The Pure in Heart

A deeply flawed Detective Chief Inspector; some mysteries are not solved, ambiguities abound. The characters are struggling with conflicts, and accepting sudden death in their lives, some managing better than others. Excellent writing

With all due respect to the readers opinions, it is stunning to me how childishly people cling to the formula. So, this is not your regular run of the mill British mystery. Everything is not neatly wrapped up with a pink ribbon.The real strenght of this brilliant book is amazingly etched characters and their complex relatioships.I will gladly purchase any book Susan Hill writes in this series.

This second book in the series is even better than the first. It should not be read as a standalone but only after her first Serrailler mystery: Various Haunts of Men. It is true there is little resolution in this book, but author Hill describes and illuminates life's messiness with clarity and sympathy. There are no characters here with charmed lives and no lives without pain. Simon Serrailler is in mourning, fixated on what might have been, when he is called upon to investigate a missing child. In the meantime, Dr. Cat and her husband, Serrailler's parents, his sister Martha and his co-workers are all spun in differing and sometimes surprising directions in Hill's plot. Although the plot is well done and believable, Hill seems more interested in difficulties, small triumphs and day-to-day sorrows of life. How do we define good? What is evil? What do we do to get by in this very imperfect world? Her characters some with strong religious beliefs, some without, explore these issues and allow the reader to explore with them. There are no cardboard characters, no paint-by-number plots, no easy solutions. Readers who want a thought-provoking read and complex characters along with their dose of mystery will be well-satisfied with this mystery series.

Susan Hill is another one of those British mystery writers that makes you want to sit up all night reading. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed The Pure in Heart a great deal, and didn't mind a bit that there was no last chapter that tied everything up with a big red bow. This is clearly a book within a larger series and probably makes more sense and is more enjoyable if you've read the first one (which I did, before this one.) SPOILER ALERT!!!! The complex and believable Serrailler family reminded me of ones that I know - being part of a successful family is not always easy. I don't know that I was entirely convinced by the role that Simon's mother played in Martha's death, but it was at least plausible. I found the disintegration of David's family all too believable. I'm going to England later this year, and I will keep my eyes out for more Susan Hill!

THE PURE IN HEART is talented novelist Susan Hill's second installment in her series starring British Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler, his family, co-workers and other inhabitants of the fictional cathedral city of "Lafferton". DCI Serrailer is much more at the center of the novel then in the first published book, THE VARIOUS HAUNTS OF MEN, and he as well as many of the others making second appearances receive more character development in this outing. The "pure in heart" of the novel's title refers to two innocent victims. The first is Martha, DCI Serrailer's twenty-six year old sister, who has been severely handicapped since birth. The second innocent and the subject of the main mystery is David a school boy snatched from outside his home while waiting for a car pool ride. THE PURE IN HEART is not simply a thriller but a thoughtful character study that examines many conflicts of modern life. Well written, very readable and sympathetic to its characters and setting Susan Hill's Serrailer's series is highly recommended to those who love literary thrillers and I am already anticipating the US release of the third and fourth books.