Every new novel in this superb series is an event, and A Change Of Circumstance is no exception. Needless to say, the writing is of the highest order, the main characters are like members of one's family and the plot is engrossing. County lines is the principal theme , which is described chillingly and convincingly. Susan Hill is always aware of the need for change in the lives of Simon Serrailler's family and there are some surprising developments here! Wonderful.

I always eagerly await the publication of a new Simon Serrailler mystery. I love Susan Hill's sophisticated crime writing and have found the domestic drama backstories compelling throughout the series. This lived up to expectations as we see the family life continuing with ups and downs of real life. Hill details so well the emotional conflicts that affect Cat and Simon and the wider family members. Whilst crafting a well constructed crime drama this time focusing on the ever growing issue of county lines drugs networks. And the hints by the end of this book that Simon might be moving towards a less defensive and isolated existence make me long for the next in the series.

This is the latest in Susan Hill's series featuring DCS Simon Serrailler of Lafferton Police, a blend of family drama and crime fiction, an addition which has Serrailler wondering if the time has come to make different life choices, including whether he should move to the country after his comfortable life renting a flat. Professionally, he finds himself having to confront the nightmare rise and spread of the county lines drugs trade, a threat to young people, the exploitation of children, with all the attendant threats it poses to the community. It is winter, it all begins with the discovery in the village of Starly of the ravaged body of a young man in a flat above a Chinese herbal pharmacy, a heroin overdose, and which sparks police inquiries as they try to identify the victim.

It is his sister, Dr Cat Deerbon and her family, who provides the familial roots and stability to a Serrailler who has up to this point been a commitment phobe when it comes to women and relationships, although a meeting with a lover from his past, Rachel, push him towards considering permanent change. Cat is now working in the private health sector as a GP for Concierge Medical, although the pressures and strains of her profession remain, with patients like 95 year old Lionel Brown, along with the state of the NHS local hospital. This and the everyday family dramas, such as husband Chief Constable Kevin Bright's leg injury, worries over their dog Wookie, and Sam's problems, combine to leave Cat feeling exhausted. In the meantime, tragedies involving children recruited and threatened by the drugs trade, and other murders have Serrailler and his team determined to get some forms of justice.

This was an uneven reading experience for me, and the pacing of the novel felt awkward and abrupt on occasion. Hill's central protagonist, Serrailler, is not someone I feel particularly invested in, he feels like someone whose character is markedly underwritten, and I am not sure I believe in his sudden awareness of his deeper feelings for Rachel, his sister Cat is far more interesting to me. What makes this novel a worthwhile read is Hill's portrayal of 14 year old Olivia and 11 year old Brooklyn 'Brookie' Roper, and his father, Vince, trying to do all that he can to protect his young son. Overall, this a engaging read, with the darkness of the horrors of the drugs trade and its terrifying toll on young people and others in the community. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

What a great pleasure it is to be back in the company of Simon Serrailler and his team and family. This one may not be the strongest story line of the series, but it is still a wonder how Susan Hill combines the drama and minutiae of murder investigations with the very personal family stories that make this series of books unique. The writing flows with tremendous style and ease, and the storyline takes the reader’s imagination and runs with it. This book continues with the family saga of Simon, his sister Cat and her family, and combines it with the harrowing world of county lines drug dealing and its consequences for the users, and for the young people who are drawn into this world of greed and evil. The relationships here occasionally stretch credibility but this is easily forgiven as there is so much more to commend in this wonderful series.

This latest in the Simon Serrailler series of detective novels leads us deep into the hidden world of county lines drug dealing. Alongside dealing with the threats posed to the community by this insidious operation, Simon has also reached a point in his life when he's reassessing what he really wants out of it. There are no easy solutions and hence the conclusion felt a little weak but nevertheless an absorbing read.

DCS Simon Serrailler #11

It’s January and we’re deep in winters clutches in Lafferton. A heroin overdose of a young man in a rundown flat above a Chinese pharmacy in Starly leads Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler and his team into a county lines inquiry. Vulnerable children like eleven year old Brooklyn (Brookie) Roper are targeted and groomed. Meanwhile, Simon’s sister Cat Deerbon now married to Chief Constable Kieron Bright has her own issues with patients and personal family worries especially with her son Sam who is in medical training.

I have loved this series since the first one -The Various Haunts of Men- and as we’re now at number eleven the characters feel as comfortable as old slippers and like friends in their familiarity. Simon is so intriguing and continues to do so which takes some skill to maintain in a succession of books. He’s a terrific policeman, a good leader, he cares very deeply about his family and is a great uncle to Cat’s children but he’s very complex and currently extremely restless and at a crossroads in his life. I like the on/off relationship with Rachel Wyatt which adds to the realism. Cat and her family always add a good personal touch and she offers Simon the stability and family he needs. Cat’s role in the books has grown over the years and I do enjoy that.

Although there’s a police team working alongside Serrailler the main focus in this book is on him and Kieron, although it seems as if DC Denzil Aberra is a very keen and likeable addition to the team. These characters are peripheral though. The different strands of the storyline connect well with the plot flowing seamlessly. You feel the parental pain and anger for the unscrupulous grooming of the vulnerable young and this part of the plot is both relevant and shockingly gritty. The gang are utterly ruthless, the bodies pile up and there’s tragedy and heartache for some. This inquiry is compelling although it does end a bit abruptly. The overall ending is a good one with things looking a bit more promising for Simon.

Finally, this is another absorbing and enjoyable addition to the series. It’s well written and easy to read. Although this is the eleventh it can easily be read as a stand-alone but I do recommend the series.

With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This is a somewhat uneven entry in what has become the Serrailler soap opera: some of the storylines have stultified, particularly the case with Cat and her family where tiny issues are given unwarrantable page space (Kieron's pulled ligament, the lost dog, Cat writing to the Health Secretary to complain about a single patient's treatment on a local hospital ward). But just when we think that the emotional intelligence of the earlier books has dribbled away, Hill pulls off a brilliant scene like Olivia in hospital. The drug storyline is handled well and there are some great slice of life portraits here, not least Vince whose brusque parenting hides depths of care. Simon's personal life just doesn't interest me much any more , especially his miraculous volte face at the end - but there's more than enough good stuff here to keep Hill in the game.

This is another very good Serrailler book from Susan Hill, but I have just a few reservations.

The primary driver of the book is a drugs network penetrating a town outside the major cities – the so called county lines. An apparent heroin overdose draws the police’s attention to the problem more forcibly, and we also get the stories of a two young people who are drawn into the network as couriers and their suffering as a result. In addition, the stories of Simon himself and his sister Cat continue to progress.

The whole thing is, of course, extremely well written in that way Susan Hill has of crafting elegant, readable prose which never draws attention to itself but carries the reader along beautifully. The story, too, is a timely one and in many ways well done; the stories of the children involved and of the effects on their families are vivid and gripping, for example. However, I did find the policing aspect just a little clunky and preachy; at one point the Chief Constable gives a long and rather sententious speech to his officers, after which, one comments, “Didn’t have the chief down for a rallying-cry-before-battle sort of guy, did you?” Well, no I didn’t – and he was all the better for it. Serrailler himself sounds a bit like a politician with a pre-written answer at times, too, and I’ve come to expect better from Susan Hill.

All that said, this is still several cuts above the majority of contemporary crime novels. Serrailler is, frankly, often annoying in his approach to his personal life, which is realistic and quite deliberate by Hill and which I rather admire – although there is a hint of more settled things to come. So, although this may not be the finest of the series, it is still very good.

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