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paulabrandon's review against another edition
1.0
Val McDermid has written some cracking serial killer thrillers (The Mermaids Singing, Killing The Shadows), and the other books in this series have been good. But this sixth installment is sadly just another bog standard, plodding police procedural, and it bored me rigid.
Carol Jordan's squad has a new boss, and he doesn't want them spending money on profiler Tony Hill, so they're forced to go it alone when a couple of teenage boys turn up dead with their genitals removed. As for Tony, he's consulting on a case in which a teenage girl has had her genitals mutilated.
It takes more than 300 pages for the detectives to even connect these crimes.
Most of this book is actually concerned with Tony Hill reconnecting with the father he never knew, who has died and left Tony with some considerable wealth. Carol Jordan spends a great deal of time investigating and uncovering the life of Tony's father to help him out. Time that she could have spent on her murder inquiry, you know? No wonder it takes so long for them to connect all the deaths.
Events are padded out with a completely pointless, unrelated subplot involving a cold case of a woman and her missing child. Why was this even here?
My other pet hate was that tropetastic police procedural norm of learning all about the life and thoughts of a character, who exists merely to discover a dead body, who is then never heard from again! Padding out the word count or what? It's so pointless!
McDermid is better than her peers in regards to showing rather than telling when it comes to her characters and what they're good at. The book is well-written. Tony and Carol have a complex, strange, yet oddly believable relationship.
But that's all for naught when there's so little on offer. The plot moves at a snail's pace, one subplot is completely pointless, and the other seems to be of as much focus as the actual serial killings themselves. There are no real suspects in the crimes, and zero red herrings, so there's no fun in trying to pick out the killer yourself or trying to tie it all together yourself. The characters just blather around for 400 pages until someone uncovers a vital clue. I had absolutely zero stakes in anything that happened here.
Feverishly dull.
Carol Jordan's squad has a new boss, and he doesn't want them spending money on profiler Tony Hill, so they're forced to go it alone when a couple of teenage boys turn up dead with their genitals removed. As for Tony, he's consulting on a case in which a teenage girl has had her genitals mutilated.
It takes more than 300 pages for the detectives to even connect these crimes.
Most of this book is actually concerned with Tony Hill reconnecting with the father he never knew, who has died and left Tony with some considerable wealth. Carol Jordan spends a great deal of time investigating and uncovering the life of Tony's father to help him out. Time that she could have spent on her murder inquiry, you know? No wonder it takes so long for them to connect all the deaths.
Events are padded out with a completely pointless, unrelated subplot involving a cold case of a woman and her missing child. Why was this even here?
My other pet hate was that tropetastic police procedural norm of learning all about the life and thoughts of a character, who exists merely to discover a dead body, who is then never heard from again! Padding out the word count or what? It's so pointless!
McDermid is better than her peers in regards to showing rather than telling when it comes to her characters and what they're good at. The book is well-written. Tony and Carol have a complex, strange, yet oddly believable relationship.
But that's all for naught when there's so little on offer. The plot moves at a snail's pace, one subplot is completely pointless, and the other seems to be of as much focus as the actual serial killings themselves. There are no real suspects in the crimes, and zero red herrings, so there's no fun in trying to pick out the killer yourself or trying to tie it all together yourself. The characters just blather around for 400 pages until someone uncovers a vital clue. I had absolutely zero stakes in anything that happened here.
Feverishly dull.
kate1920's review against another edition
5.0
I am reading the Tony Hill books in order and have been gripped from the first paragraph with each book. read this in a week and safe to say it didn't disappoint. on to the next...
dbevvers63's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
Val McDermid is the author of an excellent series featuring Tony Hill, a troubled profiler. In Fever of the Bone, someone is luring teenagers over the Internet and murdering them. As usual with a McDermid novel,the book introduces interesting characters and has an involving plot.
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/fever-of-the-bone/
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/fever-of-the-bone/
aidanjchristie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
bluestarfish's review against another edition
3.0
The first Val McDermid that I've read and it was a good page-turner. Young teenagers are turning up murdered and Tony and Caroline and the team go about solving them (obviously:).
jwoodsum's review against another edition
4.0
The book is really a love letter to all the fans of Tony Hill and Carol Jordan. Not sure if she is intending to wrap the series, but if she is, this ends on a lovely note.
jwoodsum's review against another edition
4.0
In the last Tony Hill/Carol Jordan mystery, it seemed that Carol and Tony were headed for a happy ending - or as happy as they are capable of being. I was even worried that it would be the end of the series. Well, in The RetributionTony and Carol face gut-wrenching personal losses which set them at odds with each other. The Retribution also features the return of Jacko Vance. a serial killer that Carol and Tony caught several books ago. Anyway, a fantastic read with lots of scares as well as an emotional ride with Carol and Tony - can't wait for the next installment.
kcfromaustcrime's review
4.0
Relationships (personal, business, familial, friendship) are complicated things, as the 6th Tony Hill and Carol Jordan book FEVER IN THE BONE explores.
The central investigation centres around the brutal deaths of a number of apparently unconnected teenage victims. Starting out with a look at the victims themselves, and therefore into their family relationships, McDermid simultaneously weaves in a closer look at the families of her main characters. Tony's hitherto unknown father, and his non-relationship with his mother; the strange little "family" that is Hill and Carol Jordan's friendship; even the family that is the Carol's specialist investigation squad. Tellingly, McDermid also explores the relationships that people form in the world of social networking (going so far, it seems, as to create the social networking environment referred to in the book - which has now closed down I believe).
One of the most important things I noticed in reading FEVER OF THE BONE is that even though I'm all over the place with this series, there was no point when I felt I was missing out on something from an earlier book. I think a reader could jump into the series just about anywhere and find themselves engaged from the start. Sure there's some relationship development - particularly between Tony and Carol - that's going on, but it's carefully paced and it's not hard to work out what the backstory is. Mind you, it probably does help to realise that part of McDermid's great skill as a writer is evident in Tony. He's undoubtedly one of the most engaging annoying characters you're ever going to encounter in crime fiction. Possibly not surprising when you consider that his profiling style is to somehow or other think himself into the head of a killer, but it's definitely not a recipe for being an all sunshine and happy smiling times sort of a bloke.
There is some backstory to Tony, from his childhood through to the recent discovery of the identity of the father that he never knew. There are a lot of reasons for Tony to be complicated and they are explored in FEVER OF THE BONE. There are undoubtedly reasons for Carol to be complicated also. And that's another relationship that gets an airing in FEVER OF THE BONE - Carol has a new boss - James Blake. She has gone from having the support of her superiors, including their understanding that Tony's consultancy role on major investigations is a given, to a new boss who isn't supportive, is borderline dismissive and extremely suspicious of the combination of personal and professional between Tony and Carol. When he stops Carol from using Tony as a consultant to this investigation, he cuts off a lifeline that she's relied upon. Not just because of his skill as a profiler, but because Carol feels safe when Tony is around. Eventually Tony is able to hand Carol a way of ensuring his involvement, but with that comes an offer of major change in both their lives. As the investigation is resolved, the future becomes the next mystery - for them and for the reader.
With every book I read in this series, I find something new to admire. The way that McDermid works with her characters, exposing flaws, highlighting strengths, making them human whilst not overtly looking for sympathy. Obviously this is strongest in the main characters, but there is also evolution in the supporting character set. The way she humanises the victims - again flaws, strengths and all. There's good, solid, old-fashioned police investigating going on, supported admirably by clever technology, but the emphasis is the right way around - the hi-tech supports the slog, enhances the hunches, and tightens up the timeframes within the investigation. And finally, there's a clever, tight and quite chilling plot, with some unexpected but perfectly believable twists and turns that lead to a final resolution that will make the reader think long and hard about assumptions and prejudices.
The central investigation centres around the brutal deaths of a number of apparently unconnected teenage victims. Starting out with a look at the victims themselves, and therefore into their family relationships, McDermid simultaneously weaves in a closer look at the families of her main characters. Tony's hitherto unknown father, and his non-relationship with his mother; the strange little "family" that is Hill and Carol Jordan's friendship; even the family that is the Carol's specialist investigation squad. Tellingly, McDermid also explores the relationships that people form in the world of social networking (going so far, it seems, as to create the social networking environment referred to in the book - which has now closed down I believe).
One of the most important things I noticed in reading FEVER OF THE BONE is that even though I'm all over the place with this series, there was no point when I felt I was missing out on something from an earlier book. I think a reader could jump into the series just about anywhere and find themselves engaged from the start. Sure there's some relationship development - particularly between Tony and Carol - that's going on, but it's carefully paced and it's not hard to work out what the backstory is. Mind you, it probably does help to realise that part of McDermid's great skill as a writer is evident in Tony. He's undoubtedly one of the most engaging annoying characters you're ever going to encounter in crime fiction. Possibly not surprising when you consider that his profiling style is to somehow or other think himself into the head of a killer, but it's definitely not a recipe for being an all sunshine and happy smiling times sort of a bloke.
There is some backstory to Tony, from his childhood through to the recent discovery of the identity of the father that he never knew. There are a lot of reasons for Tony to be complicated and they are explored in FEVER OF THE BONE. There are undoubtedly reasons for Carol to be complicated also. And that's another relationship that gets an airing in FEVER OF THE BONE - Carol has a new boss - James Blake. She has gone from having the support of her superiors, including their understanding that Tony's consultancy role on major investigations is a given, to a new boss who isn't supportive, is borderline dismissive and extremely suspicious of the combination of personal and professional between Tony and Carol. When he stops Carol from using Tony as a consultant to this investigation, he cuts off a lifeline that she's relied upon. Not just because of his skill as a profiler, but because Carol feels safe when Tony is around. Eventually Tony is able to hand Carol a way of ensuring his involvement, but with that comes an offer of major change in both their lives. As the investigation is resolved, the future becomes the next mystery - for them and for the reader.
With every book I read in this series, I find something new to admire. The way that McDermid works with her characters, exposing flaws, highlighting strengths, making them human whilst not overtly looking for sympathy. Obviously this is strongest in the main characters, but there is also evolution in the supporting character set. The way she humanises the victims - again flaws, strengths and all. There's good, solid, old-fashioned police investigating going on, supported admirably by clever technology, but the emphasis is the right way around - the hi-tech supports the slog, enhances the hunches, and tightens up the timeframes within the investigation. And finally, there's a clever, tight and quite chilling plot, with some unexpected but perfectly believable twists and turns that lead to a final resolution that will make the reader think long and hard about assumptions and prejudices.