In Hill’s fine second Simon Serrailler crime novel (after The Various Haunts of Men
), Inspector Serrailler, who’s still brooding over the unsolved murder of a fellow officer a year earlier, has sought solace amid Italian ruins with his sketchbook, much to the disapproval of his father back in England. Summoned home to the cathedral town of Lafferton, Serrailler finds that murder, family breakups and the abduction of a schoolboy have occurred in his absence. Other worries include the impending death of his handicapped sister, Martha, and a mob attack on the home of the pedophile suspected of kidnapping nine-year-old David Angus. Meanwhile, down-and-out ex-con Andy Gunton finds dubious employment shipping cars for sleazy Lee Carter. The patient reader must wait until these subplots come together, but Hill’s smooth and engrossing style creates riveting suspense as Serrailler and sidekick Nathan Coates pursue David’s abductors through Lafferton’s seediest areas to an astonishing conclusion. (Nov.)
