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.
Blurb: Simon Serrailler finds himself in devastating new territory as a sophisticated drugs’ network sets its sights on Lafferton and the surrounding villages
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. And rinse and repeat. 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. The foot soldiers? Vulnerable local kids like Brookie and Olivia, who will give Simon a bitter taste of this new landscape.
It is a harsh winter at home as well as work. Simon’s GP sister Cat and her husband Kieron are struggling with medical dramas big and small. A trip to Bevham General on her rounds sets off alarm bells for Dr Cat, and a visit from her son Sam as he tries to work out if his midwifery course is right for him coincides with a threat to their beloved family dog. Simon is working hard, but he’s restless, wondering what next. There’s nothing new going on for him in Lafferton, but sometimes the familiar holds surprises, too . . .
Read and Rated 