The Pure in Heart - Susan Hill

The second of the Simon Serrailler books (not sure how you pronounce his name I've been doing it the French way) This is much darker than The Various Haunts of Men, it deals with themes we shy away from, child abduction, a would-be stalker, Simon's reaction to the the fallout from the murders in Lafferton a year ago. Simon is called back from his holiday in Venice his sister - not Cat - is desperately ill. He throws himself back into his work rather than explore the feelings he had for DS Graffam. At the same time Andy Gunton is released from prison and returns to Lafferton. It seems all roads lead to Lafferton as Diana, Simon's old flame invades his life. This book is more procedural than the first and the course of the investigation is all too familiar. I'm thinking that the final book in the trilogy will resolve some of the thread left hanging by this - I hope so. I felt we only got half a story. Still it's a fascinating one. Hill gets the portrait of village life just right and nails the issues with GPs and locums which are a very real problem in UK at the moment. Andy the ex-con also gets a sympathetic portrayal his determination to stay straight dented by the probation system, his bitch of a sister and old 'friends' who won't take no for an answer. Overall a good follow-up. Looking forward to book three.