Review by Booklist Review
In the sixth installment of Hill's series starring the artistic Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler, set in a picturesque yet embattled English cathedral town, a massive storm unearths two sets of bones, both dating back to 1995 and apparently belonging to young females. For one of the sets, the identification is fairly easy: a 15-year-old schoolgirl has been missing just the right amount of time. The second skeleton is more of a puzzle, since there is no record of a second young female having been reported missing at the time. In his investigation, Serrailler must reopen the wounds of town residents. If you're a follower of this very popular series, the updated plotlines of the cathedral town's residents will be part of the fun attached to watching Serrailler and his crew solve the two mysteries. However, Hill provides very little backstory, making this an unwelcoming read for the newcomer. Still, this series has many devotees, who find in the enigmatic Serrailler the same appealling mix of intelligence and sensitivity that characterizes P. D. James' Adam Dalgliesh.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Quality-of-life issues figure prominently in Hill's thought-provoking sixth procedural featuring Chief Supt. Simon Serrailler (after 2010's The Shadows in the Street). Skeletal remains unearthed by a torrential rainstorm that floods the English city of Lafferton are quickly identified as those of Harriet Lowther, a 15-year-old schoolgirl who disappeared 16 years earlier after last being seen at a bus stop. Serrailler must conduct the subsequent cold case murder inquiry with limited staffing. As he grinds through old interview reports and seeks out living witnesses to Lowther's actions on the day she vanished, he meets a married woman whose husband is debilitated by Parkinson's. Meanwhile, a patient of his physician sister contemplates suicide on learning of a fatal diagnosis, and another local grapples with finding a suitable facility for a loved one subject to increasingly violent outbursts. Fully realized characters and efficient prose more than compensate for an unconvincing twist. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
