Susan Hill

Steven Pacey has narrated all eight novels in Susan Hill’s Simon Serrailler series, as well as the short story A Breach of Security.

The Various Haunts of Men	The Pure in Heart	The Risk of Darkness	The Vows of Silence	Shadows in the Street
The Betrayal of Trust	A Question of Identity	A Breach of Security	The Soul of Discretion

Susan Hill,
Photo credit: The Guardian

From Susan Hill, about the Simon Serrailler novels …

“I had never thought of writing crime novels because to me those had always meant ‘detective stories’ and although I enjoyed reading them, I knew I would be no good at the problem-solving sort of story with a series of dropped clues and a surprise ending. But the crime novel has become a serious literary genre over the last few decades and I realised that it presented the sort of challenge I wanted.

My aim was to look at issues in the world around me and contemporary life – which I have not done in my novels before. I also wanted to know not ‘who dunnit’ but much more importantly, WHY? What motivates a criminal? Why does someone murder and perhaps not only once?”

Read more at Susan Hill’s BLOG

The Various Haunts of Men: Simon Serrailler 1

Title: The Various Haunts of Men: Simon Serrailler 1
Publisher: AudioGo Ltd/BBC Audiobooks

Synopsis:

A woman vanishes in the fog up on “the Hill”, an area locally known for its tranquillity and peace. The police are not alarmed; people usually disappear for their own reasons. But when a young girl, an old man, and even a dog disappear, no one can deny that something untoward is happening in this quiet cathedral town. Young policewoman Freya Graffham is assigned to the case; she’s new to the job, compassionate, inquisitive, dedicated, and needs to know, perhaps, too much. She and the enigmatic detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler have the task of unravelling the mystery behind this gruesome sequence of events. From the passages revealing the killer’s mind to the final heart-stopping twist, The Various Haunts of Men is an astounding and masterly crime debut and is the first in what promises to be a magnificent series featuring Simon Serrailler.

Publisher’s Synopsis

IMAGE	FORMAT	RELEASE DATE	LENGTH
	Digital Download	16 January, 2006	14 hours and 43 minutes Unabridged

Praise for Steven Pacey’s reading of The Various Haunts of Men

“I loved Steven Paceys narration.”
“I just love Steven Pacey as a narrator. He brings life to all the characters. Not sure I would listen to this series if not for the narrator.”
” I was delighted to discover that the series was on audible and believe the whole experience has been made even better by an absolutely tremendous reader that I have not come across before. Full marks to Steven Pacey. I became absolutely wrapped up in the characters of this story, in the little details of their lives”
“Steven Pacey did a great job”
“great combination of the story and the excellent narrator”
“He is very good and I will be ooking [sic] for more of his narrations”
“Steven Pacey’s narration is brilliant, mellow and melodic, and he also give the narration a great rhythm and timbre which is very relaxing but also he injects great energy at the action moments. I could listen to his voice all day.”
“It is good to see that they are also narrated by Steven Pacey who makes each character an individual and adds much to the enjoyment of listening to this book and I definitely look forward to listening to the rest of the series.”
“Great narration of an absorbing book.”
“The narration is not overstated. As a listener one is aware of the content rather than the performance.”
“Narrator is very good.”
“Brilliant narrator …”
“Steven Pacey is an excellent reader.”
“I came to purchase this audio having been mesmerised by Stephen [sic] Pacey’s narration of The Heroes.”
“The narrator reads clearly and effectively, differentiating the voices of different characters without overdoing it.”
“The narrator was excellent.”
“The reader – Stephen [sic] Pacey – skillfully brings each character to life, adding to the drama and climax of the story.”
“… the reader was fabulous.”
“The narrator-Steven Pacey-was amazing,one of the best … thing that kept me listening was Steven Pacey”
“Steven Pacey’s reading was excellent and I will certainly listen to more in the series.”
“Well read.”
“Steven Pacey is a great narrator and reads the characters perfectly.”
“I must mention Steven Pacey here as well, beautifully narrated, totally brings the characters and background to life in a stunning performance. Hill and Pacey as a duo provide one of the most thrilling books I’ve read in ages, 6 stars !!”
“the narrator Steven Pacey reads with such feeling that he really does the author justice.”
“The narration is exceptional yet again and alone makes this a good listen. The story itself is involving, if somewhat slow to start, and with Stephen [sic] Pacey narrating it makes for a page turner.”
“Stephen [sic] Pacey is an excellent reader for this book and helps to establish the atmosphere very well.”
“Steven Pacey’s reading of the book is superb: he brings the different voices convincingly to life. I don’t know how these readers manage it, but the best of them can switch from being female to male; young to old; regional accent to accent without caricaturing their voice.”
“The narration is superb and fits the characters very well indeed.”
“Steven Pacey is one of the best narrators available on this site – listening to him feels like relaxing by a real log fire in the presence of a story telling genius (wonderful accents!).”
“The narrator is clear and uses an expressive voice for each character.”
“This was very well read …”

audible.com Customer Reviews

Reviews Updated,27 October, 2014

The Pure in Heart: Simon Serrailler 2

Title: The Pure in Heart: Simon Serrailler 2
Publisher: AudioGo Ltd/BBC Audiobooks

Synopsis:

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler, first introduced in The Various Haunts of Men, is on a painting holiday in Venice when he is summoned home by a telephone call. He has family problems to face, and the stress and grind of running a busy police station. When a little boy is snatched as he stands with his satchel at the gate of his home, waiting for his lift to school, an ordinary community realises that terror and evil are in their very midst.

Publisher’s Synopsis

IMAGE	FORMAT	RELEASE DATE	LENGTH
	Digital Download	7 April, 2006	11 hours and 37 minutes Unabridged

Praise for Steven Pacey’s reading of The Pure in Heart:

“Hes [sic] a really good narrator. He brings life to all the characters he does.”
“Steven Pacey is a really good narrator. I listened to the story simply because of his narration. I am not too sure if I would listen to this series if not for the narrator.”
“Steven Pacey did a great job”
“Steven Pacey was great”
“Beautifully read and excellent characterisation. I tend to choose audio books, not just on potential content, but on the voice of the reader. Stephen [sic] Pacey is very easy on the ear.”
“… the narration really bring these people to life.”
“I’m also totally in love with Stephen [sic] Pacey, who must be the most talented voice actor in the country. I keep forgetting it’s not a radio play.”
“The reader is superb with just enough change of voice to keep the listener interested.”

audible.co.uk Customer Reviews

“The narrator is great too!”
“Steven Pacey is certainly one of the best narrators I have ever encountered.”
“really enjoyed this audio. So many interesting characters and Steven Pacey is amazing as the narrator.”
“Steven Pacey has a pleasant reading voice”
“He reads beautifully and the subtle difference in voices of characters is masterful.”

audible.com Customer Reviews

“Steven Pacey’s impressive narration leads us into the heart of this atmospheric mystery … Pacey beautifully brings to life a wide range of characters, using accent and intonation to help listeners understand personality and relationships. He also paces the many conversations realistically. From exhausted late-night conference between colleagues to the seductive persuasions of a small-time crime boss–we hear, and we enjoy.”

Audiofile Magazine

“I heartily recommend this version narrated by Steven Pacey who is fast becoming one of my favourite narrators.”

Reactions to Reading

Reviews Updated,27 October, 2014

The Risk of Darkness: Simon Serrailler 3

Title: The Risk of Darkness: Simon Serrailler 3
Publisher: AudioGo Ltd/BBC Audiobooks
Synopsis:
Following on from the child abduction in her previous novel The Pure in Heart, Susan Hill explores the crazy grief of a widowed husband, a derangement that turns to obsession and threats, violence and terror.

Publisher’s Synopsis

IMAGE	FORMAT	RELEASE DATE	LENGTH
	Digital Download	11 July, 2007	11 hours and 21 minutes Unabridged

Praise for Steven Pacey’s reading of The Risk of Darkness:

“This was a well narrated story. Steven Pacey brings life to all the characters. I thought the storyline was ok, but the narration did it for me. ”
“Steven brings all the characters to life brilliantly. His accents are spot on.”
“Steven Pacey did a great job”
“superb reading of Simon [sic] Pacey”
“Once again, Stephen [sic] Pacey’s reading is impeccable.”
“Stephen [sic] Pacey is arguably the best narrator on this site.”
“The reader is excellent.”
“Brilliantly read by Stephen [sic] Pacey.”
” … it turns the pages just as well as the last thanks to the writer’s skill and the superb reading of Steven Pacey.”

audible.co.uk and audible.com Customer Reviews

“… allowing narrator Steven Pacey’s strong, British speaking voice to shine through the local police banter. Pacey relies on emotional tones rather than high pitch to expertly flesh out the novel’s female characters …”

Audiofile Magazine

Reviews Updated 16 August, 2012

The Vows of Silence: Simon Serrailler 4

Title: The Vows of Silence: Simon Serrailler 4
Publisher: AudioGo Ltd/BBC Audiobooks

Synopsis:

Gunmen are terrorising young women in the Cathedral town of Lafferton. What – if anything – links the apparently random murders? Is the marksman with a rifle the same person as the killer with a handgun?

Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler falls back on well tried police methods such as questioning neighbours and house-to-house searches. Simon has been promoted and is now with the Serious Incident Flying Taskforce, but he is still at heart a loner and these chilly murders are on his home territory.

Publisher’s Synopsis

IMAGE	FORMAT	RELEASE DATE	LENGTH
	Digital Download	4 May, 2009	9 hours and 59 minutes Unabridged

Praise for Steven Pacey’s reading of The Vows of Silence:

“The narration is excellent, natural and entertaining.”
“Steven Pacey is excellent as the reader – not only fluent and good at accents, but a superb reminder of my favourite childhood television series!”
“The reader is excellent, which makes such a difference to an audio book.”
“Steven Pacey is a marvellous narrator. The characters are so real and really get under the skin. I couldn’t stop listening to it!”
“The narrator did a great job.”
“In addition, the book is excellently read.”

audible.co.uk Customer Reviews

“narrator perfect”
“The narrator reads perfectly and brings the story to life.”

audible.com Customer Reviews

“I very much enjoy Steven Pacey’s nation of these audiobooks.”

Jen Bailey, Good Reads

“Steven Pacey’s low, gravelly voice changes tone and pitch as different characters take center stage … The complex plot is advanced by the even pace of the narration.”

Audiofile Magazine

Reviews Updated 27 October, 2014

Shadows in the Street: Simon Serrailler 5

Title: Shadows in the Street: Simon Serrailler 5
Publisher: AudioGo Ltd/BBC Audiobooks

Synopsis:
Simon Serrailler has just wrapped up an exhausting and difficult case for SIFT – Special Incident Flying Taskforce – and is on a sabbatical on a Scottish island when he is recalled to Lafferton. Two local prostitutes have vanished and are subsequently found strangled. By the time he gets back, another girl has disappeared. Is this a vendetta against prostitutes by someone with a warped mind? Or a series of killings by an angry punter? But then one of the Cathedral wives goes missing, followed by another young married woman.

Publisher’s Synopsis

IMAGE	FORMAT	RELEASE DATE	LENGTH
	Digital Download Audio CD Listen: Sample	1 November, 2010	12 hours and 3 minutes Unabridged

Praise for Steven Pacey’s reading of Shadows in the Street: Simon Serrailler 5

“Again the performance was fantastic, Steven Pacey really helps you believe you are part of the book.”
“Steven Pacey is a very good reader giving each character a unique voice.”
“I can’t rate the combination of Susan Hil and Stephen [sic] Pacey highly enough. Her writing is so natural, and the characterisation and dialogue are more important to me than the plots (of which there are always several on the go). His narration is perfect. Each member of the cast has such a distinctive voice that even when a scene opens with dialogue I always know who is speaking.”
“… really like steven paceys [sic] narration – he is excellent.”

audible.co.uk and audible.com Customer Reviews

“Steven Pacey offers a suburb reading of Susan Hill’s entertaining newest mystery … The action varies from calm conversation to heightened suspense, and Pacey’s fine-tuned reading increases the pleasures of both. His mastery of class and regional accents serves to deepen listeners’ understanding of the plot and issues. And his ability to voice believable men, women, boys, and girls is truly remarkable.”

Audiofile Magazine

Steven’s reading of Shadows in the Street was longlisted for the Sounds of Crime Awards, 2011.

Reviews Updated 27 October, 2014

The Betrayal of Trust: Simon Serrailler 6

Title: The Betrayal of Trust: Simon Serrailler 6
Publisher: AudioGo Ltd/BBC Audiobooks

Synopsis:
Simon Serrailler is faced with that most complicated of investigations – a cold case.

Freak weather and flash floods all over southern England. Half of Lafferton is afloat. A landslip on the Moor has closed the bypass and, as the rain slowly drains away, a shallow grave – and a skeleton – are exposed. It doesn’t take long to identify the remains as those of the missing teenager, Harriet Lowther, last seen carrying a tennis racket while waiting for a bus. But that was 16 years ago. How long will it take to trawl through the old, stale evidence and assess it anew?

Publisher’s Synopsis

IMAGE	FORMAT	RELEASE DATE	LENGTH
	Digital Download Audio CD Listen: Sample	1 January, 2012	11 hours and 43 minutes Unabridged

Praise for Steven Pacey’s reading of The Betrayal of Trust: Simon Serrailler 6

“The narrator is particularly good.”
“thoroughly enjoy Steven Pacey’s narration.”
“I love all the Simon Serrailler books on audio. Not only are the plots and characterisation great, but the narration is excellent too. I can’t imagine anyone else narrating them.”
“… gets 5 stars from me as Steven Pacey’s narration is so good you can’t fail to enjoy the book.”
“And as for the reader, he is most excellent. I don’t think it would be the same without him, I shall be looking for other “reads” with him, definitely.”
“The characters are brought to life beautifully by the talented reading style of the narrator Steven Pacey.”
“The reading by Steven Pacey was as admirable as ever.”
“I also find the reader very competent. It is very pleasing that the same reader continues throughout the series.”
“Steven Pacey’s narration is outstandingly good and added to my pleasure in this recording.”
“… the narrator is excellent.”
” … the narration is excellent too. I can’t imagine anyone else narrating them.”

audible.co.uk Customer Reviews

“Pacey engages listeners with this cold case and its victim, as well as its investigators, as Serrailler painstakingly rebuilds the murder. Pacey expertly conveys Serrailler’s compassion as he questions Harriet’s father and others who knew her in search of clues to her death. Pacey’s transitions between characters, dialects, and males and females are flawless. He keeps the pace on track while allowing no interruption in the mounting suspense. ”

Audiofile Magazine

Reviews Updated 27 October, 2014

A Question of Identity: Simon Serrailler 7

Title: A Question of Identity: Simon Serrailler 7
Publisher: AudioGo Ltd/BBC Audiobooks

Synopsis:
Duchess of Cornwall Close: sheltered accommodation, a mix of bungalows and flats, newly built and not quite finished. Despite the bitterly cold weather, elderly residents are moving in. Then, one snowy night, an old lady is murdered – dragged from her bed and strangled with a length of flex. DCS Simon Serrailler and his team are aware of bizarre circumstances surrounding her death, but keep some details secret while they desperately search for a match. All they know is that the killer will strike again, and will once more leave the same tell-tale signature.

Then Simon’s former sergeant, the ever-cheerful Nathan Coates, tracks down a name: Alan Keyes. But Alan Keyes has no birth certificate, no address, no job, no family, no passport, and no dental records. Nothing. Alan Keyes does not exist.

Publisher’s Summary

IMAGE	FORMAT	RELEASE DATE	LENGTH
	Digital Download	25 October, 2012	10 hours and 31 minutes Unabridged

Praise for Steven Pacey’s reading of A Question of Identity

“I have found the standard has remained constant throughout the series both in terms of the writing and in the very excellent reading by Steven Pacey.”
“Very easy to listen to narrative voice.”
“The reader is excellent and brings the story to life, as usual.”
“Steven Pacey is the perfect narrator for these books.”
“Excellent narration.”
“The reader is first class”

audible.co.uk Customer Reviews

Steven’s reading of A Question of Identity was longlisted for the Sounds of Crime Awards, 2013.

Reviews Updated 27 October, 2014

A Breach of Security

Title:A Breach of Security
Publisher: AudioGo Ltd/BBC Audiobooks

Synopsis:
When a bunch of neo-fascist thugs named The Bulldogs attack a Gay pride march in the sleepy country town of Lafferton, detective Simon Serrailler moves quickly to find the assailants. He’s already got his hands full making security arrangements for a memorial service to honour soldiers returning from Afghanistan. When anonymous threats come in, Serrailler wonders if the Bulldogs are behind these too – and worries that they know the Prince of Wales will be in attendance. As the day approaches, the threats intensify, and Serrailler finds himself racing against the clock to prevent catastrophe.

Publisher’s Summary

IMAGE	FORMAT	RELEASE DATE	LENGTH
	Digital Download	16 September, 2014	1 hours and 28 minutes Unabridged

Praise for Steven Pacey’s reading of A Breach of Security
“I have waited a long time to catch up with Simon Serrailler so it was a treat to hear Steven Pacey’s reliable reading of even a short story”

audible.com Customer Reviews

Reviews Updated 27 October, 2014

The Soul of Discretion: Simon Serrailler 8

Title:The Soul of Discretion: Simon Serrailler 8
Publisher: AudioGo Ltd/BBC Audiobooks

Synopsis:
The cathedral town of Lafferton seems idyllic, but in many ways it is just like any other place. As part of the same rapidly changing world, it shares the same hopes and fears, and the same kinds of crime, as any number of towns up and down the land.

When one day DC Simon Serrailler is called in by Lafferton’s new Chief Constable, Kieron Bright, he is met by four plainclothes officers. He is asked to take the lead role in a complex, potentially dangerous undercover operation and must leave town immediately, without telling anyone – not even his girlfriend Rachel, who has only just moved in with him.

Meanwhile, Simon’s sister Cat is facing difficult choices at work that will test her dedication to the NHS. But an urgent call about her and Simon’s father, Richard, soon presents her with a far greater challenge much closer to home.To complete his special op, Simon must inhabit the mind of the worst kind of criminal. As the op unfolds, Lafferton is dragged into the sort of case every town dreads. And Simon faces the fight of his life.

Publisher’s Summary

IMAGE	FORMAT	RELEASE DATE	LENGTH
	Digital Download	2 October, 2014	9 hours and 54 minutes Unabridged

Praise for Steven Pacey’s reading of The Soul of Discretion
“Stephen [sic] Pacey has spoiled me for all other narrators and made theirs a difficult job. Perfect as ever.”
“Steven Pacey narrated superbly – as usual.”

audible.co.uk Customer Reviews

“Steven Pacey is a marvel.”
“I have listened to hundreds of audible books and Steven Pacey is one of the greatest performers I have ever heard. Simply the best!”
“I believe Susan Hill is able to draw the reader in with what she writes and Steven Pacey gives it life.”
“I could listen to Steven Pacey speak for hours! His narration of the Simon series is perfect!”

audible.com Customer Reviews

Reviews Updated 27 October, 2014