Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by rebelraising
The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill
2.0
Hmm. I think we're supposed to be dead impressed that a fancy non-crime writer like Susan Hill writes crime. And it's very pleasant, and she clearly understands and wishes to deepen the genre, and and and... yet it's just not as satisfying as a proper crime writer who isn't slumming it.
There is a crime-and-solution plot, and it's well laid and well hinted, though resolved in a possibly OTT way. There's also an ongoing thing about caring for older and dying people, and about euthanasia, and it's that plot which is frankly not very good - very one-sided, peopled by monsters and stereotypes. You come away in no doubt that Hill opposes euthanasia and can't allow the case for it to be made by someone who doesn't turn out to be a hypocrite and an enthusiastic killer. There are good characters wasted, and what feels to me like very slight research - the medical student Molly, allegedly about to graduate, struggles to name the major blood vessels and doesn't seem to be on placement at all - and Cat, the sainted GP, is as irritating as ever. Oh, but Simon Serailler falls in love. Obviously not happy and convenient love, but instead love that fits the book's theme. Bah.
Basically, Hill ain't no Kate Atkinson.
There is a crime-and-solution plot, and it's well laid and well hinted, though resolved in a possibly OTT way. There's also an ongoing thing about caring for older and dying people, and about euthanasia, and it's that plot which is frankly not very good - very one-sided, peopled by monsters and stereotypes. You come away in no doubt that Hill opposes euthanasia and can't allow the case for it to be made by someone who doesn't turn out to be a hypocrite and an enthusiastic killer. There are good characters wasted, and what feels to me like very slight research - the medical student Molly, allegedly about to graduate, struggles to name the major blood vessels and doesn't seem to be on placement at all - and Cat, the sainted GP, is as irritating as ever. Oh, but Simon Serailler falls in love. Obviously not happy and convenient love, but instead love that fits the book's theme. Bah.
Basically, Hill ain't no Kate Atkinson.