• click here to return to the homepage •
Home > Categories > Books > Fiction > The Stranger House review
Things move slowly in the village of Illthwaite, but that's about to change with the arrival of two strangers intent on digging up bits of the past the locals would rather keep buried.
Sam FLood is a young Australian mathematicain whose grandmother was dispatched from Illthwaite four decades ago, courtesy of the Child Migrant scheme. Migual Madero, Sam's fellow guest at the Stranger House inn, is a Spanish wannabe-priest-turned-historian in pursuit of an ancestor last seen setting sail with teh Armada in 1588.
The antipathy between them is instand and mutual, but as they follow their seperate quests their paths become increasingly entangeld, with clashes physical and metaphysical, and shocks natural and supernatural, as the tension mounts to an explosive climax.
All the elements we have come to expect from Reginald Hill's writing - mystery, humour, elegant style, inticate plotting, fascinating characters, and a strong sense of history - combine here to create what must be his finest novel yet.
Sil: a novel
Harry and Hopper
Cor Blimey, Mate - Action Stories for Young Hunters
The Girls From Corona Del Mar
The Super Amazing Adventures of Me, Pig 
Wade Hanna 2 - Lethal Authority
Thunderbirds Are Go! Dare & Rescue Sticker Activity Book
Big Book of Ella and Olivia
The Topp Twins Treasury Of Sing-Along Stories including CD
Pixel Raiders #2: Dragon Land
The Christmas Looky Book
Everyday Strength
But Then...Product reviews...
Review by: goldfishstar (Natalie)
Dated: 22nd of January, 2006
This was my first Reginald Hill novel, and I was unsure what to expect...
He has had some obviously good reviews from the people that count in the reviewing world, so I figured he couldn't be too bad...
They say things move slowly in Illthwaite, well, that wasn't all that moved slowly...
It took at least the first half of the book for me to get really caught in the story, but once I was, there were twists and turns abound!
Sam and Miguel are both in this sleepy village with their own agendas - Sam to find out what she can about her grandmother, and Miguel to research the regions religious history and find ties to his own family. However, as it's such a small town, their paths cross, first in the Stranger House - the local inn, and then at various points as Sam works her way through the village talking to people who MIGHT know her grandmother, and Miguel discovers the hidden religious secrets of the villages families. The animosity between the two main characters is understandable, as a mathematician and a man who has experienced stigmata are bound to differ in opinions about the world, but this grows into a mutual respect, and rather predictably, attraction as the story grows and develops, drawing the reader deeper and deeper into the secrets of this seemingly sleepy little town.
While the story starts off slowly, once it got going, I found this to be a pretty good read. Having not read any of Mr Hill's other novels I am unsure about the claim by on reviewer that he is the best living male crime writer in the English-speaking world, but he does write a interesting novel with plenty to keep a reader interested and wanting to turn the pages.
Random listing from 'Books'...
Whoever heard of a fire-breathing, moon-singing ninja chicken? Avian is no ordinary chicken, as her friendship with an oddball wolf called Faelan proves.
When Faelan is forced to journey into the Lockjaws to meet the fierce Varg, Avian the ninja chicken comes to his rescue. In return, he becomes a reluctant conspirator in Avian's crazy plan to free her flock from the Slave Barn... but many dangers await the friends on their feather-raising mission.
This is Book Two in the Faelan the Wolf trilogy. The cover and internal illustrations are by Kieran Rynhart.
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"Common sense is just experience so ingrained, you use it almost without thinking. The worst thing is, we aren't born with it."
unknown
