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    Insidious Intent
    Insidious Intent
    Insidious Intent
    Audiobook13 hours

    Insidious Intent

    Written by Val McDermid

    Narrated by Saul Reichlin

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    The latest in internationally bestselling crime writer Val McDermid's beloved series, Insidious Intent sends Tony Hill and Carol Jordan after a serial killer who targets single women at weddings-and into the teeth of a moral dilemma. 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 series featuring psychologist Tony Hill and former police detective Carol Jordan. In Insidious Intent, Tony and Carol are on the hunt for a serial killer who victimizes women at weddings without a date-and forces the duo to confront their most haunting moral dilemma so far. In the north of England, single women are beginning to disappear from weddings. A pattern soon becomes clear: Someone is crashing the festivities and luring the women away-only to leave the victims' bodies in their own burned-out cars in remote locations. Tony and Carol are called upon to investigate-but this may be the toughest case they've ever had to face. Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant Paula McIntyre and her partner Elinor must deal with a cruel cyber-blackmailer targeting their teenage ward, Torin. Impeccably plotted and intensely gripping, Insidious Intent reaffirms Val McDermid's place as Britain's reigning Queen of Crime.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateDec 5, 2017
    ISBN9781501962042
    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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    Reviews for Insidious Intent

    4/5

    100 ratings11 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Whether you are a McDermid fan, or a new reader, this book will really throw you. McDermid examines secrets that are never that, the consequences of our actions, and throws in a gigantic what in the holy hell ending.

      Cannot say anymore other than .. read this book.
    • 4/5
      Another twisted murderer, another incarnation of the best murder squad around -- gripping, fast paced, and incredibly relevant to current events. I like that McDermid rarely takes the easy way out with her characters -- if they are damaged (and whew, are they damaged) that doesn't go away book to book. Emotional struggles and entanglements remain and new challenges bloom and the only way out is if they do the hard work to get through. I appreciated the main murder series, the side story, the overlay of who watches the watchmen and calling out Carol's team on the very thing that has made them strong. I predict a swing back to coloring more inside the lines in future, but it will be fascinating to see how that pans out. Also, this one is a shocker.
    • 4/5
      It's an exciting police procedural murder mystery about a revenge-seeking serial killer in modern day England. The surprising ending is worth the price of the book. Along the way, there's a sobering side-story about the dangers of internet social media and our vulnerability to hackers.
    • 4/5
      This is probably the first Val McDermid novel I’ve read, and I enjoyed the plotting as the viewpoint alternated from that of the killer to that of the police investigating.A number of complex characters, especially the police, having personal concerns apart from their work. An emphasis on strong but flawed females. And a good contemporary feel, tackling new subjects like on-line harassment.
    • 3/5
      I find myself in two minds about this novel. I thought that the development of the plot was very well done, as one would expect from Val McDermid, although the resolution seemed very hurried. Indeed, I almost wondered whether McDermid simply became bored, or found herself running up against a publishing deadline and had to bring the novel to an earlier close than she had intended.In accordance with Val McDermid’s plea inserted at the close of the book, I won’t say much about the ending, beyond saying that it did, as she anticipated, come as a surprise, although I found it most unsatisfactory and at odds with the rest of the book. It did, however, support my suspicion that the book was finished more quickly than had initially been planned.The story does develop well. Having suffered considerable personal tragedy and upheaval in the previous novel in the series (which I must have missed as there was a lot of back story with which I was unfamiliar), Carol Jordan is now running ReMIT, a newly-formed Regional Major Incident Team. Despite her considerable success in the past, she finds herself at odds with many of the local police chiefs, all of whom find themselves yielding a portion of their budgets to support her team. As a consequence, when the ReMIT is called to take on a case, there is even greater pressure than usual for an early result. Unfortunately, the murderer is more careful, and more cynically motivated, than any that Carol and her team have previously encountered, and early progress in not forthcoming.I found that the first three quarters of the book worked very well. McDermid always excels at her planning, and has that great knack of conjuring empathy for her characters. Even the insight into the murderer’s planning seems quite rational (within the context of his twisted, solipsistic and craven mentality). Having established how carefully he plans, and the elaborate steps he takes to avoid leaving clues, McDermid seems to lose her normally tight reins on the story, and the police make a sudden breakthrough, after which everything seems to fall into place with great simplicity.I did still enjoy the book, despite my doubts over the ending, but I have come to have such immensely high expectations of Val McDermid that this book did leave me a bit disappointed.
    • 4/5
      A killer is crashing weddings in the north of England to find single women. Over the space of a couple of weeks, he charms them into believing he is Mr Right, then kills them. This is the first case for ReMIT, the elite police investigative team set up to solve the most difficult cases and headed by Carol Jordan and, if they don’t solve it fast, it could be their last.Insidious Intent by author Val McDermid is the 10th in the Tony Hill & Carol Jordan series and I found it to be less of a page-turner than others in the series. It seemed a bit slower, less action-driven and with a greater stress on the emotional and moral dilemmas faced by the team. Having said that, there is a reason that McDermid is considered Britain’s reigning Queen of Crime. If it was slower, it was more thought-provoking and it brought deeper dimensions not only to Tony and Carol but to other characters. It is often hard, at least for me, to know how much to reveal when reviewing a book. In this case, McDermid makes it easy. She requests that reviewers be careful not to reveal the finale and for very good reason. I will just say that I for one did not see it coming at all. It was definitely a bold and risky move by McDermid leaving me wanting to know in what direction it will take the series because wherever its going I really want to be along for the ride.Thanks to Edelweiss+ and Atlantic Monthly Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
    • 4/5
      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 series featuring psychologist Tony Hill and former police detective Carol Jordan. In Insidious Intent, Tony and Carol are on the hunt for a serial killer who victimizes women at weddings without a date–and forces the duo to confront their most haunting moral dilemma so far.In the north of England, single women are beginning to disappear from weddings. A pattern soon becomes clear: Someone is crashing the festivities and luring the women away–only to leave the victims’ bodies in their own burned-out cars in remote locations. Tony and Carol are called upon to investigate–but this may be the toughest case they’ve ever had to face. Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant Paula McIntyre and her partner Elinor must deal with a cruel cyber-blackmailer targeting their teenage ward, Torin.Impeccably plotted and intensely gripping, Insidious Intent reaffirms Val McDermid’s place as Britain’s reigning Queen of Crime.5672Val McDermid is a No. 1 bestseller whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages, and have sold over eleven million copies.She has won many awards internationally, including the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year and the LA Times Book of the Year Award. She was inducted into the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame in 2009 and was the recipient of the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for 2010. In 2011 she received the Lambda Literary Foundation Pioneer Award.She writes full time and divides her time between Cheshire and Edinburgh.MY THOUGHTS:Insidious Intent starts off really interesting with the death of a woman who meets a man at a wedding. It’s clear that he targets her there and convinces her to leave with him. She shows up dead engulfed in a car fire, and the mystery unfolds from there.After that part, I found the story moved somewhat slow as you get to know characters and are re-introduced to Tony and Carol, who appeared in other books. In this book, there’s a lesbian relationship, a ward who lives with them and an abusive relationship among the Protagonists’ work colleagues. You do meet new characters and get bits of insight into their characters, which grow as the story develops.McDermid’s writing style is intelligent and crafty, but I found it somewhat dry. This doesn’t affect the story, however, in that the events unfolding are written expertly enough to keep you invested in what’s going on. You do get back into the lives of Tony and Carol’s characters looking at what they’re going through as a new adventure in their lives. These characters are flawed and realistic and full of warts and you become engaged with what they’re going through and how they’re handling things. I felt character development was done very well in this book and done so with all the characters. This book reads as though it could be a standalone, however, knowing the background of some of the characters re-used in this book would be helpful. I suppose beginning with book one would be a good idea, but not a necessary one. This book is a true crime fiction that delves into the multi-layered depths of dark human nature.You are taken on a bizarre cat and rat chase with the Protagonist trying to catch the rat before he vanishes into the shadowy realm of depravity. Everything in McDermid’s book seemed authentic, from parts showing the killer’s thought process, to the crime team’s investigative methods, finishing with parenting problems and daily life relationship situations.The story successfully builds and builds until a team effort resolution is achieved. Pacing is smooth and the scenes transition from one to the other well without being choppy or confusing. The best part for me, was the character development. McDermid is certainly capable of creating some of the most realistic characters that I’ve read about in a long time.Although not necessarily my type of daily read, it was enjoyable and interesting enough for me to finish.
    • 4/5
      Val McDermid never disappoints! This 10th novel featuring Tony & Carol was gripping - highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Someone is picking up unaccompanied women at weddings, wooing them and murdering them. It is Carol Jordan's job, as head of the elite ReMIT unit, to solve these murders. But this guy is good. He leaves no clues. As the bodies mount and the week's pass, Jordan's group is losing hope.Insidious Intent picks up right where Splinter the Silence left off and refers to certain aspects of the previous book.To be honest, I was never a big fan of the Tony Hill part of the Jordan/Hill equation and Insidious Intent did not make me like him any more. I don't know what it is that turns me off, but it must be something. The remainder of the crew are a welcome return, especially Stacey, the computer guru.Overall, Insidious Intent is a great read.
    • 4/5
      DCI Carol Jordan is back as head of newly formed Regional Major Incident Team (ReMIT) stationed in Bradford. Her hand picked crew is composed of familiar returning characters & they’re about to be tested by a clever killer bent on revenge. Dubbed ‘the Wedding Killer”, his meticulous planning leaves few scraps for the team & as the investigation drags on the fate of ReMIT hangs in the balance. But that’s not all Carol has to worry about. In the last book, she was caught drunk driving & lets just say a few strings were pulled to make it go away. Now a fatal car crash has put the incident back in the spotlight & if a local reporter gets her way, the resulting scandal will mean the end of Carol’s career. Carol’s already a little testy from going cold turkey & her mood doesn’t improve as the killer continues to prey on single women. In alternate chapters we follow him as he sets his traps while the members of ReMIT stumble down one dead end after another. With the investigation stalled, the story switches gears & becomes more personal as several of the characters deal with problems in their private lives. I’ve read these book since the beginning & it’s my favourite series from this author. But I have to confess I found this one lacking the usual crackling tension. It’s difficult to explain without blurting out spoilers. The investigative/criminal aspect is well plotted & stars a suitably twisted bad guy. But it almost takes a back seat to the main characters’ personal struggles & is used as a plot device to further Carol & Tony’s storyline. Also, the team seems to have no problem side stepping rules & legalities as they investigate. I know this is fiction but it’s hard to believe they’d get away with some of their actions.That being said, this is a pivotal book in the series. It’s no exaggeration to say the lives of the ReMIT crew are permanently altered by the surprise ending & those changes will bring a fresh look to the next instalment. So perhaps that was the author’s intent. Two things i know for sure: I’ll be in line for book #11 to see what happens next & I’ll never look at a bag of chips in the same way.
    • 5/5
      It was good to be back with Carol and Tony and to see them once again hunting for a murderer, who is very clever at covering his steps. This book builds to quite a crescendo and if you are a fan of Tony and Carol you need to read the book. Quite some ending to the book. Certainly need to read the others in the series to put this book into context. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️