Val McDermid's series featuring psychological profiler Tony Hill and Carol Jordan is one of my favorites. The last couple of novels in this series have been setting up the situation for this one.
Carol's drinking has been a part of previous novels, but she has always been able to function. Now that she is no longer part of the police force and has become more isolated, her drinking will have a devastating effect.
As Carol has continued to seclude herself, Tony feels her loss more than anyone and attempts to re-establish Carol's connections with the old team and to force Carol to realize the consequences of her drinking.
When Tony sees a pattern among some high profile suicides of outspoken women, he tries to involve Carol in his investigation. Despite herself, Carol's curiosity begins to get the better of her as the possibility that the deaths of three women were not suicides, but cleverly disguised murders, becomes clear.
Even as she must confront the results of her own destructive behavior, she finds circumstances offer a way back up. Despite the enemies who delight in her difficulties, Carol has some enthusiastic supporters, not only within her former team, but among some powerful individuals. Yea, John Brandon!
McDermid proves once again that she can keep a reader enthralled with her characters and their situations, book after book. I have to admit that my images of Tony Hill and Carol Jordan are based on the British series Wire in the Blood--those are the faces I see when I read the books.
NetGalley/Grove Atlantic
Crime/Police Procedural. Dec. 1, 2015. Print version: 416 pages.
I'm working my way through this series, but I'm not up to this book yet, so I'll have to skip your review for now.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed this series for a long time! Hope you are enjoying it as well. :)
DeleteThis sounds like a good one. I got away from reading a lot of books featuring psychological profilers, but I would like to try something by McDermid.
ReplyDeleteThese are much better (I think), than most of the profiler books from other authors! McDermid is good!
DeleteVal McDermid is one heck of a crime writer and she never disappoints me. BTW, if you are on Twitter much, she has quite a presence there, too. Not sure when she finds time to write...
ReplyDeleteHer books are always so readable--both series and stand-alones! Will have to check her out on Twitter.
DeleteThis sounds like a good series. I haven't tried her books so I'll have to check them out.
ReplyDeleteMcDermid has been one of my favorites for a long time. I haven't read any of her other series, but I've read several of her stand-alones. They can be a bit graphic, but I always enjoy her characters and plots.
DeleteI caught a few episodes of the show and I have a feeling I would imagine the same tv characters if I read the books! One of these days I would love to read the series. I've only read one standalone Val McDermid book and it was really good.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed the series and the standalones. McDermid is good!
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