Reviewer
Lavanya Karthik: Lavanya is from Mumbai, India and is a licensed
architect and consultant in environmental management. She lives in
Mumbai with her husband and six-year old daughter. She loves reading
and enjoys a diverse range of authors across genres.
Author: Susan Hill
ISBN-13:978-1-59020-408-5
Publisher: Overlook Press
Right from its rain drenched opening lines, Shadows... draws the reader into its bleak landscape
Author: Susan Hill
ISBN-13:978-1-59020-408-5
Publisher: Overlook Press
Click Here To Purchase The Shadows in the Street: A Simon Serrailler Mystery
Right from its rain drenched opening lines, Shadows... draws the reader into its bleak landscape. Hill is a master at creating atmosphere – the autumn chill hovering over the town seeps right into the story, and tightens its hold on the reader as the plot hurtles towards its climax. Set against the backdrop of a small town suffering the consequences of a changing economic and religious climate, ’Shadows..’ is also a gripping study of people besieged – emotionally, spiritually,monetarily – and their individual struggles to find release or redemption.
The narrative steps away from the usual trajectory of a mystery novel – this book will puzzle readers expecting systematic detective work, the periodic appearance of clues and the flashes of intuition that invariably reveal motive and murderers. In fact, this book isn’t even very satisfying as a mystery, with a solution that feels rushed and owes little to Serrailler’s skills. The Inspector himself remains a peripheral character in this story – instead, it is his sister Cat who commands the spotlight and helps (if unwittingly) in solving the case.
But this is a book less about a crime than its effects on the characters that people its pages; the greater mystery Hill seeks to investigate is the way it will irrevocably change their lives. With its strong writing, taut pace and finely etched characters, 'Shadows..' does just that.