Author:Georges Simenon,William Hobson
'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray
In everyone's eyes, even the old ladies hiding behind their quivering curtains, even the kids just now who had turned to stare after they had passed him, he was the intruder, the undesirable. No, worse, he was fundamentally untrustworthy, some stranger who had just turned up from who knew where to do who knew what.
Maigret's old colleague becomes an unexpected rival in book twenty-four of the new Penguin Maigret series.
Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret's Rival.
'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories' Guardian
'A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness' Independent
This is modern crime writing with a dark, fierce edge – and all the better for it
—— Geoffrey Wansell , Daily MailKeeps the reader gripped until the last page
—— Sunday ExpressNot all great novelists can write crime fiction but when Susan Hill does the result is stunning
—— Ruth RendellExhilarating… These books succeed in harnessing all the genre’s addictive power while maintaining a complexity and fascination entirely their own
—— IndependentAll the ingredients for the perfect English crime novel are here
—— Daily MailShe captures sinister atmosphere brilliantly...her characters are drawn with loving detail
—— SpectatorEagerly awaited by all aficionados of crime fiction
—— P.D. JamesSusan Hill writes as an honest and disturbing witness to our times
—— ScotsmanThe real joy of the Serrailler series is Serrailler himself…rich in incident and intrigue
—— Daily ExpressNothing’s quite as it seems, except Hill's brilliantly compelling prose
—— Daily MirrorA wonderful storyteller… she is also one of those rare crime writers whose books invite a second reading
—— ScotsmanHill's Serrailler novels have developed into a series whose appeal stretches beyond their genre... The secret of Hill's narrative style is that she forces the readers to invest emotionally in her characters. And then she makes ghastly things happen to them... It sounds easy, but it isn't
—— SpectatorThe Simon Serrailler novels are in a league of their own; literate, detailed and full of drama - they stand head and shoulders above the majority of crime novels. This is the eighth novel in the series and is the darkest and most disturbing yet. It is also the best.
—— CrimeSquadKept me turning the pages, gripped
—— Woman & HomeAlthough at times distressing, Hill tackles a difficult issue without losing any tension and the finale keeps the reader gripped until the last page
—— Jaymi McCann, 4 stars , Sunday ExpressNever less than wholly absorbing
—— Church TimesHighly unsettling
—— Daily TelegraphA tantalising mystery
—— Sunday TelegraphCaptures sinister atmosphere brilliantly
—— Spectator