Where to Start with Susan Hill
- Best entry point → The Small Hand
- Best standalone → The Woman in Black
- Start the Simon Serrailler series → The Various Haunts of Men
- What fans keep coming back to → The Pure in Heart
- Highest rated by listeners → The Shadows in the Street (Simon Serrailler #5)
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The Woman in Black
by Susan Hill, John Lawrence
Narrated by Paapa Essiedu
★ 4.23 ABR Score (84.9K ratings)★ 3.76 Goodreads (83.2K) ★ 4.51 Audible (1.7K)5h 25m listening time • Released 2022 -
The Shadows in the Street
Simon Serrailler • Book 5
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.11 ABR Score (7.0K ratings)★ 4 Goodreads (6.6K) ★ 4.4 Audible (466)11h 59m listening time • Released 2010Steven Pacey's narration transforms Hill's psychological thriller into something genuinely unsettling—his ability to shift between Serrailler's steely composure and the creeping dread of a town under siege makes this fifth installment impossible to abandon.
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The Soul of Discretion
Simon Serrailler • Book 8
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.07 ABR Score (5.4K ratings)★ 4.17 Goodreads (5.0K) ★ 4.42 Audible (467)9h 53m listening time • Released 2014Steven Pacey's masterful narration transforms this eighth Serrailler mystery into something deeper than procedural crime—his voice captures the quiet moral complexity that makes Hill's detective series so addictive.
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The Vows of Silence
Simon Serrailler • Book 4
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 4.01 ABR Score (6.7K ratings)★ 4 Goodreads (6.3K) ★ 4.45 Audible (338)10h 3m listening time • Released 2011Steven Pacey's measured, unsettling narration transforms Hill's psychological crime novel into something genuinely haunting. His control of tension and emotional restraint makes the violence feel inevitable rather than sensational.
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A Question of Identity
Simon Serrailler • Book 7
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 3.99 ABR Score (6.5K ratings)★ 3.99 Goodreads (6.1K) ★ 4.42 Audible (446)10h 28m listening time • Released 2013Steven Pacey's narration transforms Hill's serial killer procedural into something genuinely unsettling—his ability to slip between suspects and detectives makes you question everyone's innocence alongside Simon Serrailler.
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The Risk of Darkness
Simon Serrailler • Book 3
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 3.96 ABR Score (7.4K ratings)★ 3.96 Goodreads (7.0K) ★ 4.4 Audible (360)11h 21m listening time • Released 2011Steven Pacey's narration transforms this psychological thriller into something genuinely unsettling—his ability to slip between Simon's ice-cold composure and the fractured minds of obsessed antagonists makes the darkness feel immediate and claustrophobic.
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The Benefit of Hindsight: A Simon Serraillier Case: A Simon Serrailler Case
Simon Serrailler • Book 10
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 3.95 ABR Score (4.5K ratings)★ 4 Goodreads (4.3K) ★ 4.43 Audible (217)9h 2m listening time • Released 2020Steven Pacey's voice work transforms Serrailler's psychological unraveling into something visceral—you feel every crack in his composure as he grapples with trauma and guilt in this masterful 10th installment.
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A Change of Circumstance
Simon Serrailler • Book 11
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 3.95 ABR Score (3.8K ratings)★ 4.01 Goodreads (3.6K) ★ 4.49 Audible (135)9h 41m listening time • Released 2022Steven Pacey's narration transforms this eleventh Serrailler into something darker and more intimate—his voice captures the detective's moral exhaustion as he confronts a drug operation that shatters his cynicism about the case.
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The Comforts of Home
Simon Serrailler • Book 9
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 3.94 ABR Score (4.7K ratings)★ 3.97 Goodreads (4.4K) ★ 4.41 Audible (249)9h 38m listening time • Released 2019Steven Pacey's masterful narration elevates this intricate crime mystery, capturing the emotional weight of cold cases and small-town secrets with a restraint that makes every revelation land harder.
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The Betrayal of Trust
Simon Serrailler • Book 6
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 3.91 ABR Score (7.1K ratings)★ 3.95 Goodreads (6.6K) ★ 4.32 Audible (486)11h 40m listening time • Released 2012Steven Pacey's measured, penetrating voice transforms this cold-case mystery into something genuinely unsettling—he finds the dread lurking beneath the procedural details.
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The Pure in Heart
Simon Serrailler • Book 2
by Susan Hill, Yolande Ligterink
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 3.81 ABR Score (9.0K ratings)★ 3.92 Goodreads (8.3K) ★ 4.18 Audible (667)11h 38m listening time • Released 2006Steven Pacey's nuanced narration transforms this character-driven crime novel into something far deeper than a whodunit—he captures the psychological complexity and moral ambiguity that makes Hill's Lafferton feel disturbingly real.
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The Small Hand
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Cameron Stewart
★ 3.72 ABR Score (7.8K ratings)★ 3.47 Goodreads (7.6K) ★ 4.23 Audible (146)3h 32m listening time • Released 2011 -
The Various Haunts of Men
Simon Serrailler • Book 1
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 3.69 ABR Score (16.7K ratings)★ 3.84 Goodreads (15.2K) ★ 4.06 Audible (1.4K)14h 44m listening time • Released 2011Steven Pacey's control over Lafferton's fog-thick dread is masterful—he builds psychological tension so gradually you won't notice the knife until it's already in. A genuinely unsettling police procedural that rewards patient listeners.
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Hero: A Simon Serrailler Short Story
Simon Serrailler #8.6
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 3.57 ABR Score (1.0K ratings)★ 3.67 Goodreads (902) ★ 3.96 Audible (129)Steven Pacey's narration transforms this meditation on false heroism into something quietly devastating—Hill's exploration of conscience and reputation lands with perfect weight in his hands.
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A Breach of Security
Simon Serrailler #8.5 • Book 8
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 3.49 ABR Score (2.3K ratings)★ 3.62 Goodreads (1.4K) ★ 3.54 Audible (843)1h 28m listening time • Released 2014Steven Pacey's measured intensity makes this lean thriller crackle—he transforms Hill's procedural tension into something genuinely unnerving, especially as the security stakes mount. Perfect for a commute.
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Printer's Devil Court
by Susan Hill
Narrated by Steven Pacey
★ 3.45 ABR Score (2.5K ratings)★ 3.21 Goodreads (2.4K) ★ 4.03 Audible (69)1h 42m listening time • Released 2015Steven Pacey transforms Hill's claustrophobic Victorian mystery into something genuinely unsettling—his voice work captures the creeping dread of a man discovering secrets that destroy everything he thought he knew.
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How We Rank Audiobooks
Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.
Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.
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