The Stranger House - Hardcover

Hill, Reginald

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007194811 ISBN 13: 9780007194810

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2005

Synopsis

A stunning new psychological thriller set in past and present-day Cumbria from the award-winning author of the Dalziel and Pascoe series

Things move slowly in the tiny Cumbrian village of Illthwaite, but all that's about to change.

Post-grad Sam Flood and historian Miguel Mercado first meet at The Stranger House, Illwaithe’s local inn. Sam is there to find information on her grandmother, who left four decades before, while Mig’s research stretches back to the English Reformation, four centuries ago.

The pair have nothing in common, yet their paths become increasingly entangled as they pursue their separate quests. Together they will discover who to trust and who to fear in this ancient village where the inhabitants are determined to keep the past buried.

About this title

Review:

‘Good Morning Midnight is a real treat. The characters are deftly drawn, the plot constantly delivers surprises and the assured narrative demonstrates again what a terrific writer he is’ Peter Guttridge, Observer

‘As absorbing and as enjoyable as anything Reginald Hill has produced. The writing is brilliant, witty and erudite’ TJ Binyon, Evening Standard

‘Few writers in the genre today have Hill’s gifts: formidable intelligence, quick humour, compassion and a prose style that blends elegance and grace’ Donna Leon, Sunday Times

‘The fertility of Hill’s imagination, the range of his power, the sheer quality of his literary style never cease to delight’ Val McDermid, Sunday Express

‘Probably the best living male crime writer in the English-speaking world’ Andrew Taylor, Independent

‘Reginald Hill’s novels are really dances to the music of time, his heroes and villains interconnecting, their stories entwining’ Ian Rankin, Scotland on Sunday

Synopsis:

A stunning new psychological thriller set in past and present-day Cumbria from the award-winning author of the Dalziel and Pascoe series Things move slowly in the tiny village of Illthwaite, but that's about to change with the arrival of two strangers. Sam Flood is a young Australian post-grad en route to Cambridge. Miguel Madero is a Spanish historian in flight from a priests' seminary. They have nothing in common and no connection, except that they both want to dig up bits of the past that some people would rather keep buried. Sam is looking for information about her grandmother who left Illthwaite courtesy of the child migrant scheme four decades earlier. The past Mig is interested in is more than four centuries old. They meet in the village pub, The Stranger House, remnant of the old Illthwaite Priory. They don't take to each other. Sam believes that anything that can't be explained by maths isn't worth explaining; Mig sees ghosts; Sam is a fun-loving, experienced young woman; Mig is a 26-year-old virgin.

But once their paths cross, they become increasingly entangled as they pursue what at first seem to be separate quests, finding out the hard way who to trust and who to fear in this ancient village whose lines of power run from Illthwaite Hall, home of the Catholic Woollasses. The action is fast, there are clashes physical and metaphysical, and shocks natural and supernatural, as the tension mounts to an explosive climax. But fans of Reginald Hill's books will not be surprised to find a few laughs along the way. And very old fans might even recognise a ghost from the very distant past!

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0007194811
• ISBN 13: 9780007194810
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480