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Splinter the Silence: A Tony Hill and Carol Jordan Novel
Splinter the Silence: A Tony Hill and Carol Jordan Novel
Splinter the Silence: A Tony Hill and Carol Jordan Novel
Audiobook11 hours

Splinter the Silence: A Tony Hill and Carol Jordan Novel

Written by Val McDermid

Narrated by Gerard Doyle

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

Widely recognized as one of our finest crime writers, with numerous accolades and legions of devoted readers worldwide, internationally bestselling author Val McDermid is back with the latest installment in her much beloved series featuring psychologist Tony Hill and former police detective Carol Jordan. Splinter the Silence is an adrenaline-fueled roller coaster guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat: a masterful novel centered on the mysterious deaths of several women who were the victims of vicious cyber bullying. Is it violence if it's virtual? The outspoken women targeted by the increasingly cruel internet trolls and bullies would probably say so. For some of them, the torrents of bile and vicious threats prove too much. They begin to silence themselves in a series of high-profile suicides. Or do they? Tony Hill isn't convinced. But he's the only one. Former cop Carol Jordan is too busy messing up her life to care. Until she gets an unexpected second chance. Now it's game on, and the stakes have never been higher. Unpredictable and un-put-down-able, Splinter the Silence is a must-read that cements Val McDermid place as one of the best crime writers in the business. Val McDermid is the best-selling author of twenty-nine previous novels, which have been translated into over forty languages. She lives in Scotland.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateDec 15, 2015
ISBN9781622319541
Splinter the Silence: A Tony Hill and Carol Jordan Novel
Author

Val McDermid

Val McDermid is a number one bestseller whose novels have been translated into more than forty languages, and have sold over nineteen million copies. She has won many awards, including the CWA Gold Dagger the LA Times Book of the Year Award and the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award for outstanding achievement. She writes full-time and divides her time between Edinburgh and East Neuk of Fife.

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Rating: 3.9887218691729323 out of 5 stars
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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Splinter the Silence is the 9th book in the popular British crime series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan and psychological profiler Tony Hill. While this book can easily be enjoyed on its own, this is the newest addition to a long-running series with and extensive backstory. While it is not necessary to read the series in order from the beginning, I recommend doing so highly.As the story begins, Carol Jordan has left the force and is trying to rebuild her life with the help of strenuous work and a lot of alcohol. When a late-night DUI minutes from home threatens to destroy her reputation and career prospects she turns to friend and partner-in-crime fighting Tony Hill to help turn her life around. Skipping forward through [spoilers deleted], Carol is back in charge of an elite squad tasked with handling major cases covering a wide swath of northern England. Given carte blanche to select her team, she is quick to select many officers who have worked with her before so readers will recognize most of them, including Dr. Hill.As with many of the cases in the series, the point of view alternates between members of Jordan’s team and that of the anonymous suspect, giving readers an insider’s view of the crime without the knowledge needed to break the case. This strategy does a great job of increasing the suspense level. One thing that I don’t care for in this and many other McDermid books is internecine squabbles and political infighting within the police force. Regardless of whether or not such backbiting activities exist within departments, this had the effect of making otherwise competent officers appear childish and petty. The audio narration by Gerard Doyle is, unsurprisingly, first rate. I’ve listened to a lot of audiobooks by Doyle and he has never let me down. Bottom line: McDermid’s books, particularly those in the Jordan/Hill series, were among the first serial killer mysteries that I’ve read. I enjoyed them when I first read them and I still enjoy her books, even though I have since soured on the whole serial killer subgenre in general. * The review book was based on an audiobook on CDs obtained at no cost from LibraryThing and the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. While this does take any ‘not worth what I paid for it’ statements out of my review, it otherwise has no impact on the content of my review.FYI: On a 5-point scale I assign stars based on my assessment of what the book needs in the way of improvements:*5 Stars – Nothing at all. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.*4 Stars – It could stand for a few tweaks here and there but it’s pretty good as it is.*3 Stars – A solid C grade. Some serious rewriting would be needed in order for this book to be considered great or memorable.*2 Stars – This book needs a lot of work. A good start would be to change the plot, the character development, the writing style and the ending. *1 Star - The only thing that would improve this book is a good bonfire.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is my first Val McDermid book, although I'm aware of the characters from watching Wire in the Blood back when BBC America had Mystery Mondays (damn you, BBCA, for replacing them with Top Gear). I'm at a bit of a disadvantage, coming into the series after eight books, perhaps...but on the other hand, sometimes it's good to come into a series with fresh eyes. Splinter the Silence is minimally procedural, and maximally character-driven. I'm not sure if this is the norm for this series, but it worked for me. However, the ending was extremely abrupt, and there was a bit of Happy Famiiies about it that did not work for me quite as well. I'm interested enough to go back and read from the beginning of the series, so I think that's a recommendation in itself.As far as the audiobook itself, I found myself thinking a little too much about the narrator--his voice was intrusive. Not so much so that the experience was painful, but he wasn't the best I've heard.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The reader knows from the beginning that a murder has in fact been committed although the police are unaware of it. McDermid's story takes a long time to get the team set up, all the while just guessing at the chance of any major crime. Meanwhile Tony is helping Carol give up booze. Nearing the final section of the book they finally get to the investigation mostly relying on Stacy hacking a major online bookseller’s system. Although the story was too protracted, it ended with some mildly suspenseful activity.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I have been intending to read Val McDermid for a number of years, and receiving this audiobook through the LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program presented a perfect opportunity to do so. Although this book is part of a long-running series, the author did an excellent job of providing the necessary background. The mystery in this case is a fascinating one, based on the most tenuous of threads: a number of high-profile feminists have committed suicide in a variety of ways after being victims of cyberbullying. But something in the news stories piques psychologist Tony Hill's interest, and the team begins an investigation that one team member likens to "wrestling fog." Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is my first Val McDermid mystery, but it definitely won't be my last! Taking on a very contemporary issue of cyber bullying, Police detective Carol Jordan is investigating what appears to be some unrelated suicides - cases of prominent women who have been outspoken in the public about controversial issues. Immediately, they have received the unwelcome attention of some nasty cyber bullies which drove them to the brink of taking their own lives. But criminal psychologist Tony Hill's Spidey senses are tingling and he feels that these suicides might be more than what they appear to be. What follows is a fast-paced, well-crafted literary thriller.There is a backstory behind the mystery which deals with Carol Jordan's self destructive addiction to alcohol and her desire to return to the police force. I enjoyed the detour from the pure action and it added depth and nuance to the characters, making me much more interested in reading more by this author.I listened to the audio edition of this mystery, expertly narrated by Gerard Doyle. It did take some getting used to because the last books I listened to by this narrator were Christopher Paolini's Inheritance series, so I kept expecting dragons to burst out. But, he does a nice job of accents and voices and there were definitely moments where I was glued to my earbuds. I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook through Library Thing's Early Reviewer program in exchange for an honest review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Splinter the Silence is the ninth book in Val McDermid’s Tony Hill & Carol Jordan series and the first I have read. McDermid takes the reader into a rather bizarre case where women are mysteriously dying with the possible cause being that of cyber-bullying. Hill and his fellow police officers are rather skeptical about the nature of these murders and Jordan has utterly fallen off the rails and needs this case as well as her former partner and her team. Ultimately Hill and Jordan find themselves working the many angles of this unusual case. I was unaware this book was part of was a series and I fully intend to start from the beginning with The Mermaid’s Singing, as I found myself unable to stop reading this extraordinarily well-written work of suspense fiction and I truly want to know how Hill and Jordan began and how their lived evolved to where the reader meets them in this, the ninth book. I highly recommend Splinter the Silence to all mystery and suspense fans.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was happy to win a copy of Splinter the Silence through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. I've already listened to my local library's collection of Ms. McDermid's books. Her Carol Jordan/Tony Hill series are my favorites among her works I've encountered, even if she does tend to put her lead characters through the wringer. Carol Jordan's boozing has caught up with her: she's been arrested for 'drink' driving. It doesn't matter that she was on a quiet back road and going barely three miles from a party to her home. She makes two calls for help. The first one was a mistake that will come back to haunt her. The second one is to Tony Hill. Carol just wants a drive home, but Tony gives her what she needs. Carol is forced to confront the fact that she really is an alcoholic. Tony wants to take her mind off her humiliation and addiction, so he has members of her former team looking at some cases of women who committed suicide after being threatened by internet trolls. We readers already know that Tony is on to something. There's a very damaged serial killer out there who wants women back to what he considers their only proper roles: wives and mothers. Yes, we will learn why he is the way he is. Meanwhile, the Home Office has a plan for a regional major incident team. Carol Jordan is wanted to head it, but she won't be able to with a criminal record. Carol isn't happy with how that works out.Paula and Stacy are both very dissatisfied with their current duties. Will they jump at the chance to join REMIT? Besides old members of the team, we get recruits from characters previously met. Will ambitious and selfish Sam Evans be invited?I loved the way the team got to work on the case that only Tony suspected was a case. I loved the usual glimpses into the characters' private lives and the mind of the killer. I loved what happened to a jerk who had it coming. The suspense grows as we know the killer has a new target, Will REMIT be in time?We get some samples of the horrible threats posted by internet trolls (we also get to meet a couple of them). Sick! Sick! Sick!I did hate one thing about the end, though we'll probably have to wait until the next book to see how it affects those involved. Gerard Doyle's narration really set the mood. The book is tense enough that I didn't dare listen to it when I went to bed because I knew it would keep me awake. I do hope, though, that Highbridge, the publisher, used those plastic binder rings only on review copies. The bottom one of mine popped free on its own before I'd even gotten to CD eight.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I won my copy of Splinter The Silence in the LibraryThing Early Reviewers giveawaySplinter the Silence is a British detective story that is apparently the 9th of a series. It can definitely stand on its own, but I think now I would like to go back and read some of the earlier books. In this contemporary novel Carol Jordan returns to police work and is put in charge of a special unit. She gathers her old team together and they work to stop a serial killer who is killing woman and making it look like suicide. Told in alternating viewpoints from the members of her team and the serial killer you are submersed in the different character's lives, their emotional struggles and interpersonal relationships. The integration of social media, cyber-bullying and the crazy hacking skills of computer geek Stacey add an interesting and timely aspect to the story. Gerald Doyle does a fabulous job reading this book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Splinter the Silence, the ninth Carol Jordan and Tony Hill mystery by Val McDermid, was provided to me on CD through LibraryThing, in exchange for an impartial review. I'd never read any of the other Jordan/Hill books, but didn't feel handicapped by this, since McDermid provides ample backstory to all of the regular characters.The mystery itself involves cyber-bullying which leads to several suicides – or are they murders? McDermid tells the story from the perspective of both the police and the perpetrator, which seems to be the most common way of writing a mystery these days. As a fan of “old school” mysteries, I feel that this takes much of the fun out of reading, since the who and why are already known by the time the culprit is ultimately dealt with. In fairness, McDermid does not reveal who the culprit is. Whether that matters or not I'll leave up to the reader.My biggest complaint about this installment is that fully a third of it seems to be consumed with the personal lives of Jordan and Hill and the rest of her police squad and another third with the internecine warfare within the police establishment. This may be of interest to regular readers of the series, but it didn't enthrall me.The reading, by Gerard Doyle, was excellent, as evidenced by the fact that I was never at a loss for who, in the large cast of characters, was speaking.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the 9th book in the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series. This one is about a nutter who kills out spoken feminists and makes it look like suicide. Carol and Tony stumble upon this by accident, and they work it for a while before they even believe someone is behind it instead of just some coincidences and a came of What-if.I thought this was a pretty good story. It brings to light the terrible behavior of so many people on the internet who feel safe to abuse others anonymously. Even though this is about people who were murdered, and made it look like a suicide, there are plenty of people who really are pushed into taking their own life. It is an issue that should be taken seriously. I think I'll be trying one or two more of these in the future.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Former police officer Carol Jordan is pulled over for drunk driving, despite being on a deserted country road, less than a mile from her house. Having no one else to bail her out, she calls Tony Hill, psychologist, friend, once very close friend. Driving her home, he decides an intervention is needed, as many of Jordan’s former colleagues are concerned about her drinking. He indicates that he’s staying the night, and to make sure she doesn’t take another drink, he empties her cabinets without even asking.Simultaneous to this incident, John Brandon and several other high ranking officials have decided that an overriding Murder Investigating Team is needed, covering several precincts which don’t have much expertise in investigating murders. And who better to lead the charge than Jordan. However, that means doing something about her drunk driving arrest. Jordan’s choice is essentially accept the new position, come out of retirement and get her arrest expunged or face the consequences of losing her license. What choices is there, really?SplinterTheSilenceJordan recruits her select team, many of whom have worked for her before, such as Stacey Chen (master at the computer), Paula McIntyre (interviewer extraordinaire) and Tony. She and Tony also decide the team needs something to whet their teeth and suggests they look at the recent apparent suicide of an outspoken feminist who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in her garage. Beside her was a book a poetry. Something just doesn’t feel right to Tony and Carol has learned to trust Tony’s instincts.Despite the fact that this is an ongoing series and I hadn’t read any of the previous books, Splinter the Silence was totally enjoyable. You know that I like mysteries where the characters have a life and tend to grow over the course of the series and you can feel that in Splinter the Silence.There’s certainly death in this book but it’s not gruesome and it’s not the point of the story, which is catching the killer. And of course in this day and age, computers are a main mechanism in identifying and locating people. The ending is both happy and sad (hey, that’s life). There are enough twists and turns to satisfy all mystery readers.I like Val McDermid’s books and Splinter the Silence is no exception.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Val McDermid rachets up the suspense in this, the ninth book of the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan Series. Former DCI Carol Jordan is slowly acclimating herself to civilian life by renovating a barn and attending sleepy dinner parties at remote country houses. A drink driving arrest on the way home from a dreary such supper threatens Jordan's equilibrium and possible liberty. She calls upon her friend, forsenic psychologist Tony Hill, to bail her out. Hill sees the rescue in far more expansive terms. To keep Jordan's mind occupied while awaiting arraignment, Hill sets her the task of looking into some recent deaths. Strong feminist women, subject to internet bullying, have fallen apart and commit suicide. Horrific to contemplate, could these deaths be something even more sinister? A can't-be-refused offer to rejoin the police forces soon follows. Other familiar faces join in to form a team and the case (and the book) are off and running. I've not read the previous eight in this series, so don't know how this one compares. I had relatively little trouble reading this one as a stand alone tale. The first couple of chapters went slowly until I learned the various characters. (Regular readers won't have that disadvantage.) After that the pages just turned themselves. I loved the characters -- especially computer guru Stacey Chen. The relationship between Hill and Jordan was very engaging. A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    #9 in Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series. Prequel to "Insidious Intent". Fabulous story by Val McDermid. I came late to this series so read the prequel after reading the sequel which helps clarify a lot of my questions. I have become so absorbed in the series that I am working on reading the last 4 that I have not read. While formulaic in writing style, each book brings its own harrowing case as well as displays the feelings of the main subjects.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Splinter the Silence by Val McDermid is the 9th book in her Carol Jordan/Tony Hill police procedural series. This book takes us into the world of cyber-bullying as Tony and Carol look into some recent suspicious deaths where the dead were victims of on-line predators. This starts off as an exercise to occupy their minds while Tony helps Carol start to put her life back together. But Tony is an expert on recognizing patterns, and before long, they realize that they have stumbled onto something.At first former DCI Carol Jordan is too busy messing up her life to care but once she is given a second chance at police work, and is able to start rebuilding her team, they get on with the hunt. It was very satisfying to have the team being brought back together and with a new brief that will not totally help them avoid the political infighting but certainly will give them a leg up.I find Val McDermid is an author that I can rely upon to deliver a fast moving, intricate police procedural that keeps the pages turning and the reader absorbed. I find Tony quite an admirable character and while I can’t say that I like Carol Jordan, she is a force to be reckoned with. The rest of her team are much more likeable. This 9th entry brings the team full circle and I am looking forward to seeing what McDermid has planned for them next.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Just when I think Val McDermid's got herself written into a corner, she finds a believable way back into the series. I'm relieved, because I thought maybe she was done with Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, and I'm delighted to follow their convoluted, gritty, morality-challenging stories a little further on. Does not disappoint, and I particularly appreciate an author tackling toxic online misogyny.

    Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Tony Hill is one of my favorite characters, and Val McDermid delivers a great story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book starts out with Carol Jordan at a state of flux, MIT no more, and her life in free fall. Can Tony, who she is barely talking to now, help her out of this situation?It was good to see the series get back on track, after one or two books where I felt the very essence of the series was lost to some degree. In some sense the investigation at the heart of the book was secondary to the other events going on in the story. A number of women's suicides appear to be nothing but that, however Tony Hill feels different about these and seeks to find out if there are any connections or if there is more to these suicides. This was a very good read and I feel it has now been set up for more books in the series, especially with the point the book was left at, with a twist at the very end! Hopefully we won't have to wait too long.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What price is too high to bring an excellent detective out of retirement? Revenge and a serial killer, do the two make an interesting mix? Pick up a copy of this story and find out! This is a thriller at it's finest! Do you like characters that draw you in, that you become invested in? Bonus, you get that here as well! I look forward to more Carol Jordan and Tony Hill stories!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Note: Even though this is Book 9 in the series, it works mostly fine as a stand alone novel.Former British crime investigator Carol Jordan has a drinking problem and it finally leaves her in a jail cell, needing to be bailed out. She’s had a long, mostly successful, career and now some superiors want her to head up a task force that spans over various precincts. She has to make her choice right quick so that they can put things in motion. She chooses the new job assignment and starts pulling together her old team – a psychologist (Tony Hill), a computer specialist, and some seasoned detectives. It’s quite a varied crew, which I really enjoyed. They decide to do a practice project first, to work out all the kinks, deciding to look into the suicide of a successful, outspoken woman. But as they dig deeper, they find other women who were loud and proud of their causes that mysteriously turned melancholy and killed themselves.I liked watching Carol struggle to get her legs back under herself. At first, she doesn’t believe she has a drinking problem but her long time friend Tony won’t back down on this one. In fact, he brings over his Xbox to give her a new addiction while she battles the alcoholism. It was great to have this personal battle running in the background even as our heroes track down an unusual serial killer.The point of view bounces around from the killer to Carol to Tony and then a few side characters. It was well done. From the first, we readers know the supposed suicide is really a murder but we don’t know who is doing it nor his full motivation. I liked that we got into the mind of the killer from the beginning but didn’t have his identity.I think I would have enjoyed this book quite a bit more had I read the previous books in the series. There’s plenty of references to past relationships, etc. that come across as excess fluff in this book. I think I would have cared a lot more about the side characters had I come to know them previous to this installment in the series. However, this is my only criticism of the book. It’s well written, the pacing is great with a mix of action and contemplation, loved the cat and mouse aspects too.The murders bring to light the rising issue of cyberstalking and trolls gone out of control. The author did a great job of showing how various people react to internet threats (some people are insensitive and blow it off and others take it seriously) and then also showing how it affects the lives of those targeted. I liked that she gave some great, very visceral examples but didn’t linger over the threatened violence. I received a copy at no cost from the publisher (via LibraryThing) in exchange for an honest review.The Narration: The narrator… hmmm.. well, I have loved Gerard Doyle’s work for The Grim Company (an epic fantasy) and the retelling of Odysseus through the eyes of boy slave (Torn from Troy is Book 1 in that series). He does young male voices really well, having a kind of funny filled-with-wonder voice. However, I had a hard time getting use to his voice for a hardened serial murderer or a brittle, angry lead detective. It took me about 3 CDs to finally settle into the book because of the narrator. But once I got use to his voice, he did have multiple accents, keeping each character distinct. His female voices were believable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the 9th and most recent installment in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan mystery/thriller series and the most enjoyable in some time. While helping Carol deal with her alcoholism and the shattering effects it has had on her, Tony stumbles on a pattern of strong, feminist women who have apparently committed suicide in quite literary ways after being subject to cyberbullying for their outspokenness. I was happy to see Tony being stronger than usual and Carol acting more like a friend and less like Tony's harridan of a mother. I also enjoyed some retribution handed out to a particularly deserving person at the end.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Carol Jordan has retired from the force and is living in the depths of the country. As any experienced reader of crime stories knows, there are only two ways this can go: either she is going to find the corpse of one of her rural neighbours and solve the crime despite her firm intention to stay out of such things, or the author is planning to Reichenbach her back into the job again by devious means...Another good page-turner, anyway, even if it was far too heavy on the magic of cyber-detection for my taste. Whatever happened to good old cigar-ash and footprints?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I just recently found out what a troll was, and that is basically what the background case in this book is about. Scary stuff. I say background because this book is more focused on the trials and prevails of Carol Jordan. No longer a cop, drinking heavily, though she doesn't admit to having a problem, brings Tony Hill once again to the rescue. It also serves to bring Carol back into police work and to getting her getting back together the old team. Loved seeing them all together again and meeting a few new members as well.Another series I have read for a long time and one where I have come to care about the characters. The relationship between Tony and Carol is complicated and a work in progress. Both distressing and frightening to read about cyber bullying and its horrors. Price we pay for the world at our fingertips but as this case highlights, some pay a much higher price. Love these characters and enjoyed the story. McDermid has seldom disappointed.ARC from Netgalley.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A new department is being set up to lead and coordinate police efforts over several police departments and Carol Jordan is the clear choice to head it. Unfortunately, Carol’s drinking has received a DUI charge but a little finagling is used to get her out of it. Now, Carol has put together her team including Tony Hill who has been staying with her to try to wean her off her alcohol dependency. As they wait for their new office to be set up, Tony comes up with an exercise to see how well the team can work together. He has noticed a number of recent suicides among high-profile women who have been the victims of severe cyberbullying and suggests they investigate them as suspicious deaths.However, as the team looks deeper into them, Tony begins to suspect that these deaths are actually murders made to look like suicides. The team turns their attention to some of the most vicious posters but Tony suspects that this killer would be too smart to post anything too violent although he might make seemingly innocuous comments that serve to whip others into a feeding frenzy. He also suspects that, unlike other serial killers, he doesn’t want any kind of recognition for his murders - he wants the focus to stay squarely on these women and what he considers their sins and is able to remain as anonymous in reality as in cyberspace. So now the team must catch an anonymous killer with no obvious connection to his victims except as one of thousands of posters in social media comment sections whose murders don’t look like murders at all.Cyberbullying has become the dirty downside of social media and women are its most common victims. Author Val McDermid uses this very real problem to create a very interesting, suspenseful, and timely mystery. But more than the murder. It is great to see Tony and Carol out of retirement and back together with many of my favourite characters from past books doing what they do best, using team work to catch the bad guys.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I’ve written before about my disappointment in some of the recent Val McDermid novels but I keep reading them anyway, just because they’re so darned page-turny. I’m pleased to say this one is the best I’ve read in a while.Retired DCI Carol Jordan and her former team are dispersed, working in different jobs, or none at all. However events conspire to bring Carol and psychological profiler Tony Hill back together. They attempt to rebuild their fragile friendship and, along the way begin looking into a case that may not even be a case – a series of apparent suicides by high-profile women who have been trolled on social media for expressing feminist views. The rest of the team become drawn in. Meanwhile Carol, being Carol, has an opportunity that she may have sabotaged before she even knows about it.What draws me back to these books, and what makes this such a good one, is that they are completely immersive. You know the characters but you want to know them more. Like real people, just when you think you’ve got them, they have the capacity to surprise you. McDermid is brilliant at the subtleties of human interaction, the small spaces between what we mean and what we say, the pain and the history that stops some people getting what they want. That’s why the Jordan and Hill situation – two people who can’t be together but can’t move on either – so exasperating in life, is fascinating in art.Some people have raised questions about plausibility – it’s fair to say the killer and his motivation were the least interesting thing about the book. But that, for me, is not the point. Murders are rare, non-domestic murders, that require high-level detection skills, are even rarer. And yet crime fiction is ubiquitous. Authors have to be allowed a little licence. What McDermid does do is capture the nature of modern policing – the team work, the specialisation, the dynamics of a group who are both allies and rivals. And she has an eye on every corner of contemporary culture – from Twitter to the garden centre.She has thrown another couple of hand-grenades into her mix of gifted but conflicted characters which nicely sets up the next book. I can’t wait.*I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    3.5 stars**Possible spoilers in review**Good, solid read. It feels like a transitional book, a story to get Carol Jordan out of retirement & put the team back together in order to set up the next instalment. The investigational aspect of the book is almost a secondary plot as this deals more significantly with changes to the characters' personal lives. As for the investigation, make no mistake..... we do meet a creepy killer. But the process of the team finding their man is loosely written, depending mostly on serendipity & illegal activity that wouldn't hold up in court. Still, if you're a fan of this series, you'll enjoy catching up with the gang & be pleased with some of the developments. There are also some ominous threads left dangling which will no doubt figure large in the next book.