simon Serrailler series of novels by Susan Hill, this was also my first read by this author. I have to say I did struggle to get into the flow of this book and found it quite hard going of a read which is unusual for me, I think this is just the authors style of writing.

This was a slow burner and with a long build up, it also did not feature much of what I imagined the main character to be – the detective Simon Serrailler. I am still to read the second instalment ‘A change in circumstance’ which may include this character.

A Change of Circumstance is the 11th instalment in Susan Hill’s brilliant Simon Serrailer series. In the last book (The Benefit of Hindsight), I didn’t necessarily feel like we got the best of DCI Serrailer, but he’s back on great form in this novel having become more used to having a prosthetic arm and back investigating full time again.

This novel centres around the drugs industry as it starts to get its claws into Lafferton. I enjoyed the storyline as it felt like a bit of a different plot, though there were some parts of the book which felt like they went off on a bit of a tangent and were harder to feel absorbed in.

Still, it was lovely to be back with Simon and his colleagues as they try to stop local thugs using young children to run drugs, and work out if a recent suicide of a teenage girl might have actually been murder. We also get to see more of his sister Cat and her husband, Police Chief Kevin Bright. As always with this series, we get a great mix of police procedural and character development.

Susan Hill does a brilliant job of creating the ‘other’ characters in this novel – Olivia, her mother, Brookie and his father, all becoming embroiled in this horrible criminal world whether they want to or not. I feel like the characters are believable and I could imagine the desperation of these kids’ parents. It felt almost too real at times!

The book ends without as much of a resolution as I expected and kept me hanging on for more – looking forward to the next already. Another great instalment in this series which I’ll always want to read more from!

Susan Hill's DCS Simon Serrailler of Lafferton Police is wondering if he should be making different life choices, including whether or not to move to the country. Workwise, his latest case involves the discovery of a body in the village of Starly. A man has been found dead from a heroin overdose in a property above a Chinese herbal pharmacy. In this blend of family drama and crime, there is a lot to like and love. Serrailler is someone most seem to either adore or immensely dislike. For me, it is the former. I found A Change of Circumstance gritty and riveting with the horrors of the drugs trade and its toll on young people and others giving rise to darkness and menace. Very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Random House Vintage via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Personally I didn’t enjoy A Change of Circumstance as much as the previous book by Susan Hill that I reviewed, which was also in this series. However, that said , it’s well written and has some good characters and tells the story well, but I simply found it difficult to follow , and as another reviewer mentioned, I couldn’t always decide who was talking to who.

I enjoyed this story, it is an easy read, with likeable, well-rounded characters. The story is about the County lines drug gangs and they trap young people from all walks of life into working for them. There are faults, incidents that are told in detail, yet they don’t actually have relevance to the story, you assume that further into the book there will be a reason for all the information, but it doesn’t emerge.

Simon Serrailler is a good, determined Detective, and an interesting character. In his private life though he has issues, he is afraid of commitment, and this had made him quite a lonely man. He relies too much on his sister and her family for companionship. Towards the end of the story there is a hint that he might be resolving his commitment issues, perhaps all sorted out for the next book!

I enjoyed this read although it was less crime thriller than expected.

This book felt like it is building to something and I hope there are many more books in the series because I enjoy the narrators voice.

I had not read any of the previous books with these characters, so was a bit wrong-footed.
I did find the style of writing to be a bit difficult to follow, who was talking to who? I felt that it was not quite what I was expecting from a writer such as Susan Hill.
However I enjoyed reading it, but hated the circumstances that the children were in, the horror of county lines is dreadful and has marred so many lives.
A good read.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I haven’t read any of the earlier books in this series, but this read as a stand alone novel, with enough detail so that you didn’t feel lost not having read the previous books.

An excellent plot, characters and pace, looking forward to the next one, and will endeavour to catch upon previous books

I’m a long term fan of Susan Hill’s Serrailler books and this latest installment in the series didn’t disappoint at all. Pithy writing combined with the hot topic of the county lines drug scourge all made it into a compulsive read. Let’s hope the next book in the series isn’t far behind!

I have read more of this series and very much like the main characters. Simon is a complicated man, though a good detective. This plot was also fairly complicated and the strands come together gradually., some side stories have little to do with the main crimes/plot and muddied the water a little.
I enjiyed the book on the whole even though the first few chapters were heavy going. The pace and interest picked up as the book progressed.
Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

I’ve loved the Simon Serailler series since I read the first one, and the latest in the series doesn’t fail. The characters we’ve got to know over the years are getting older, the children becoming adults with the concomitant issues and the adults dealing with the effects of a number of years in demanding careers.

As usual, I’ve enjoyed the combination of the comfortable domesticity of every day life and the harsh realities of the world - even in a small cathedral city. Susan Hill doesn’t shy away from difficult subjects and this one is no exception.

Well written and with a plot which moves with a good pace, I’ll continue to read these as long as she writes them.

Serrailler is a favourite character of mine and a new installment is always welcome.
Centered around county lines and some very young children becoming involved in drug running the book is both a fascinating insight (albeit fictional in this case) and horrifying in equal measures. The characters of the children are particularly well written with every nuance of a difficult childhood helping form your mental imagery of them.
A great read!