This is my first foray into the Simon Serrailler series by Susan Hill. It is quite easy to read this as a stand alone although it is obvious that the characters do have a solid backstory. Unable to compare it with other books in the series I did find there seemed a great deal about the family and its dynamics rather than a mystery. It is easy to read and entertaining, but not a page turner.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Susan Hill/Random House UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is an excellent detective mystery. The setting is unusual in that it’s rural rather than being based in a city and I find this refreshing. The characters are very well described and developed, so much so that it’s easy to imagine the scenes depicted. I particularly enjoy the balance the author strikes between the main detective story and the relationships and family dramas that surround the plot.

In my view, it would make a very watchable television drama.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read this book.

This is the latest in Hill’s Simon Serrailler crime fiction series. Although the title talks to a change of circumstances nothing has really changed with any of the key characters – and bizarrely with no mention of the latest over-arching issue of the last few years – the Covid pandemic - not being mentioned, it means the book feels strangely dated and largely irrelevant.
Serrailler novels by tradition meld the life of Serrailler himself, his sister doctor Kate, her three children and new husband Keiron (also in the police) and sundry others with the book’s crime. So expect this usual padding to this crime novel. Serrailler is still “alone” and debating how to change his life, Kate is still working as a GP in private practice and in constant dissatisfaction as to the state of the NHS. Of her three children Sam will take prominence as he is – once more – trying to decide on his career for life and has fallen out with his girlfriend. This descriptive paragraph may sound somewhat unsympathetic, but it reflects the extent of this background included and the lack of real movement of any of the family anywhere useful – to be honest the regular Hill reader has heard it all before.
The police crime issues could be described as related to the “County lines” drug smuggling cartels. It seems that rural police forces – such as the one depicted here – have only recently become aware that this may be potentially a serious local issue (as opposed to an urban blight). So dealing with the local branches of a much wider national crime group will be the crime Serrailler will be concentrating on with his team. First we will be shown how first one (young male working class) lad is drawn into a noxious web and then a slightly older more middle class lassie from another broken home. These will link to a named criminal and then almost by accident the police will see the operating of a possible drug ring in which they are the intended mules. Thus the story will play itself out to its violent and less than happy end.
It should be said that while this novel addresses serious (and life changing) crimes this is not one of Hill’s finest. So many of the situations and people seem clichéd or stock characters - rather too issue led. So the book as a whole seems lacking the assured quality of many of her other novels – and the replaying of the old Serrailler family issues reinforces this feeling, rather than compensating for the weaknesses of the police tale and characters. Overall a disappointing read from a usually well assured creator of fiction

My thanks to Susan and Netgalley for allowing me to read A Change of Circumstance prior to the publication date.
This a mix of police investigations, led by a DCS living a mid-life crisis and family drama.
DCS Serailler realises that the drugs trade in the Lafferton area is changing from small time dealers to County Lines, pulling in the young and vulnerable to carry out the risky aspects of dealing whilst the kingpins reap the profits.

When the body of a young addict is found in the neighbouring town, doubts arise as to whether he administered the overdose himself, or was someone else responsible.

Chief Constable Kieron Bright, now very much a politician and administrator, is keeping a tight rein on the purse strings, which limits the resources required by Serailler to run surveillance in the area.
As Bright is married to Dr. Cat Deerbon, Serailler’s sister, a lot of tact is required.

Meanwhile Dr. Cat who works as a concierge GP, is concerned about the services in the local hospital, which she feels is impacting on the level of care it provides to her patients.

This is a new series to me and I was at a disadvantage until I worked out the many characters and their relationships, both personal and professional. I will have to read the earlier books in the series to really understand them.

I think that we expect children who become involved in County Lines to be from families who don’t care about them. The children in this book did not entirely fit with that profile, although they had their own issues.

The need for a concierge GP service, whilst the local hospital is under resourced, certainly made me pay attention.

There were issues raised in this book which will make the reader consider how it relates to their own environment in the current day and will make it a good choice for a bookclub.

This is the eleventh book in the series but still had me gripped. for the start. Without giving away the plot or ending it will leave you desperate to know when book twelve will be released but, you’ll have to wait!

My thanks to Random House U.K. Vintage/Chatto & Windus for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘A Change of Circumstance’ by Susan Hill in exchange for an honest review.

This is Book 11 in Susan Hill’s series of police procedurals featuring DCS Simon Serrailler set in Lafferton, a fictional cathedral town in Southern England.

DCS Simon Serrailler has long considered that local drug operations are a waste of time and resources as inevitably the small time dealers walk away from court with a fine or suspended sentence and are soon back in business. Yet he has recently learned that dealers have found a new way of running drugs by grooming vulnerable local kids to serve as foot soldiers. No further details to avoid spoilers, though there are distressing scenes.

In tandem with these developments, Simon's GP sister Cat and her husband Kieron are facing their own dramas big and small.

This series has always been as much character-led social drama as crime fiction. Susan Hill focuses upon the dynamics between various members of Simon’s extended family as well as changes taking place in the local community, including in the NHS and policing.

While each book in the series can work as a standalone novel, I have found it a rich journey to follow the development of its characters over the years. I would also note that Hill does not shy away from hard hitting plot lines even among a setting of cathedral choirs and cream teas.

Susan Hill’s writing is always excellent and even with such a serious plot, I was happy to return to Lafferton for a few hours. Following the changes that Simon appears to be making in his own circumstances, I will be looking forward to the next in the series.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC of this book.
Sorry to say although I have read other Susan Hill books which I have enjoyed I have never read any of the Simon Serailler novels. Obviously something I need to put right in the future.
I loved the way all the characters storylines intertwined and the mix of family drama and both medical and police works so well. The ending bought a tear to my eye even though I am not familiar with the characters.

I haven’t read a Susan Hill book since The Lady in Black, but I was intrigued when the opportunity to read a couple of the Simon Serrailler series came my way. Books dutifully downloaded, off I went……and started with the wrong one!! I belated realised that I was reading book number 11, but this didn’t spoil my enjoyment.
Drugs are becoming a problem in sleepy Lafferton, with the arrival of County lines and the recruitment of vulnerable youngsters for this evil trade. Brooklyn Cooper is one such lad. Times are hard for his Dad, who works as a nightclub bouncer, and Brookie and his three brothers often go hungry, despite his best efforts. So when a local man, Fats, starts to take an interest in Brookie by giving him a lift home from school, and buying the boys a fish and chip supper one night, Brookie starts to feel that someone cares about him. Later on , as Fats starts to demand favours in return, he realises he has been suckered into a very dangerous enterprise.
This novel addresses current social concerns about County lines and the drugs trade. The author shows a very deep understanding of how the drug trade relies upon these youngsters, below the age of criminal responsibility, not even suspected in some cases, and of course, they are mixing with a wide network of fellow teenagers, all curious about drugs and wanting to make easy money. They are au fait with mobile phones, usually possess bikes to ply their trade, and are greatly influenced by the want it/ have it mentality of today. They make perfect mules for this vicious trade.
I enjoyed meeting Simon Serrailler and his family members. His sister Cat, is a Doctor, and she seems a lovely member of that profession. I cannot remember the last time I met an adult male with blonde hair and blue eyes like Simon, but he seems at first reading to be rather self obsessed with himself, and disparaging about his beat being sullied by drugs. Perhaps, after reading another book, I will change my opinion about him, perhaps there are hidden depths and secrets to be revealed.
I liked the topicality of this book and thought it was well researched. I would like to incorporate this into some teaching about children and their attraction to drugs in the future. I will definitely read other books in this series, I already have one lined up.
I give this a four star rating,and will leave reviews to other outlets.
My thanks to Netgalley and Random House publishers for my advance copy in return for my honest and unbiased review.

I joined the Simon Serrailler series at book 11, not realising this fact but it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of this book.
I obviously wasn’t aware of the back stories associated with the main characters but it didn’t really matter and I will remedy this by going back and starting the series from the beginning.
In this instalment Susan Hill tackles the subject of drug dealing and County Lines and the despicable lengths the dealers go to to sell their products, by involving school children.
I enjoyed Susan’s writing style and was impressed by her depth of knowledge regarding the subject matter .
I look forward to reading the rest of this series.

Drugs hadn't really been that much of a problem in Lafferton and Detective Superintendent Simon Serrailler had thought of drugs ops as a bit of a waste of time. They still were, to a great extent, but Serrailler knew that something had to be done. Children as young as nine were being recruited to transport the drugs and the operation running the county lines was tight. A mule might know the name (although it probably wouldn't be the correct one) of the person who was running him but he certainly wouldn't know anything about those higher up in the organisation. The police might catch a few of the runners but they'd never get anywhere near those higher up.

This was how the Roper family became involved. Dad had custody of his four boys and he did his best to give them a decent life. He was a bouncer in a nightclub: they managed reasonably well on his income but they were never flush with money. Tommy, Connor and Alf had all caught the school bus but Brookie was struggling behind with all his stuff in a flimsy carrier bag - and missed the bus. That was when he met Fats, who gave him a lift back to the end of his street. The next time they met he gave him a new rucksack - and there was a phone inside. Then there was a fish and chip meal from all the boys when all they could have afforded was chips and scraps. Then came the pressure on Brookie to deliver packages.

Livvy was in her early teens and Fats had caught her too but now she wanted to get out. Fats wasn't having it though. If Liv didn't do as he says some of his friends would be enjoying her - if she understood what he meant. Added pressure was put on the CID team by the death of a heroin addict in a run-down flat over a Chinese pharmacy: he could only have been in his early twenties.

A Change of Circumstance would read well as a stand-alone but you will get more out of the books if you read them in sequence. The background of Serrailler's family life won't seem quite so convoluted. His sister, Cat Dearbon, is a doctor and she's now married to the chief constable, who is Serrailler's boss. They cope quite well with the conflict between family life and the working environment considering that Simon spends a lot of time with his sister. No woman has yet settled in his life - mainly because of the difficulties he encounters when they come into his private space.

The CID team has continuity too, although there's less ongoing story here, Serrailler once took DC Fern Monroe out to dinner and now can't bear to have any contact with her which makes working together difficult for them both.

It's a superb story and I'd have read it through in one sitting if I could have: I couldn't wait to see how it all worked out. Susan Hill's writing is superb, her plotting excellent and she creates characters who stay in your mind long after you've finished the book. I really can't wait for the next book in the series and I'd like to thank the publishers for making a copy available to the Bookbag.

I have rushed through this series after reading the first one to try to get to this one before publishing date. In many ways the books have become more of a family saga, with police in the family, rather than detective novels. This is not a bad thing, I’m so invested in this particular family that I can’t wait until the next book. I wondered though, if a detective fiction fan had picked up this book, rather than the very first one, would there be enough in it for them to continue on or read the previous ones? I am a big fan of the series, but there was no real ‘whodunnit’ element to this story. The County Lines drug problem is covered well here, showing how very young children become embroiled. As always, the characters and setting are brought beautifully to life, you honestly feel as if these people are real.

DCS Simon Serrailler has long regarded drugs ops in the Lafferton area as a waste of time. Small-time dealers are picked up outside the local secondary school, they're given a fine or a suspended and away they go. But when the body of a young drug addict is found in neighbouring Starly, the case pulls Simon into a whole new way of running drugs.
I read the first book & then delved into this one, then buying the ones in between. A well written book, which I thoroughly enjoyed once again I felt the main plot was Simon’s personal life with the mystery taking second place. That said it still made for an engrossing read. I look forward to more in the series
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I read the first book in this series and then the 11th but it's ok as I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
It's a mystery that features a family drama, drug problems and I was glad to read about Simon investigating.
Even if the plot drags a bit at times it kept me reading and I liked the solid mystery and the plot.
The characters are well developed and the author is a good storyteller.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A brilliant storyline very now and up to date and what appears to be a very factual insight into the current drug and the modern country line distribution system works.A fantastic read thoroughly interesting and well written a must for all crime thriller readers

Really good to get back to Lafferton and Simon with his latest case - drugs. I love the characters in this series and end up wondering how they are and what they’re doing after finishing a book whilst waiting for the next.
Have to admit Susan Hill is one of my favourite authors

DCS Simon Serrailler is back.
Drugs have never been a major problem in Lafferton until the body of a young addict is found in a neighbouring town. It seems young children are being recruited as runners and Simon is determined to stamp it out.

This is the first book of Susan Hills that I have read but it kind of works as a standalone, the story is a reasonable detective novel even if I did find it a bit slow in places but then I’m sure that is the true nature of police investigations, Detective Simon Serrailler is quite complex & not always east to relate too but maybe it’s a series that I should start from the beginning and get to understand the characters better.

I’m afraid I found this pretty average. It was readable but I just didn’t feel I got to know any of the characters well so I ended up not being invested in any of them.

I haven't read any of the previous books in this series but I feel it works well as a stand-alone novel. I really enjoyed it and will be reading the previous books now.

This was an interesting police story involving County Lines. A very .realistic storyline about a major problem facing police all over the country . The background story. was good with some engaging characters but there was a totally unconnected conclusion. Very strange!