Changes

This was how the Roper family became involved. Dad had custody of his four boys and he did his best to give them a decent life. He was a bouncer in a nightclub: they managed reasonably well on his income but they were never flush with money. Tommy, Connor and Alf had all caught the school bus but Brookie was struggling behind with all his stuff in a flimsy carrier bag - and missed the bus. That was when he met Fats, who gave him a lift back to the end of his street. The next time they met he gave him a new rucksack - and there was a phone inside. Then there was a fish and chip meal from all the boys when all they could have afforded was chips and scraps. Then came the pressure on Brookie to deliver packages.

''A Change of Circumstance'' would read well as a stand-alone but you will get more out of the books if you read them in [[Susan Hill's Simon Serrailler Novels in Chronological Order|sequence]]. The background of Serrailler's family life won't seem quite so convoluted. His sister, Cat Dearbon, is a doctor and she's now married to the chief constable, who is Serrailler's boss. They cope quite well with the conflict between family life and the working environment considering that Simon spends a lot of time with his sister. No woman has yet settled in his life - mainly because of the difficulties he encounters when they come into his private space.

The CID team has continuity too, although there's less ongoing story here, Serrailler once took DC Fern Monroe out to dinner and now can't bear to have any contact with her which makes working together difficult for them both.

For more crime associated with a cathedral city, you might like to try [[The Distant Dead by Lesley Thomson]].