Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Val McDermid is one of my favorite authors. Besides the urban fantasy genre that i gotten to like a lot, thrillers are my favorite to read. I was hooked at first by the authors by BBC America, when they made her books into a series. I started to read her books and immediately hooked on to her writing style, her descriptions, her complex but flawed characters. I have been awaiting this book ever since i heard about it . This author hooks you from the get go. Dr. Tony Hill is a clinical psychologist turned profiler due to his nack of being able to get into serial killers head. DCI Carol Jordan, I don't know how else you can refer to her, a cop who has a close and complicated relationship with herself and Dr. Hill. And then there is Paula McIntyre, also a cop, who used to be on DCI Jordans team. Since the team was disbanded in the last book, she started to work for DCI Alex Fielding. DCI Fielding was character out of the series on TV. She replaced Carol Jordan after the actress left the series. Val MCDermid states in her intro that she borrowed DCI Fielding from the TV series and she was very successful with incorporating her character into the books without losing any of the nuances. I am looking forward to many more Tony Hill novels. I can only recommend this novel. However, to fully understand the complexity of the characters it is very helpful to have read all other novels in the series.
dark
fast-paced
It's been a while since I read this series, so it was a refreshing change to revisit Paula's and blunt honesty, Tony's social ineptness despite his incredible insights, and Carol's honest emotion. Obviously this is a book about terrible crime, a serial killer, but the real story is about grief and the rawness of grieving, the struggle of resolution and how people deal - or not - with the aftermath of crime and loss. In short, the bits fiction rarely cover. And McDermid does it well.
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After the disappointment of The retribution and the return of Jacko Vance this was for me a return to form for Tony Hill and Carol Jordan although the real strength of the book was DS Paula McIntyre. As ever there is a serial killer on the streets of Bradfield which plays out against the devastating after effects of the previous book. The MIT team has been disbanded and Carol has withdrawn to the wilds of the Yorkshire Moors and a life outside the police force, whilst Tony has to come to terms with his mistakes. The book did what I wanted it to which was keep me turning the page and looking forward to reading the latest in the saga.
And we're back! This book was back to the quality I expect from a Carol & Tony novel, after being slightly disappointed at the previous book. There's not a great deal I can say about the plot as it will spoil other books, but some changes took a bit of getting used to and I'm glad other issues were at least partially resolved.
I listened to this one on audio too and really enjoyed the narration by Saul Reichlin.
I listened to this one on audio too and really enjoyed the narration by Saul Reichlin.
Just great to pick up Carol & Tony's story which looked as though it had crashed and burned in the last volume. This is a pick-up of seemingly unresolvible (?) differences at the end of the last chapter. We follow the familiar and addictive characters through and vicariously through, another another serial murder, rather different from previous cases.
Addictive, page turning and memorable. Loved it...
Addictive, page turning and memorable. Loved it...
This is 4.5 stars for me. For readers familiar with DCI Carol Jordan and Psychologist Tony Hill, as well as watchers of the TV series Wire in the Blood, this is a must-read. A serial killer is killing women in Bradford, and the police are on a wrong-footed approach to the case. This book finds Carol and Tony out of the roles we have long known them for. I won't go into the reasons why as the book will reveal the reasons. DI Paula McIntyre who has appeared in this series in the past as part of DCI Carol Jordan's team, plays a major part in this story. McDermid knows how to weave a grim tale without gratitous violence. Her characters and story development at top notch and I am looking forward to the next chapter in this series.
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.