Status
Available
Call number
Call number
F MCD
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Harper Perennial (2010), Edition: Original, 500 pages
Description
"He is psychologist and criminal profiler Dr. Tony Hill's worst nightmare--a killer driven by the most perverted hungers and unmoved by youth and innocence, a killer with a long shopping list of victims who leaves no trail. The murder-mutilation of teenager Jennifer Maidment is horrific enough on its own, but Hill quickly realizes that it's just the beginning of a chilling campaign targeting an apparently unconnected group of young people--victims that the monster has been grooming through a social networking site. It is a case that is reawakening ghosts of Tony Hill's past. And the longer it takes to uncover a motive and a maniac, the more innocent youth will die"--Cover, p. 4.
Original publication date
2009 (UK)
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User reviews
LibraryThing member AnnieMod
"Fever of the Bone" is the latest book by Val McDermid. It's the sixth in the series featuring Tony Hill and Carol Jordan and as any of the books in this series, it has two separate but interconnected stories - the life of Tony (and Carol) and the actual case which they work on. Except that this
Tony Hill is still in denial for his father's existence, let alone death. And suddenly it looks like the Fate is trying to make him accept - he is called on a case in Worcester -- the place where his father had lived. Carol Jordan meets her new boss and it's a mutual dislike from first sight - not only because he seems to be very different but also because he wants to dissemble MIT and almost forbids her to use Tony in her inquiries.
And in the middle of all these the two cases start demanding attention. In Worchester Tony is trying to help the local police figure out the dead of a 14 years old girl being killed and mutilated. Back home, Carol seems to have a serial killer on her hands - one that kills 14 years old boys and mutilates them. With the very first murder, it is obvious that both cases are related but it takes a while for all of them to talk together so they figure it out - McDermid never makes it unclear that it's the same case - she just leads her characters to it gradually.
It's a good book - probably a bit worse than I expected but I had been expecting almost miracles from McDermid for years. It has its strange and weak moments:
- When Tony tries to decipher the partially recovered chat, he does not seem to see what seemed obvious. Either I watch way too much CSI and the similar shows or it just makes no sense. Except that finding it that early on would have been a disaster for the book. But then McDermid had to "uncover" other letters and bits...
- The coincidence that cracked the case - someone from the team leaving their keys in the office, bringing their date back and this date seeing something and recognizing it.
- The end result - I never saw the end-game coming and it was deliciously written. But the end-game itself was cliched (or I had seen way too many films). McDermid threw the reader a few times and it kinda worked but it finished in the most expected way. On the other hand Occam's razor exist for a reason and it was probably more surprising that it finished like this than if she had decided to do it in a new and inventive way.
And while the actual crime story had its flaws, the personal part of the story was one of the best yet - Tony's struggle and the new secrets being revealed adds to the already complicated tapestry of Tony's life. And the last few sentences make me start checking when the next book will be out.
4 stars out of 5 for the book - I just do not like coincidences and I just cannot see how Tony could not decipher the note... But at the same time, I recommend the book to anyone that likes the genre.
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time the lines are four: Tony's life and his dealing with his father's death, Carol's dealing with the new boss and two different criminal cases - one for each of our protagonists. Of course, that's McDermid so these 4 lines will collapse into each other but that's how it starts.Tony Hill is still in denial for his father's existence, let alone death. And suddenly it looks like the Fate is trying to make him accept - he is called on a case in Worcester -- the place where his father had lived. Carol Jordan meets her new boss and it's a mutual dislike from first sight - not only because he seems to be very different but also because he wants to dissemble MIT and almost forbids her to use Tony in her inquiries.
And in the middle of all these the two cases start demanding attention. In Worchester Tony is trying to help the local police figure out the dead of a 14 years old girl being killed and mutilated. Back home, Carol seems to have a serial killer on her hands - one that kills 14 years old boys and mutilates them. With the very first murder, it is obvious that both cases are related but it takes a while for all of them to talk together so they figure it out - McDermid never makes it unclear that it's the same case - she just leads her characters to it gradually.
It's a good book - probably a bit worse than I expected but I had been expecting almost miracles from McDermid for years. It has its strange and weak moments:
- When Tony tries to decipher the partially recovered chat, he does not seem to see what seemed obvious. Either I watch way too much CSI and the similar shows or it just makes no sense. Except that finding it that early on would have been a disaster for the book. But then McDermid had to "uncover" other letters and bits...
- The coincidence that cracked the case - someone from the team leaving their keys in the office, bringing their date back and this date seeing something and recognizing it.
- The end result - I never saw the end-game coming and it was deliciously written. But the end-game itself was cliched (or I had seen way too many films). McDermid threw the reader a few times and it kinda worked but it finished in the most expected way. On the other hand Occam's razor exist for a reason and it was probably more surprising that it finished like this than if she had decided to do it in a new and inventive way.
And while the actual crime story had its flaws, the personal part of the story was one of the best yet - Tony's struggle and the new secrets being revealed adds to the already complicated tapestry of Tony's life. And the last few sentences make me start checking when the next book will be out.
4 stars out of 5 for the book - I just do not like coincidences and I just cannot see how Tony could not decipher the note... But at the same time, I recommend the book to anyone that likes the genre.
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LibraryThing member austcrimefiction
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
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
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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.
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LibraryThing member eleanor_eader
I’m a fan of McDermid’s Tony Hill / Carol Jordan books (and the tv series, Wire in the Blood); she’s a smart writer who keeps her stories compelling and excellently-paced. One of the classiest psychological thriller writers I’ve encountered.
That said, for a McDermind book, Fever of the Bone
There’s nothing that’s not readable in ‘Fever of the Bone’, but there’s little that’s startlingly original, either (as opposed to the last two books which were stonking good yarns). The back-story on Tony’s father was far more interesting than the murder investigation, which felt like one or two of the earlier books revisited - someone is stalking teenagers via the internet and killing them in psychologically curious ways and, despite his track record, Tony is once again left too far on the outside of the investigation to prevent several deaths.
I enjoyed it, a lot, but I feel like I enjoyed it for the comfort of rejoining well-loved characters, rather than for the thrill of mystery. The mystery was merely satisfying... and given that this mild complaint is the only one I can summon up, it can't have been a half-bad book, eh?
That said, for a McDermind book, Fever of the Bone
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starts a little staidly and never seems to achieve anything remarkable (beyond the author’s very entertaining base-line which I’m more than willing to read her books for) – there’s more departmental problems for Carol, more insecurity for Tony; the established set of personal pitfalls reasserting their bond with each other (and the reader’s with them)… and their capacity to misunderstand one another and still come back to mutual respect with a spark of something else is undiminished. Their relationship is the most intriguing of all the detective fiction I’ve read, and I was glad of the slight movement in a direction at the end of this book.There’s nothing that’s not readable in ‘Fever of the Bone’, but there’s little that’s startlingly original, either (as opposed to the last two books which were stonking good yarns). The back-story on Tony’s father was far more interesting than the murder investigation, which felt like one or two of the earlier books revisited - someone is stalking teenagers via the internet and killing them in psychologically curious ways and, despite his track record, Tony is once again left too far on the outside of the investigation to prevent several deaths.
I enjoyed it, a lot, but I feel like I enjoyed it for the comfort of rejoining well-loved characters, rather than for the thrill of mystery. The mystery was merely satisfying... and given that this mild complaint is the only one I can summon up, it can't have been a half-bad book, eh?
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LibraryThing member edwardsgt
Another cracking plot, this time with Tony Hill excluded from the initial investigation by DCI Carol Jordan into the gruesome death of a teenager, after the appointment of a cost-cutting new Chief Constable. Tony Hill meanwhile goes on a journey of discovery about the father he never knew.
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Recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member jbrubacher
Profiler Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan work on seemingly unrelated murders as teenagers turn up dead and mutilated across England. Meanwhile, Carol tries to shake the temptation to drink whenever the stress gets too much, and Tony is learning more about his father, the man he'd always believed
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abandoned him and his mother when he was a baby. In the latest of this series McDermid masterfully balances what the reader knows with what the characters know, and makes neither look stupid. She takes her well-known characters who have been with us for years and gives them new facets and challenges. Bit characters are becoming as fleshed out as the main two. Nothing is stale. I think this is my favourite of the Hill/Jordan books since the first two, which says a lot for me. Show Less
LibraryThing member verenka
I like Val McDermid's books and I always return to them when I need something for the holiday. I prefer the cold case series over this one, I think, but I'm also a fan of serial killer fiction and profilers. My only criticism would be that the kids sounded more like adolescent archetypes than
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actual people - the good boy, the good girl, the bad kid from a bad home. She does characters well, even the ones that don't feature for very long. So I was a little disappointed by the kids. Show Less
LibraryThing member isabelx
This is the first of the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series that I have read, and as it's the 6th and latest book in the series, it probably wasn't the best one to start with. That said, the relationships between the members of the MIT squad and Dr Hill were clear and enough of the back-story was
The relationships between the characters were believable, but the murder mystery was a bit lame. It relied too much on coincidence and in some places the investigators seemed a bit dim and slow on the uptake for a squad of supposed high-flyers. I'm sure most readers would have guessed what "ur real" in Jennifer's web-chat might have been referring to, whereas the police and the profiler didn't have a clue. And when they were wondering how the main suspect might have found his victims, it never occurred to them that what he did for a living might have anything to do with it!
However, it was still an enjoyable read, and I will read the other books in the series if they come my way. The ending makes me think that this could well be the last book in the series, but at least I will be able to read the earlier books without worrying too much about what will happen to the main characters.
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included that I didn't feel lost. Although I've never watched "Wire in the Blood", even having seen the trailers over the years meant that I was picturing Robson Green and Hermione Norris as Tony and Carol.The relationships between the characters were believable, but the murder mystery was a bit lame. It relied too much on coincidence and in some places the investigators seemed a bit dim and slow on the uptake for a squad of supposed high-flyers. I'm sure most readers would have guessed what "ur real" in Jennifer's web-chat might have been referring to, whereas the police and the profiler didn't have a clue. And when they were wondering how the main suspect might have found his victims, it never occurred to them that what he did for a living might have anything to do with it!
However, it was still an enjoyable read, and I will read the other books in the series if they come my way. The ending makes me think that this could well be the last book in the series, but at least I will be able to read the earlier books without worrying too much about what will happen to the main characters.
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LibraryThing member cathymoore
This is my first venture into this series so I was worried about keeping up with the established characters back-stories. It was okay though, some references were made to previous stories, which obviously I was unaware of, but the author told each character's story as the novel progressed without
The murder mystery in this book was a good one, a serial killer targetting teenagers via social networking, and there was a twist at the end, albeit one I kind of saw coming. There are lots of modern cultural references throughout which felt quite deliberate and makes me wonder if the book might seem dated quite quickly.
The only other thing I wasn't sure I liked was the way all the main characters seemed to be flawed and constantly wrestling with their inner demons. That didn't stop me enjoying it though and I'll definitely read more by this author if I come across them in future.
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detracting from the action. The murder mystery in this book was a good one, a serial killer targetting teenagers via social networking, and there was a twist at the end, albeit one I kind of saw coming. There are lots of modern cultural references throughout which felt quite deliberate and makes me wonder if the book might seem dated quite quickly.
The only other thing I wasn't sure I liked was the way all the main characters seemed to be flawed and constantly wrestling with their inner demons. That didn't stop me enjoying it though and I'll definitely read more by this author if I come across them in future.
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LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
Another police procedural from McDermid with her customary mix of goriness and tight plotting. DCI Carol Jordan and Dr Tiny Hill battle with yet another crazed serial killer, though there is a particularly gripping twist this time.
Very enjoyable, as ever with her books.
Very enjoyable, as ever with her books.
LibraryThing member kaylol
So gripping that it puts your life on hold says the front cover and The Times. Just true.
LibraryThing member stuart10er
Loved this book. Set around a serial killer who is targeting teens via a Facebook like online service. It is like an onion that has to be peeled layer after layer until you (and the detectives) figure out who is being targeted and why, and then who did it. Lots of good sub-plots to flesh out the
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characters. I really enjoyed it. Show Less
LibraryThing member joannalongbourne
Fever of the Bone reads like a love letter to Tony Hill, Carol Jordan and the other regulars in McDermid's Blood in the Wire series
LibraryThing member thorold
Decent serial killer mystery, which successfully kept me entertained on a tedious journey, but I wouldn't rate it as one of the best. The central conceit is that Tony Hill and Carol Jordan quite accidentally and without each other's knowledge find themselves working with different police forces on
Another issue I have with this whole series is the way it relies so much on computer-based detection. Obviously it's hard to avoid that if you're going to write plausibly about modern police work, but the problem is that there are no clear limits to what you can do with it. With ordinary physical evidence, the writer has to stick to an accepted set of conventions, because the reader has a pretty good idea of what's possible and what isn't, and that doesn't change very much from year to year. If the writer wants to go further, she has to give a plausible sounding scientific explanation of how that is possible. But with computers, where neither the reader nor the writer has any real way of knowing what the limits are (but we're all prepared to believe the worst) the writer can decide quite arbitrarily what she wants the police to be able to find out at any given moment, and be as vague as she likes about how they do it ("Stacey did something complicated with her mouse and a picture of the killer appeared on the whiteboard..."). Call me old-fashioned, but for me that takes a lot of the interest of detective stories away.
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different parts of the same set of crimes. Not a problem in itself: the genre allows for (depends on) coincidences like that. The first half of the book, where we know that they each hold the missing pieces of the other's puzzle, but they don't, works very well. But then McDermid seems to run out of things to do with that idea and has them start working together as usual, and it all goes a bit flat. Another issue I have with this whole series is the way it relies so much on computer-based detection. Obviously it's hard to avoid that if you're going to write plausibly about modern police work, but the problem is that there are no clear limits to what you can do with it. With ordinary physical evidence, the writer has to stick to an accepted set of conventions, because the reader has a pretty good idea of what's possible and what isn't, and that doesn't change very much from year to year. If the writer wants to go further, she has to give a plausible sounding scientific explanation of how that is possible. But with computers, where neither the reader nor the writer has any real way of knowing what the limits are (but we're all prepared to believe the worst) the writer can decide quite arbitrarily what she wants the police to be able to find out at any given moment, and be as vague as she likes about how they do it ("Stacey did something complicated with her mouse and a picture of the killer appeared on the whiteboard..."). Call me old-fashioned, but for me that takes a lot of the interest of detective stories away.
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LibraryThing member zmagic69
Somehow I had never read a book by this author but she was recommended to me by a guy working at Barnes & Noble, of course B&N did stock any of her books, but Book Depository did, so I read the descriptions of a couple of them and decided to go with one later in the series rather than the first
This was a fantastic book.
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one. A good author will provide enough information about the characters in each book when it's a part of a series, and that was definitely the case with this book. The story starts off pretty straight forward but there are a number of great twists and revelations as the story progresses to keep it wildly entertaining. I can now see why the author has won so many awards and acclaim.This was a fantastic book.
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LibraryThing member kmajort
I've loved Tony Hill & Carol Jordan since day one with The Mermaids Singing. Her other series & stand alone novels I enjoy, but not AS much.
This story has growth for all characters, introduces some new faces that I hope stick around, gives Tony some real insight into his half-truth-filled
There might be better psycho-crime authors, but not for me!
An aside, since this isn't a tv site - the series Wire in the Blood with Robson Green & Hermione Norris is quite good, at least seasons 1 - 3. I've not been able to make the switch in season 4 to a "different" tough female detective. Closed-minded, yes, I know.
This story has growth for all characters, introduces some new faces that I hope stick around, gives Tony some real insight into his half-truth-filled
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past.There might be better psycho-crime authors, but not for me!
An aside, since this isn't a tv site - the series Wire in the Blood with Robson Green & Hermione Norris is quite good, at least seasons 1 - 3. I've not been able to make the switch in season 4 to a "different" tough female detective. Closed-minded, yes, I know.
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
For a long time one of my favorite series was the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan police procedurals by Val McDermid. For some reason, I have not read one of these books in quite some time and recently when I was sorting through my various series, I realized that I needed to get back to this series by
Although it’s been some time since I have read this series, I found it easy to jump back into the lives of psychological profiler, Dr. Tony Hill and his police supervisor and best friend DCI Carol Jordan. Carol is dealing with work changes that a new Deputy Chief Constable has brought, among them the ruling that she is not to use Dr. Hill but instead turn to in-house profilers. She and her team become involved in a particular nasty serial murder case, one involving the deaths of a number of teenage boys. Tony on the other hand has accepted an assignment with a different police force and it takes some time before Carol and Tony come to realization that they are both working different ends of the same case.
The investigations are interesting, well plotted and the story moves quickly. Along the way the reader is able to catch up with most of Carol Jordan’s team members as well as Carol and Tony themselves. There is a decision made at the end of this book that looks to bring about some major changes to the series. I will certainly not let this series slip through the cracks again as I am looking forward to number 7 and finding out where these characters are heading.
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reading number 6, Fever in the Bone.Although it’s been some time since I have read this series, I found it easy to jump back into the lives of psychological profiler, Dr. Tony Hill and his police supervisor and best friend DCI Carol Jordan. Carol is dealing with work changes that a new Deputy Chief Constable has brought, among them the ruling that she is not to use Dr. Hill but instead turn to in-house profilers. She and her team become involved in a particular nasty serial murder case, one involving the deaths of a number of teenage boys. Tony on the other hand has accepted an assignment with a different police force and it takes some time before Carol and Tony come to realization that they are both working different ends of the same case.
The investigations are interesting, well plotted and the story moves quickly. Along the way the reader is able to catch up with most of Carol Jordan’s team members as well as Carol and Tony themselves. There is a decision made at the end of this book that looks to bring about some major changes to the series. I will certainly not let this series slip through the cracks again as I am looking forward to number 7 and finding out where these characters are heading.
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LibraryThing member zmagic69
Somehow I had never read a book by this author but she was recommended to me by a guy working at Barnes & Noble, of course B&N did stock any of her books, but Book Depository did, so I read the descriptions of a couple of them and decided to go with one later in the series rather than the first
This was a fantastic book.
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one. A good author will provide enough information about the characters in each book when it's a part of a series, and that was definitely the case with this book. The story starts off pretty straight forward but there are a number of great twists and revelations as the story progresses to keep it wildly entertaining. I can now see why the author has won so many awards and acclaim.This was a fantastic book.
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LibraryThing member adpaton
Another excellent episode in the ongoing saga of Carol Jordan and Tony Hill: Bradfield's new Chief Constable James Blake has dispensed with Tony's services and informed Carol her Cold Case Squad is a waste of resources and threatening to close it. The pressure is on the pair but Tony soon finds
Carol is involved in a similar investigation and the two are soon working together again but, typically, there are several side plots as well - the most important of which might be the indentity of Tony's father who has left his son everything in his will. Vanessa Hill, the mother from hell, is also at hand, and one of the reasons Tony agrees to work for Worcester is that his father's house amd narrow boat are located there.
Add artificial insemination, incipient alcoholism and a host of new and promising characters to the list, not to mention missing persons and a long lost child, and the reason for the excellence of this work will become apparent.
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work in Worcester where he investigates the murder mutilation of young people who have been stalked and groomed by an unknown through a social networking site called Rigmarole. Carol is involved in a similar investigation and the two are soon working together again but, typically, there are several side plots as well - the most important of which might be the indentity of Tony's father who has left his son everything in his will. Vanessa Hill, the mother from hell, is also at hand, and one of the reasons Tony agrees to work for Worcester is that his father's house amd narrow boat are located there.
Add artificial insemination, incipient alcoholism and a host of new and promising characters to the list, not to mention missing persons and a long lost child, and the reason for the excellence of this work will become apparent.
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LibraryThing member runner56
I think if I was a police person I would welcome DCI Carol Jordan as my superior. She is dedicated (sometimes to the point of obsession) driven, and yet trusting of those within her department who display the same attributes. She is super efficient at managing a small team, allowing her most
A teenager is found murdered, and mutilated in the most horrific fashion causing great concern and worry that the perpetrator remains unchecked. In the meantime psychotherapist Tony Hill is empolyed to help an adjoining police force when a similar incident occurs. As the body count rises Tony and Carol realize that this barbarous killing is not random, and they must work together efficiently to ascertain just why an apparently unconnected group of young people are being targeted.
Carol has a newly appointed superior: Chief Constable James Blake, a pedantic and fussy little man more concerned with data and cost saving than actual crime solving. In the meantime Tony is unravelling the mystery that was his father Edmund Arthur Blythey, and what he discovers is not quite what he expected.
This is crime writing at its best, yes it doesnt get any better than this! The Carol Jordan books are a little more gritty, and graphic than the DCI Karen Pirie series, but such descriptions are limited and essential if we are to fully understand the great mind and deductive skills of Tony Hill. A truly brilliant read that grips the reader from the start and once again shows Val McDermid as the queen of crime :)
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trusted sufficent latitude to get the job done, but woe betide anyone who takes advantage of this trust as they will become the focus of her extreme wrath.A teenager is found murdered, and mutilated in the most horrific fashion causing great concern and worry that the perpetrator remains unchecked. In the meantime psychotherapist Tony Hill is empolyed to help an adjoining police force when a similar incident occurs. As the body count rises Tony and Carol realize that this barbarous killing is not random, and they must work together efficiently to ascertain just why an apparently unconnected group of young people are being targeted.
Carol has a newly appointed superior: Chief Constable James Blake, a pedantic and fussy little man more concerned with data and cost saving than actual crime solving. In the meantime Tony is unravelling the mystery that was his father Edmund Arthur Blythey, and what he discovers is not quite what he expected.
This is crime writing at its best, yes it doesnt get any better than this! The Carol Jordan books are a little more gritty, and graphic than the DCI Karen Pirie series, but such descriptions are limited and essential if we are to fully understand the great mind and deductive skills of Tony Hill. A truly brilliant read that grips the reader from the start and once again shows Val McDermid as the queen of crime :)
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