The Stranger House product reviews

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.