The vows of silence : a Simon Serrailler crime novel

A little boy is snatched as he stands with his satchel at the gate of his home, waiting for his lift to school. A severely handicapped young woman hovers between life and death. And an ex-con finds it impossible to go straight. The Pure in Heart is a crime novel arising from character and circumstances, about the psychology of crime, something more enthralling than plain thrillers or whodunits. In Lafferton, Serrailler's town, Susan Hill has brilliantly created a community with detail so sharp and true to life that readers feel that these people are their own neighbors and friends. But there is terror and evil in their very midst. There are no easy answers in The Pure of Heart, a magnificent novel about the realities of police work and the sometimes desperate humanity of family. Haunting and truthful, gripping and convincing, it is a thrilling achievement. Gunmen are terrorising young women in the Cathedral town of Lafferton. What — if anything — links the apparently random murders? Is the marksman with a rifle the same person as the killer with a handgun? Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler falls back on well-tried police methods such as questioning neighbours and house-to-house searches. He tries to stay on step ahead of the killer to prevent each new outrage. And he tries to think himself into the gunman’s head. Meanwhile, his sister, Cat, has returned with her family from Australia, and Simon is once again sucked into family life at her welcoming farmhouse. But tragedy strikes, and the warmth and security of home are cruelly tested... Vows of Silence is a sequel to The Various Haunts of Men , The Pure in Heart and The Risk of Darkness . "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? 'Not all great novelists can write crime fiction but when one like Susan Hill does the result is stunning' Ruth Rendell" A little boy is kidnapped as he stands with his satchel at the gate of his home, waiting for his lift to school. An ex-con finds it impossible to stay straight. A severely handicapped young woman dies in the night - has someone who loves her helped her out of this world? Originally published: London: Chatto & Windus, 2005 Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler investigates the kidnapping of a young boy, a case that is influenced by a critically ill disabled woman and an ex-con who is struggling to stay honest. Een vrouwelijke rechercheur besluit, in tegenstelling tot haar collega's, de vermissing van een alleenstaande vrouw in een Engels stadje serieus te nemen Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler investigates the abduction of a child