As usual, an excellently written novel of suspense, family dynamics and love. Hills' characters are well and deeply drawn. There is not actually a lot of mystery in this book, but the writing is wonderful and seeing the growth and progress of the characters is worth the read alone.

I love this series. As many have mentioned, it is like catching up with old friends to hear how the Serrailler family is doing. The writing is wonderful and carries you along effortlessly. Susan Hill is extremely talented.

Although the crime story is sometimes secondary to the story, it is interesting. Drug crimes involving children were so upsetting I could hardly read those parts. As a parent, I was furious. And although you know it will not be a clean wrap to that part of the story, I wished for a twist or surprise at the end that never did actually come. It actually felt very truncated at the end. This was my one disappointment with the book.

However, catching up with Cat and her family was wonderful. I did not mind the time devoted to this part of the story. I often feel that with Susan Hill, you very much have to be able to read between the lines. Such as the story about the father. Many things are alluded to, but yet not spelled out completely. You must just sort of guess at it.

Another great addition to the series and I will be waiting for the next installment. I was very excited to receive and ARC of this book from Netgalley, Random House UK, and Susan Hill. Thank you!

Thank you to Netgalley, The Overlook Press, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of the book.

I need to start off by making a disclaimer: I love this series and I love Susan Hill. I was thrilled to get this as an ARC.

In this entry, Simon and his team are forced to confront the opioid epidemic that has made its way to their sleepy corner of England. While the mystery, at first, seems rather cut and dry (a young man is found, overdosed, in the neighboring, new-agey village of Starly), it catches you off-guard when it turns quickly much darker. We discover that it's not just the drug dealing that's a threat but rather HOW the dealing is taking place; the dealers are manipulating young kids into being their drug mules. Once these kids are in, they can't find a way to get out. And dark circumstances follow.

Like many of the entries in this series, the mystery often seems to be the subplot. The main focus is always on the Serrailler family. I think what makes this series unique is that it is a true combination of family drama and mystery/thriller. This novel spends a lot of time with Cat and her family--especially Sam and the decision he has made about his future--and, of course, with Simon who continues to question his career and his love-life. Hill's novels in this series tend to not end the way you expect them to--and that's refreshing. While this isn't one of the best in the series, it was great to catch up with Simon and Co. I'll be looking forward to entry #12!

I want to thank NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of Susan Hill’s book ‘A Change of Circumstance’.

DCS Simon Serrailler of the Lafferton police is called out to the site where there is a suspected overdose victim. It happens to be an apartment above a shop where Chinese herbal medicines are sold. While investigating, the police force finds out there are illegal drugs being spread among amongst school kids. With seemingly no clues, they must try to find out who is behind the drugs. When there are additional deaths, possibly related, the pressure is on to solve the cases.

Meanwhile, Simon faces the usual personal issues that all fictional British detectives seem to face. In this story, Simon’s sister, Dr. Cat, also faces family and issues in her medical practice. As the storyline weaves back and forth, we also meet some young children (and their families) caught up in tragedy and the illegal drug trade.

Hill keeps the storyline moving, but it is ‘wrapped up’ a little too quickly for my taste .

In Susan Hill's newest novel featuring DCS Simon Serrailler the tentacles of the London drug trade have reached the village of Lafferton. The scariest aspect of this is that children are being recruited to transfer drugs and money and the repercussions are terrifying. This was a well written, engaging read both in the current plot and the ongoing story line of the recurring characters. We are again drawn into the lives of Detective Serrailler and his extended family as they maneuver situations familiar to many of us. Even though this is the 11th book in this series it continues to go strong, I highly recommend it.

Although this was an interesting mystery, I felt that the story never really ended. Like her last Serrailler mystery, much of the book was spent bridging the story without a resolution. I think the Serrailler character is fascinating and earlier books really explored all his talents. But the last two have gotten bogged down in his depression and dissatisfaction with job and life.

This was the first title that I read in the series although I felt that it stood well as a stand alone title. It was a bit dry for me and the characters never did come alive. It wasn’t quite “cozy” rather more comfortable. While I understood the desire to highlight the scourge of drugs I felt that the tone was moralistic. It is not a book I would recommend.

In A Change of Circumstance, the eleventh in Susan Hills’ outstanding Simon Serrailler mystery series, Simon faces changes of circumstance in both his work and private life.

The opioid epidemic has come to peaceful Lafferton in an especially cruel way. Low level dealers, paid by their faceless, anonymous bosses, are recruiting children to deliver drugs to their customers. Enticed by bribes, they are then controlled by fear leading to tragic developments. Although Simon and his team try desperately to put together the pieces, they are frustrated by the lack of police budgeting in cases where it is almost impossible to arrest those in charge.

Meanwhile, a chance meeting with Rachel, a woman from his past, rekindles a romantic interest. Simon questions his past behavior and thinks about moving to a new location to change his life.

Susan Hill is a masterful writer. I have read all of the Serrailler crime novels and they only get better. A Change of Circumstance asks for a sequel. The drug problem will only escalate and I’d like to see Simon go back to London to investigate further. And after the last chapter, I want to see what happens next with Rachel. This is, of course, a 5 star review.

Thank you to NetGalley,