Anita Brookner

Missing link

In times of anxiety or confusion the most effective palliative is a good detective story. The requirement is that a sense of justice be restored, and, paradoxically, given the fictional events portrayed, a much desired sense of order. The effect is transitory but reliable.

In times of anxiety or confusion the most effective palliative is a good detective story. The requirement is that a sense of justice be restored, and, paradoxically, given the fictional events portrayed, a much desired sense of order. The effect is transitory but reliable.

It is also necessary that the protagonist be a man of principle. Such a one is the unassailably virtuous Simon Serrailler, Susan Hill’s detective hero, now making his fifth appearance in this agreeable series. He is, of course, no stranger to melancholy, largely in connection with his equally high-minded girlfriend from whom he is momentarily estranged. And he lives in Lafferton, a small fictional town which nevertheless boasts a cathedral, a college of further education and a hospice. He is revered by his colleagues, including the new detective sergeant whose eager suggestions are met with courteous constraint by his superior. For protocol addicts this is as it should be.

Things are somewhat troubled in Lafferton, more troubled than they have been in previous volumes. There are now prostitutes from eastern Europe in the streets, taking away custom from the home- grown variety. Nor are matters at the cathedral any better. The new dean’s wife is determined to open a drop-in centre for them in the crypt, and it does not help matters that she is a manic depressive. Indeed there is rather a lot of pathology in this novel, and this is not merely confined to the victims. Serrailler’s GP sister is uncharacteristically stricken after the death of her husband from a brain tumour, and the college librarian is seriously off his food, after being fingered by the police for his do-gooding activities among the prostitutes. Those who uphold the cathedral’s traditions are, naturally, sensible, honourable and even-tempered, even when faced with dismissal or redundancy.

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