Most Popular Books by Susan Hill

A stunning gift edition collecting together Susan Hill''s spinechilling stories of murder, magic and mayhem.

As the story begins, a lonely woman vanishes while out on her morning run. Then a 22-year-old girl never returns from a walk. An old man disappears too. When fresh-faced policewoman Freya Graffham is assigned to the case, she runs the risk of getting too invested--too involved--in the action. Alongside the enigmatic detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrallier, she must unravel the mystery before events turn too gruesome. Written with intelligence, compassion, and a knowing eye--in the tradition of the fabulous mysteries of Ruth Rendell and P.D. James--The Various Haunts of Men is an enthralling journey into the heart of a wonderfully developed town, and into the very mind of a killer.

Simon Serrailler’s story began in The Various Haunts of Men (about a serial killer) and continued with The Pure in Heart (about a kidnapped schoolboy). Susan Hill is not afraid to tackle difficult issues, nor to face up to the realities of stress in an ordinary English police station. Her third crime novel, The Risk of Darkness, even more compulsive and convincing, follows up the child abduction and explores the crazy grief of a widowed husband, a derangement which turns to obsession and threats, violence and terror. Meanwhile, handsome, introverted Simon Serrailler, whose cool reserve has broken the hearts of several women, finds his own heart troubled by the newest recruit to the Cathedral staff: a feisty female Anglican priest with red hair… The Risk of Darkness is packed with action and adventure. Like Various Haunts, it hinges on a terrific twist which comes as a complete surprise to the reader; and like The Pure in Heart, it deals in depth with complex daily problems.

Simon Serrailler is back in the fifth installment of this extremely popular series. Simon Serrailler has just wrapped up a particularly exhausting and difficult case for SIFT — Special Incident Flying Task force and is on a sabbatical couple of months on a far-flung Scottish island, Tallansay, walking, drawing, relaxing, and having a pleasant no-ties fling with the hotel barmaid, Kirsty. He is called back just before his leave is due to end by Paula Devenish the Chief Constable, when two local prostitutes go missing and are subsequently found strangled. By the time he gets back, another girl has disappeared. So, a vendetta against prostitutes by someone with a warped mind? A series of killings by an angry punter? But then the wife of the new Dean of St Michael''s Cathedral goes missing, followed by another respectable young married woman, on her way to the early shift at the print works. Is this all the work of one serial killer? The murders all take place in and around the canal area, near the footbridge.

"Not all great novelists can write crime fiction but when one like Susan Hill does the result is stunning." —Ruth Rendell A cold case comes back to life in this sixth book in the highly successful Simon Serrailler detective series "eagerly awaited by all aficionados" (P.D. James). Freak weather and flash floods all over southern England. Lafferton is under water and a landslide on the Moor has closed the bypass. As the rain slowly drains away, a shallow grave--and a skeleton--are exposed; 20 years on, the remains of missing teenager Joanne Lowther have finally been uncovered. The case is re-opened and Simon Serrailler is called in as senior investigating officer. Joanne, an only child, had been on her way home from a friend''s house that night. She was the daughter of a prominent local businessman, Sir John Lowther. Joanne''s mother, unable to cope, killed herself 2 years after Joanne disappeared. Cold cases are always tough, and in this latest in the acclaimed series from Susan Hill, Serrailler is forced to confront a frustrating, distressing and complex situation.

The sequel to Daphne DuMaurier''s Rebecca.

A novel by Susan Hill.

A cruel and strange murder confronts detective Simon Serrailler in the 7th novel in this highly successful crime series from international bestselling author Susan Hill. Duchess of Cornwall Close: sheltered accommodation, a mix of bungalows and flats, newly built and not quite finished. Despite the bitterly cold weather, elderly residents are moving in. They don''t notice the figure in the shadows. Someone who doesn''t mind the cold. Then, one snowy night, an old lady is murdered--dragged from her bed and strangled with a length of flex. DCS Simon Serrailler and his team are aware of bizarre circumstances surrounding her death--but they keep some of these details secret, while they desperately search for a match. All they know is that the killer will strike again, and will once more leave the same tell-tale signature. The break comes when Simon''s former sergeant, the ever cheerful Nathan Coates, tracks down a name: Alan Keyes. But Alan Keyes has no birth certificate, no address, no job, no family, no passport, no dental records. Nothing. Alan Keyes does not exist. A Question of Identity introduces a new and chilling element into the Simon Serrailler series: it takes the reader inside the mind of a deranged killer. This is Susan Hill''s most thrillingly imagined crime novel to date.

Women throughout American history have repeatedly been accused of "stepping out of their places" as many have fought for more rewarding roles in the church and society. In this book, Susan Hill Lindley demonstrates that just as religion in the traditional sense has influenced the lives of American women through its institutions, values, and sanctions, so women themselves have had significant effect on the shape of American religion through the years.

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.

A young boy and his mother work very hard at helping him overcome his bad dreams--one night at a time.

Rebecca was Daphne du Maurier''s most famous and best-loved novel. But what happened next? Married to the sophisticated, wordly-wise Maxim, the second Mrs de Winter''s life should be happy and fulfilled. But the vengeful ghost of Rebecca, Maxim''s first wife, continues to cast its long shadow over them. Back in England after an absence of over ten years, it seems as if happiness will at last be theirs. But the de Winters still have to reckon with two hate-consumed figures they once knew - both of whom have very long memories...

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? Once again, Susan Hill brilliantly creates a community, with detail so sharp and convincing that readers feel that these people are their neighbours. And that terror and evil are always in their midst ...

A new Simon Serrailler short story from Susan Hill, throwing Simon into a case like no other: an effigy is hanging in the woods, and soldiers are on the run from demons in their past Simon Serrailler is awoken into a hazy dawn by the sharp ringing of his phone. Called out to the scene, he’s told that there’s a body strung up in tranquil Harnham Woods. But on closer inspection it’s an effigy – a carefully made dummy, stirring in the breeze. Simon knows that this is no practical joke. It’s a message. The gruesome result of the search will show that he was right. And the trail will lead him into a dark history of deceit, subterfuge and the damaged lives of soldiers recently returned from Afghanistan. But the question remains: who has finally got their revenge? If you enjoyed ''Revenge'', look out for the tenth Simon Serrailler thriller, The Benefit of Hindsight in October 2019

In her introduction, Susan Hill tells how she became interested in radio drama, and discusses some of the problems of writing for this medium. The five plays in the collection fall into two catergories: the closed-circle kind with small cast and minimal sound effects, and the multi-stranded, many-layered pieces where events can be juxtaposed in time and space through the medium of radio.

One hot summer’s day, an old flame turns up at Lafferton HQ and Simon Serrailler is catapulted back to his days as a fresh-faced PC in the Met. That long febrile summer in the early 1990s, London was reeling from one IRA bomb warning after another. Sirens. Blue lights. Tyres screaming. People running. The army called in. And Simon in the thick of it. Until he’s pulled aside and put on a very different kind of job: his first undercover op awaits. Will the young Simon be able to hold his nerve? Or is he walking into a trap?

Tom''s mother helps him get rid of his bad dreams one night at a time.

Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, the sole inhabitant of Eel Marsh House. The house stands at the end of a causeway, wreathed in fog and mystery, but it is not until he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black – and her terrible purpose.

Let''s have fun! Stuart Little and his brother, George, can''t wait to go to the amusement park. But if you''re Stuart''s size, how do you keep up with your big brother? By visiting the fun house, of course!

For the last twenty years Sir James Monmouth has been a gentleman adventurer, journeying all over the globe in the footsteps of his hero, the great pioneering traveller Conrad Vane. One rainy winter night, Sir James returns to London. Orphaned at five, it is now time to find out more about his family and origins, and also to learn about the early years of Conrad Vane. But at every turn James is warned off his investigation into Conrad Vane. Do these warnings explain his flashes of intense fear and feelings of being watched? And what of the boy who has started haunting his every step and the mysterious mirror with its inexplicable reflections? Eventually, Sir James''s quest leads him to the old lady of Kittiscar Hall, and deep into a past that binds him to his hero in ways he never could have imagined.

This is a poetry book but with modern and traditional feel to it.This book reaches deep within the soul and spirit. Very human feelings and yearnings. Based on the "Holy Bible" but with a modern twist.EXCERPTS from this book have been broadcast on "Premier Radio" London. This book will stir you. The poems can be very gentle for the hurting and powerful for the seeking soul.Ideal for Christian and atheist, new ager or from any religious tradition.Attitudes to greed,envy,pain and emotional turmoil all pictured in words. Healing and challenging.They will change you forever.Illustrated with glorious colour illustrations of original artworks and also has a study guide for use in meditation,prayer,healing and counselling,worship and devotion,and much more.CONTACT author for Special Prices e mail [email protected]

Francis Croft, the greatest poet of his age, was mad. His world was a nightmare of internal furies and haunting poetic vision. Harvey Lawson watched and protected him until his final suicide. From his solitary old age Harvey writes this brief account of their 20 years together and then burns all the papers to shut out an inquisitive world. The tautness and control that characterize Susan Hill''s work are abundantly evident in The Bird of Night as she magnificently handles the heights and depths, the splendours and miseries of madness and friendship.

The first novel for 16 years by the author of "In the Springtime of the Year", winner of the 1974 Whitbread Award. A 15-year-old girl comes from India to Cambridge, where a middle-aged don - celibate, irreproachable and distinguished - falls obsessively and tragically in love with her.

The author of The Woman in Black returns to the realm of supernatural hauntings in a tale that “chills the blood gently like fine wine” (The Guardian, UK). When Oliver returns to Cambridge, he makes sure to pay a visit to his former professor, now retired and living in a small college apartment. Oliver can’t help but notice a peculiar painting on the wall; a mysterious depiction of masked revelers at the Venice carnival. Yet in the foreground, there is an anachronistically modern figure. On this cold winter’s night, the old professor has decided to reveal the painting’s eerie secret. The dark art of the Venetian scene, instead of imitating life, has the power to entrap it. To stare into the painting is to play dangerously with the unseen demons it hides, and become the victim of its macabre beauty.

When I was young, I knew God loved me. I followed Him. Being His child was natural and easy. Then I hit puberty, and my world changed. There were things I saw that I wanted, things that I thought He might not want me to have. I started to wander. Still, I was not stupid. I knew I still needed Him as Savior; it was His Lordship that gave me pause. Eventually I stripped Him of His Lordship and went to live in the fallen world. I kept Him as my Savior, but I made no effort to follow Him. I loved my life in the fallen world. Still, it had its challenges. There were times I would find myself in the dreaded Valley of the Shadow of Death. I knew somehow He was responsible. It was in the Valley that I would find myself needing Him. Eventually I would have to call on Him. And rescue me He would, but I refused anything but temporary rescue. I would be thankful for a few days, but the desire for my old life in the fallen world would soon reclaim me, and I would put Him back on the shelf. There was so much out there to grab for, and the fallen world did push and encourage me to go for happy. There was a problem with that: I was created to be filled with joy, His joy. Happy was just a temporary, dim simulation. I finally had to face the questions. Does He really love me? Is He really to be trusted? Is He really the God of the Bible? If the answer to these questions was yes, could I really have enough confidence in Him to make Him my center and follow Him?

Suzy likes doing lots of things but most of all she likes taking her shoes off. Then one day Suzy gets some beautiful new shoes to go and meet the queen - and she proves just how right she is.

A HAUNTING PAIR OF GHOST STORIES FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE WOMAN IN BLACK The Small Hand Antiquarian bookseller Adam Snow is returning from a client visit when he takes a wrong turn and stumbles upon a derelict Edwardian house with a lush, overgrown garden. As he approaches the door, he is startled to feel the unmistakable sensation of a small, cold hand creeping into his own, almost as though a child has taken hold of it. Shaken, he returns home to find himself plagued by nightmares. But when he decides to investigate the house’s mysteries, he is troubled by increasingly sinister visitations. Dolly After being orphaned at a young age, Edward Cayley is sent to spend the summer with his forbidding Aunt Kestrel at Iyot house, her decaying estate on the damp, lonely fens in the west of England. With him is his spoiled, spiteful cousin Leonora. And when Leonora’s birthday wish for a beautiful doll is denied, she unleashes a furious rage which will haunt Edward through the years to come.