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futurelegend's review against another edition
2.0
I've always enjoyed reading Val McDermid, although it's been a while now, so when I saw this one I really wanted to enjoy it too. It was ok. It just about kept my interest but it felt tired, as if Val was just going through the motions to keep her publishers happy with yet another Tony Hill moneyspinner.
The author has a problem with Tony Hill, and she's well aware of what it is because I heard her say so in person more than ten years ago. He was intended to be a one-off, in a standalone book The Mermaids Singing. In that excellent but harrowing thriller she'd said everything there was to say about Tony and his foil Carol Jordan, and it was a struggle to develop them in one followup, let alone seven. There's also only so many ways you can repeat the sadistic serial killer theme. The first time shocks, the second titillates, and after that you just tighten the screws, as Philip Marlowe might have said, but didn't. It's the curse of the TV franchise of course.
Still, it's good to see McDermid appropriate the character created by and for the TV series, DCI Alex Fielding, and bring her down a peg or two.
The author has a problem with Tony Hill, and she's well aware of what it is because I heard her say so in person more than ten years ago. He was intended to be a one-off, in a standalone book The Mermaids Singing. In that excellent but harrowing thriller she'd said everything there was to say about Tony and his foil Carol Jordan, and it was a struggle to develop them in one followup, let alone seven. There's also only so many ways you can repeat the sadistic serial killer theme. The first time shocks, the second titillates, and after that you just tighten the screws, as Philip Marlowe might have said, but didn't. It's the curse of the TV franchise of course.
Still, it's good to see McDermid appropriate the character created by and for the TV series, DCI Alex Fielding, and bring her down a peg or two.
caitlinxmartin's review against another edition
4.0
I'm very fond of Val McDermid. I like her series and her standalones and remain impressed with both her output and her continued quality. McDermid tells stories and she tells those stories well. Her characters cover the waterfront of diversity and this makes her stories feel even more real to me - nothing is whitewashed or sanitized, it's all out there just like in real life.
Cross and Burn is number eight in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series. Briefly, Tony Hill is a forensic psychologist and Carol Jordan is a DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) who team together in order to solve particularly brutal crimes of all kinds (both serial and isolated). Their relationship is close and distant and hovering and complex, but they're great as a pair for the reader even though they can't seem to work it out. If Ms. McDermid were a more conventional writer the various kinds of flapping about and hand-wringing that accompany the ambiguous nature of the Hill/Jordan relationship would make me toss these books against the wall and move on, but she manages this part of her story with admirable restraint.
This is the first book where the Hill/Jordan team is separated due to the events of the previous book, The Retribution. Paula McIntyre, familiar to readers of the series, takes center stage as she tries to determine who is killing women who look just like Carol Jordan. Tony and Carol are in this book, but in many ways this is more a book about the people who worked with them, their team, and the sudden disbanding of it. I've always liked Paula as a character - she's so very straightforward and has a keen insight into the heart of a matter. It was lovely to have her character fleshed out more in this book. Equally lovely was to watch Tony and Carol find some new ways to proceed in the world and to deal with the glimpse into the notion that while they are valuable, the world still goes on around them and without them.
If you haven't read the series, it's accessible to entry at any point, although I would recommend going back to the very first one and reading through just for the pleasure of watching it all unfold. I enjoyed Cross and Burn and read it avidly like the treat it was - highly recommended for lovers of crime fiction in all its guises.
Cross and Burn is number eight in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series. Briefly, Tony Hill is a forensic psychologist and Carol Jordan is a DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) who team together in order to solve particularly brutal crimes of all kinds (both serial and isolated). Their relationship is close and distant and hovering and complex, but they're great as a pair for the reader even though they can't seem to work it out. If Ms. McDermid were a more conventional writer the various kinds of flapping about and hand-wringing that accompany the ambiguous nature of the Hill/Jordan relationship would make me toss these books against the wall and move on, but she manages this part of her story with admirable restraint.
This is the first book where the Hill/Jordan team is separated due to the events of the previous book, The Retribution. Paula McIntyre, familiar to readers of the series, takes center stage as she tries to determine who is killing women who look just like Carol Jordan. Tony and Carol are in this book, but in many ways this is more a book about the people who worked with them, their team, and the sudden disbanding of it. I've always liked Paula as a character - she's so very straightforward and has a keen insight into the heart of a matter. It was lovely to have her character fleshed out more in this book. Equally lovely was to watch Tony and Carol find some new ways to proceed in the world and to deal with the glimpse into the notion that while they are valuable, the world still goes on around them and without them.
If you haven't read the series, it's accessible to entry at any point, although I would recommend going back to the very first one and reading through just for the pleasure of watching it all unfold. I enjoyed Cross and Burn and read it avidly like the treat it was - highly recommended for lovers of crime fiction in all its guises.
theinkdrinker's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
jennybeastie's review against another edition
4.0
I don't know how I missed this book, but it explains a lot about where #9 starts. Weirdly, you can read #9 without this one, but I can't think why you'd want to. Checks all the boxes -- fast paced, creepy thriller with interesting profiling. A reunion with familiar and well loved characters, and a new chapter in everyone's life. Satisfying.
tanyarobinson's review against another edition
3.0
I had a hard time getting going on Cross and Burn; everything started out so dark and depressing. But it picked up momentum, and I thought the author did a good job of gradually unfolding the story. Still, not my favorite McDermid mystery.
littlemissgemreads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ceejcook's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75