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raven88's review against another edition
4.0
Well it is with great delight that I can report that in this humble reviewer's opinion, Val McDermid is back on form with her new outing for Carol Jordan and Tony Hill- hallelujah and saints be praised! After the relative disappointments of McDermid's stand alone The Vanishing Point and the last Jordan/Hill The Retribution, I was feeling a little deflated as I've always held McDermid in some regard and very much enjoyed her books previous to these two, so I did approach Cross and Burn with a slight sense of trepidation but my fears were quickly dispelled...
What I particularly enjoyed about Cross and Burn was the sense of readjustment that ran through the book for all the protagonists, as after the horrific events of The Retribution, both mentally and physically for the main players, they are all in a state of flux in their personal and professional lives. Carol Jordan, now no longer a police officer, is still coming to terms with her familial loss and on a mission to erase these events, now firmly rooted in a rural idyll and her relationship with her former colleagues, and more importantly, Tony Hill completely severed. Our favourite bumbling but brilliant psychological profiler, Tony Hill is, well, bumbling along, pining for the loss of his relationship with Jordan, the drying up of his police consultancy work and his new life on the waves- okay- a canal. Newly promoted DS Paula McIntyre takes a larger part in the story, now part of a new investigation team under the steely leadership of another female boss- DCI Fielding- and finds her personal and professional life intermingling when a friend disappears. As a series of abductions unfold McIntyre and Hill join forces providing a different dimension to the plot, but Hill soon finds himself in the accusatory glare of the indominitable Fielding and Carol Jordan cannot help but be drawn back into the world she has left behind, despite the fragility of her relationship with him. This is the real strength of the book for me, as the abduction storyline was a little laboured (although I appreciate the need to draw McIntyre's personal life into the mix for the sake of the plot) but where McDermid excels is in her observation of the very human need for connection and reconciliation. I loved the tentative and thorny reactions between Jordan and Hill, the pressures on McIntyre to connect with a new team of detectives and her narrow minded boss, and the ruminations of Hill on his disconnection with a world that largely tolerated his own peculiar quirks of character and way of working. I enjoyed the depictions of the solitary lives led by Jordan and Hill- consumed in their own particular miseries- set against the sudden change in McIntyre's domestic set-up with the introduction of her own newly arrived waif and stray and how this impacts on her relationship with her partner Eleanor, and of course the very marked differences made in the characters and professional attitudes of Jordan and Fielding in their former and current roles of overseeing murder investigations.
No question then in my mind that McDermid is back with style, not necessarily in the depiction of the central investigation, but in her capturing in the real frailties and strengths in her established cast of characters. It's no mean feat to reveal new aspects to such stalwart characters over the length of a series, but to me this worked beautifully throughout, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ebb and flow of them reconnecting them in the face of emotional and professional difficulties. Nicely done.
What I particularly enjoyed about Cross and Burn was the sense of readjustment that ran through the book for all the protagonists, as after the horrific events of The Retribution, both mentally and physically for the main players, they are all in a state of flux in their personal and professional lives. Carol Jordan, now no longer a police officer, is still coming to terms with her familial loss and on a mission to erase these events, now firmly rooted in a rural idyll and her relationship with her former colleagues, and more importantly, Tony Hill completely severed. Our favourite bumbling but brilliant psychological profiler, Tony Hill is, well, bumbling along, pining for the loss of his relationship with Jordan, the drying up of his police consultancy work and his new life on the waves- okay- a canal. Newly promoted DS Paula McIntyre takes a larger part in the story, now part of a new investigation team under the steely leadership of another female boss- DCI Fielding- and finds her personal and professional life intermingling when a friend disappears. As a series of abductions unfold McIntyre and Hill join forces providing a different dimension to the plot, but Hill soon finds himself in the accusatory glare of the indominitable Fielding and Carol Jordan cannot help but be drawn back into the world she has left behind, despite the fragility of her relationship with him. This is the real strength of the book for me, as the abduction storyline was a little laboured (although I appreciate the need to draw McIntyre's personal life into the mix for the sake of the plot) but where McDermid excels is in her observation of the very human need for connection and reconciliation. I loved the tentative and thorny reactions between Jordan and Hill, the pressures on McIntyre to connect with a new team of detectives and her narrow minded boss, and the ruminations of Hill on his disconnection with a world that largely tolerated his own peculiar quirks of character and way of working. I enjoyed the depictions of the solitary lives led by Jordan and Hill- consumed in their own particular miseries- set against the sudden change in McIntyre's domestic set-up with the introduction of her own newly arrived waif and stray and how this impacts on her relationship with her partner Eleanor, and of course the very marked differences made in the characters and professional attitudes of Jordan and Fielding in their former and current roles of overseeing murder investigations.
No question then in my mind that McDermid is back with style, not necessarily in the depiction of the central investigation, but in her capturing in the real frailties and strengths in her established cast of characters. It's no mean feat to reveal new aspects to such stalwart characters over the length of a series, but to me this worked beautifully throughout, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ebb and flow of them reconnecting them in the face of emotional and professional difficulties. Nicely done.
elegantmechanic's review against another edition
4.0
A much stronger return to form after The Retribution, although I really didn't like the treatment of Alex Fielding in the story (having been a fan of the TV show). It felt like some sort of score-settling by McDermid over a producer's decision on the show back then. Maybe she can be redeemed in the next book?
ellie_2's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cbking's review against another edition
2.0
Not quite sure why I'm continuing to read these, as the writing has gone seriously downhill. The plots continue to captivate, but the characterization of Carol has made no sense for a couple of books now . . .
canada_matt's review
4.0
McDermid left some substantial threads hanging at the end of THE RETRIBUTION, leaving the reader to wonder what path things might take. Picking up the story mere months after the Jacko Vance sequel, the scene is as follows: the MIT is no more, her team reassigned; Carol Jordan is no longer a DCI, nor does she work with Bradfield or any other force; and Tony Hill has been cut out of Jordan life entirely, for reasons related to Jacko Vance and his fallibility. All this while McDermid pushes a new case to the forefront, complete with a new and sadistic killer, a man seeking the perfect wife. Women with a strong resemblance to Carol Jordan are being kidnapped and eventually killed, their bodies brutalised and dumped. DS Paula McIntyre, formerly of MIT is working the case in Bradfield, while trying to hunt down an acquaintance who may have become tangled in this web. Away from all the action, Jordan herself has taken to the like of a Do it Yourselfer, in the hopes that this will bring her solace, and adapting to the life of a private citizen. While DS McIntyre continues piecing things together, with the help of the ever-resourceful Dr. Hill, himself dealing with the loss of Jordan and the MIT, she stumbles upon some evidence that blows the investigation in a direction no one saw coming. Calling on Hill's mental acuity and Jordan's sleuthing skills, they are forced to work together to ensure this serial killer does not slip through their fingers and the wrong person is left to bear the brunt of justice's fine fist. A page-turner that surpasses much of what McDermid has brought to the reader up to this point.
With a protagonist shift from Hill-Jordan over to DS McIntyre, McDermid paints a different picture in this novel and one that is highly enjoyable. While always on the periphery, McIntyre is now front and centre and faces much of the strain readers are used to seeing yoked upon Jordan. Multi-layered and quite intriguing, the reader learns much more about McIntyre and her skills, using old connections and forging new ones to set her apart from the DC role she played on the MIT crew. Wonderfully woven into the story line, McDermid offers both sides of the story and breaks the novel into day segments (but in a more effective way, as I lamented gargantuan chapters in an earlier review). Highly addictive and surely one that will keep the reader up late into the night.
As I have reached the 'up to date' point in my Hill-Jordan reading, I want to offer a short summary and add some comments on the series that I have seen progress in my time as an avid reader. Reflecting back on the eight books to date, much has changed and evolved over that time. First and foremost would have to be the evolution of the Hill-Jordan relationship. The attentive reader will have seen much percolating around these two, with little actual progress to push them together. There was a spark, one that almost cost Jordan her life, but little concrete movement towards the animalistic passions McDermid paints for the reader, leaving many to yell onto the pages of the book to "get on with it, already!". Secondly, the creation of MIT came at a time in the series where an injected new angle was needed. While Hill-Jordan are highly entertaining and intriguing, as I mentioned in an earlier review, both characters needed geographic grounding in order to bring some sense of normalcy to the story. Jordan flitted from job to job and Hill followed her (sometimes choosing a longer path), keeping them on one another's radar. However, MIT allowed some foundation-building and new characters that have come to grace the pages of the novels and produced some wonderful sub-plots. Great characters breed wonderful stories and McDermid has shown that repeatedly. Lastly, the crimes and victimology found within the series has been wonderful. I do not say that with a macabre twinge, but to have such detailed and sometimes horrific imagery helps personalise the story. A shooting or stabbing is one thing, but McDermid wants to really get under the reader's skin with horrific happenings, perhaps to fuel a desire to catch the killer. She has not shied away from any of it and I hope she keeps this angle of her writing strong and fresh, as it does wonders for my interest level.
Kudos, Madam McDermid for a splendid addition to the series. Where will you go from here?
With a protagonist shift from Hill-Jordan over to DS McIntyre, McDermid paints a different picture in this novel and one that is highly enjoyable. While always on the periphery, McIntyre is now front and centre and faces much of the strain readers are used to seeing yoked upon Jordan. Multi-layered and quite intriguing, the reader learns much more about McIntyre and her skills, using old connections and forging new ones to set her apart from the DC role she played on the MIT crew. Wonderfully woven into the story line, McDermid offers both sides of the story and breaks the novel into day segments (but in a more effective way, as I lamented gargantuan chapters in an earlier review). Highly addictive and surely one that will keep the reader up late into the night.
As I have reached the 'up to date' point in my Hill-Jordan reading, I want to offer a short summary and add some comments on the series that I have seen progress in my time as an avid reader. Reflecting back on the eight books to date, much has changed and evolved over that time. First and foremost would have to be the evolution of the Hill-Jordan relationship. The attentive reader will have seen much percolating around these two, with little actual progress to push them together. There was a spark, one that almost cost Jordan her life, but little concrete movement towards the animalistic passions McDermid paints for the reader, leaving many to yell onto the pages of the book to "get on with it, already!". Secondly, the creation of MIT came at a time in the series where an injected new angle was needed. While Hill-Jordan are highly entertaining and intriguing, as I mentioned in an earlier review, both characters needed geographic grounding in order to bring some sense of normalcy to the story. Jordan flitted from job to job and Hill followed her (sometimes choosing a longer path), keeping them on one another's radar. However, MIT allowed some foundation-building and new characters that have come to grace the pages of the novels and produced some wonderful sub-plots. Great characters breed wonderful stories and McDermid has shown that repeatedly. Lastly, the crimes and victimology found within the series has been wonderful. I do not say that with a macabre twinge, but to have such detailed and sometimes horrific imagery helps personalise the story. A shooting or stabbing is one thing, but McDermid wants to really get under the reader's skin with horrific happenings, perhaps to fuel a desire to catch the killer. She has not shied away from any of it and I hope she keeps this angle of her writing strong and fresh, as it does wonders for my interest level.
Kudos, Madam McDermid for a splendid addition to the series. Where will you go from here?
frickative's review against another edition
4.0
[Disclaimer: I received a review copy via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.]
Cross and Burn is the eighth installment in Val McDermid's Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series, which follows a criminal psychologist, a police detective, and the crimes they solve. Except, because of the extreme events of the previous book, The Retribution, Tony and Carol become side-players here, while supporting character Paula McIntyre takes the lead. It's an interesting departure from the established format, and I really enjoyed the results.
In The Retribution, Tony and Carol's relationship and, in effect, lives were thrown into complete disarray by the actions of a serial killer. It was dark and it was painful and at the time I remember feeling that the stakes were ultimately too high, to the point that it was hard to see a road back for either of them. Cross and Burn deals with the aftermath of those events, and by minimising their roles, allows for breathing room and time for the healing process to begin. It's cathatic, realistic, and ultimately re-instilled hope for both their futures.
The case at the centre of the book is an interesting one (and unsurprisingly graphic) - a killer is bumping off blondes who look like Carol, leaving Paula to deal with the aftermath both on a personal and professional level. She's always been one of, or even the most promising supporting character, and easily shoulders the additional weight she's granted in this book. Given her recent promotion to a new firm, the characters from the MIT that have formed the focal point of many investigations from previous novels are either absent entirely, or reduced to a few walk-on scenes. I actually had no problem with this, given that I'd personally found the cast a little over-full in the past few books anyway.
Where things do get a bit weird is with Paula's new boss, DI Alex Fielding. Viewers of the Wire in the Blood TV series will know her as Simone Lahbib's character - Carol's replacement post-Hermione Norris's departure - secondary star of the show for three series. This is the first time she's popped up in a McDermid novel, and the result was puzzling. McDermid presents Fielding as the novel's secondary antagonist, second to only the bloke brutally murdering blondes in his garage. She's petty, officious, short-sighted and self-serving. Everyone who comes into contact with her actively dislikes her, and I don't understand the motivation in presenting her this way. I even went back and re-watched her first WitB episode to see if she started out that way and subsequent character growth had caused me to forget, but... not really. There are shades of her novel characterisation there - initially abrasive, by-the-book and resistant to Tony's skills - but within literal seconds of meeting him, she's also smiling at his foibles, divulging details of the case and letting him listen in on an interview. And by the end, she seeks out and is grateful for his help. I don't know if this is the start of a longer arc for her in the books, but I was a bit bewildered by her depiction.
On the whole, I found a lot of things to enjoy here. The writing was sharp as ever - in less skilled hands, Tony's pining and Carol's residual anger might have veered into melodrama, but most assuredly didn't. I enjoyed the interactions between Paula and Tony, even (maybe especially) the painful moment he accidentally called her Carol. I loved the humour that still lurked beneath the surface despite the circumstances ('He grabbed one of the sturdy reusable carrier bags that Carol - ouch, no, let her go, you can't get sentimental over a bloody carrier bag'). I particularly think keeping Carol and Tony apart for three quarters of the novel was a positive move, building towards their eventual meeting and allowing their interactions to be less raw and fraught than where The Retribution left them. Ultimately, book seven left me worried about where this series was going. Book eight has me pleasantly hopeful for the next installment.
(If there is one truly horrifying event in this novel, it's Carol leaving behind her beloved cat Nelson and getting a dog. Far more dreadful than all the murders combined, clearly.)
Cross and Burn is the eighth installment in Val McDermid's Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series, which follows a criminal psychologist, a police detective, and the crimes they solve. Except, because of the extreme events of the previous book, The Retribution, Tony and Carol become side-players here, while supporting character Paula McIntyre takes the lead. It's an interesting departure from the established format, and I really enjoyed the results.
In The Retribution, Tony and Carol's relationship and, in effect, lives were thrown into complete disarray by the actions of a serial killer. It was dark and it was painful and at the time I remember feeling that the stakes were ultimately too high, to the point that it was hard to see a road back for either of them. Cross and Burn deals with the aftermath of those events, and by minimising their roles, allows for breathing room and time for the healing process to begin. It's cathatic, realistic, and ultimately re-instilled hope for both their futures.
The case at the centre of the book is an interesting one (and unsurprisingly graphic) - a killer is bumping off blondes who look like Carol, leaving Paula to deal with the aftermath both on a personal and professional level. She's always been one of, or even the most promising supporting character, and easily shoulders the additional weight she's granted in this book. Given her recent promotion to a new firm, the characters from the MIT that have formed the focal point of many investigations from previous novels are either absent entirely, or reduced to a few walk-on scenes. I actually had no problem with this, given that I'd personally found the cast a little over-full in the past few books anyway.
Where things do get a bit weird is with Paula's new boss, DI Alex Fielding. Viewers of the Wire in the Blood TV series will know her as Simone Lahbib's character - Carol's replacement post-Hermione Norris's departure - secondary star of the show for three series. This is the first time she's popped up in a McDermid novel, and the result was puzzling. McDermid presents Fielding as the novel's secondary antagonist, second to only the bloke brutally murdering blondes in his garage. She's petty, officious, short-sighted and self-serving. Everyone who comes into contact with her actively dislikes her, and I don't understand the motivation in presenting her this way. I even went back and re-watched her first WitB episode to see if she started out that way and subsequent character growth had caused me to forget, but... not really. There are shades of her novel characterisation there - initially abrasive, by-the-book and resistant to Tony's skills - but within literal seconds of meeting him, she's also smiling at his foibles, divulging details of the case and letting him listen in on an interview. And by the end, she seeks out and is grateful for his help. I don't know if this is the start of a longer arc for her in the books, but I was a bit bewildered by her depiction.
On the whole, I found a lot of things to enjoy here. The writing was sharp as ever - in less skilled hands, Tony's pining and Carol's residual anger might have veered into melodrama, but most assuredly didn't. I enjoyed the interactions between Paula and Tony, even (maybe especially) the painful moment he accidentally called her Carol. I loved the humour that still lurked beneath the surface despite the circumstances ('He grabbed one of the sturdy reusable carrier bags that Carol - ouch, no, let her go, you can't get sentimental over a bloody carrier bag'). I particularly think keeping Carol and Tony apart for three quarters of the novel was a positive move, building towards their eventual meeting and allowing their interactions to be less raw and fraught than where The Retribution left them. Ultimately, book seven left me worried about where this series was going. Book eight has me pleasantly hopeful for the next installment.
(If there is one truly horrifying event in this novel, it's Carol leaving behind her beloved cat Nelson and getting a dog. Far more dreadful than all the murders combined, clearly.)
canadianbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
This thriller takes place in West Yorkshire and moves around between several points of view, some of them members of the recently disbanded MIT investigative team of the Bradfield Police: Tony Hill, psychologist and police profiler; Carol Jordan leader of the MIT team, now ex-police dealing with her grief by pushing everyone away; and Paula McIntyre, formerly Carol's constable, but now sergeant for another DCI. The other main character we see the inside view of is the criminal, the man who is obsessed with finding the perfect wife for his needs, the man who is never satisfied, who chooses, stalks, kidnaps, and terrorizes his victims in his impossible to fulfill goal. And then we have the victims, well-dressed professional women, successful and attractive, but no match for his well-planned attacks.
The title seems to come from a quote that appears on the first pages of the book:
"The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn" -- David Russell
Paula is struggling with her new DCI, trying to be loyal, but believing that justice outweighs such loyalty. When someone she knows goes missing and she becomes involved with the woman's teenage son, it becomes personal. When someone she knows well is under suspicion for these brutal crimes against women, she is sure they have the wrong man, and that the right one is still out there somewhere, endangering more women it becomes even more personal. A fast-moving book that you won't want to put down.
The title seems to come from a quote that appears on the first pages of the book:
"The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn" -- David Russell
Paula is struggling with her new DCI, trying to be loyal, but believing that justice outweighs such loyalty. When someone she knows goes missing and she becomes involved with the woman's teenage son, it becomes personal. When someone she knows well is under suspicion for these brutal crimes against women, she is sure they have the wrong man, and that the right one is still out there somewhere, endangering more women it becomes even more personal. A fast-moving book that you won't want to put down.
emmalynn's review against another edition
5.0
When it comes to Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, Val McDermid doesn't disappoint!
Her last stand-alones hadn't really convinced me so I was a tiny bit anxious before starting Cross and Burn but I had no reason to!
I was back in the usual page-turning, armrest-gripping territory and I just couldn't put it down.
I also really liked Paula (and her partner Elinor) being more present than ever as she's always been one of my favourite characters.
Her last stand-alones hadn't really convinced me so I was a tiny bit anxious before starting Cross and Burn but I had no reason to!
I was back in the usual page-turning, armrest-gripping territory and I just couldn't put it down.
I also really liked Paula (and her partner Elinor) being more present than ever as she's always been one of my favourite characters.
waynewaynus's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this book, I find the characters endlessly interesting as the writer continues to play with the relationships of the characters in engaging ways.