The other night

I read an advance copy of Reginald Hill's forthcoming The Stranger House. I liked it a lot, though it wasn't at all what I was expecting (and it's a bit kitschy, to tell the truth--not sure what I really think about inclusion of occult elements in crime thrillers--and I am sure that writers should think long and hard before invoking reincarnation, religious persecution in sixteenth-century England, etc. etc.). But it's a very enjoyable read: appealing main female character (Australian), good setting and so on.