Book 1

The Various Haunts of Men

by Susan Hill

Published 3 June 2004

'Serrailler, Hill's brilliant detective, is the central character in the great writer's crime fiction novels' CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL


PEOPLE ARE GOING MISSING. ONLY ONE THING LINKS THEIR CASES.


THEY ALL DISAPPEAR ON THE HILL.


A woman vanishes in the fog up on the Hill in Lafferton. The police have one lead - a pair of expensive cuff-links found in her flat, with a mysterious note attached to them.

Then a young girl, an old man and even a dog disappear in quick succession in exactly the same place.

Young policewoman Freya Graffham and Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler are given the task of unravelling the mystery. But can they find the Hill killer before he strikes again?

'A gripping whodunnit and a subtle study of the mind of a psychopath' Daily Mail

Discover the first edge-of-your seat novel in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series that over ONE MILLION readers have devoured.


Book 2

The Pure in Heart

by Susan Hill

Published 2 June 2005

'Serrailler, Hill's brilliant detective, is the central character in the great writer's crime fiction novels' CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL

A little boy is snatched at the gate of his home while he waits for his lift to school.

An ex-con struggling to go straight finds himself drawn back into a criminal ring.

A young woman hovers between life and death.

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler is called in to investigate. But with dead ends mounting up and time running out, has he taken on a case so complex it threatens to defeat him?

'All the ingredients for the perfect English crime novel' Daily Mail

Discover the second edge-of-your seat novel in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series that over ONE MILLION readers have devoured


Book 3

The Risk of Darkness

by Susan Hill

Published 1 June 2006

'Serrailler, Hill's brilliant detective, is the central character in the great writer's crime fiction novels' CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL

Children are vanishing.

The village of Lafferton is shattered.


There are no witnesses and no leads - just a kidnapper at large.

Then Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler receives a call: a child has been snatched in Yorkshire. Has the abductor struck again? And will they find this child alive?

'Not all great novelists can write crime fiction but when one like Susan Hill does the result is stunning' Ruth Rendell

Discover the third edge-of-your seat novel in the bestselling Simon Serrailler series that over ONE MILLION readers have devoured.


Book 4

The Vows of Silence

by Susan Hill

Published 5 June 2008
'They shall griow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.' It is late October, and the inhabitantsof the Cathedral town of Lafferton are getting ready for the Remembrance Day parade. This year will be grander than usual because of a VIP visitor. Leonard Cramm is preparing himself, as he always does; his grandfather was a hero of the First World War, his father a hero of the Battle of Britain. But then a couple walking their dogs go into a copse on the outskirts of the town, and one of them breaks an ankle after falling over something deep in the undergrowth. Remembrance takes on a different aspect, and Simon Serrailler - recently promoted to Detective Chief Superintendent - faces a terrifying situation, in which a great many lives are threatened, not least his own.

Book 6

The Betrayal of Trust

by Susan Hill

Published 6 October 2011

Simon Serrailler is faced with that most complicated of investigations - a cold case.

Freak weather and flash floods all over southern England. Half of Lafferton is afloat. A landslip on the Moor has closed the bypass and, as the rain slowly drains away, a shallow grave - and a skeleton - are exposed.

It doesn't take long to identify the remains as those of the missing teenager, Harriet Lowther, last seen carrying a tennis racket while waiting for a bus. But that was sixteen years ago. How long will it take to trawl through the old, stale evidence and assess it anew? The Lafferton force is struggling with staff shortages and economies, and Simon has to do a lot of the legwork on his own. Meanwhile, his sister, Dr Cat Deerbon, is fighting for extra funding for the hospice which is threatened with cuts and closures.

All the Simon Serrailler novels offer more than merely a murder mystery, and The Betrayal of Trust is no exception: it takes a brave, truthful look at old age and the associated problems of terminal illness which, in the future, will bring our society to the brink of painful conflicts of conscience.

Susan Hill's gifts are displayed here to dazzling effect: her empathy and understanding of the human heart, her brilliance when evoking character and her tremendous powers of exciting storytelling.


Book 8

The Soul of Discretion

by Susan Hill

Published 2 October 2014
The eighth Simon Serrailler case

'Not all great novelists can write crime fiction but when one like Susan Hill does the result is stunning' Ruth Rendell

The cathedral town of Lafferton seems idyllic, but in many ways it is just like any other place. As part of the same rapidly changing world, it shares the same hopes and fears, and the same kinds of crime, as any number of towns up and down the land.

When one day DC Simon Serrailler is called in by Lafferton’s new Chief Constable, Kieron Bright, he is met by four plainclothes officers. He is asked to take the lead role in a complex, potentially dangerous undercover operation and must leave town immediately, without telling anyone – not even his girlfriend Rachel, who has only just moved in with him.

Meanwhile, Simon’s sister Cat is facing difficult choices at work that will test her dedication to the NHS. But an urgent call about her and Simon’s father, Richard, soon presents her with a far greater challenge much closer to home.

To complete his special op, Simon must inhabit the mind of the worst kind of criminal. As the op unfolds, Lafferton is dragged into the sort of case every town dreads. And Simon faces the fight of his life.

Book 10

The Benefit of Hindsight

by Susan Hill

Published 3 October 2019

In this, the tenth Simon Serrailler crime novel, Simon must engage with his own demons as Lafferton struggles to cope with a series of crimes that threaten the sanctity of hearth and home.

On the face of it DC Simon Serrailler has had time to recuperate after the violent incident that cost him his arm, and nearly his life. He is back in harness at Lafferton CID, but is spending his spare time high up in the cathedral roof, making drawings of the medieval angels which are being restored.

Lafferton is going through a quiet patch, so far as crime is concerned, until one rainy night two local men open their front door to a couple seeking shelter. A serious error of judgement in the investigation puts Simon’s reputation on the line and calls into question how full his recovery has really been.

In her new role as a private GP, Simon’s sister Cat’s medical and counselling skills are tested by terrible and unexpected events at the homes of two very different Lafferton women. Simon and Cat’s unreliable father, Richard, has returned to live nearby, in a luxury apartment for the well-heeled over 60s. He’s soon up to his usual tricks.

In this, the tenth Simon Serrailler crime novel, Simon must battle his own demons as Lafferton struggles to cope with a series of crimes that threaten the very sanctity of hearth and home.

‘Modern crime writing with a dark, fierce edge’ Daily Mail