Beneath the Bleeding (Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, Book 5) - Hardcover

McDermid, Val

4.13

8,856 ratings by Goodreads

9780007243266: Beneath the Bleeding (Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, Book 5)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 000724326X ISBN 13: 9780007243266

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2007

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The Number One bestselling crime series featuring Dr Tony Hill, hero of TV’s Wire in the Blood. The award-winning Val McDermid is at the height of her powers in this tense masterclass in psychological suspense.

The race is on to uncover the identity of a murderer with nothing to lose – and everything to kill for.

When Robbie Bishop, star midfielder for the Bradfield Vics, is poisoned by a rare and deadly toxin, profiler Dr Tony Hill and trusted colleague DCI Carol Jordan have their work cut out for them. Robbie was adored, so the public want answers – but the answers aren't coming, and trails are running cold.

Then a bomb explodes in the football stadium, causing massive casualties – and another man dies from poisoning. Is there a link between the cases? And what are the motives for these crimes? The clock is ticking for Tony and Carol – and the death toll keeps rising...

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Review:

It seems hard to believe now, but there was a day when Val McDermid was just another crime writer. True, her Kate Brannigan novels were highly accomplished and well-honed pieces of work, and if McDermid had written nothing else, they would have assured her a solid place in the history of the genre. But Beneath the Bleeding (as with most of the other work the author has done more recently) is a much more ambitious and considerable novel, written on a grander scale, tackling pertinent social issues and (most importantly) developing two highly memorable characters: forensic profiler Tony Hill and his police ally DCI Carol Jordan.

The new book, as disturbing as it is compulsively readable, continues to add new levels to the psychological thriller -- something that McDermid seems able to do in every new book. A star footballer has been murdered in the city of Bradfield. Shortly after, an explosion rocks the town's football stadium, wreaking mass carnage. In the current climate of fear regarding home-grown terrorism, it is inevitable that suspicion falls in this direction – but is money -- or something else -- involved here? Such as a bloody working out of some kind of revenge scenario against the football team? Needless to say, this is quite a different case from those that Tony Hill and Carol Jordan have previously been involved with, and the customary relationship (swinging between confrontation and admiration) is worked out with all the rigour that we expect from McDermid. Of course, this is an author who always has more fish to fry than the simple exigencies of the crime novel, and astringent commentaries on many aspects of British society are provocatively incorporated here (always, though, inter alia -- never at the expense of a forward-moving narrative). If you're a fan of the Wire in the Blood TV series, you should do yourself a favour and investigate the original novels – such as Beneath the Bleeding. They offer a considerably more involving experience. --Barry Forshaw

Review:

‘McDermid is at the peak of her murderous craft’ Mirror

'The Queen of serial killers in this country keeps her end up.... few can scoop Val on throat-clutching narrative... Marvellous' Daily Mail

‘All the craft, panache and pace that we have come to expect from this outstanding writer... Vintage stuff: unplug the phone, lock the door and prepare to read in a sitting’ Guardian

‘Peerless ... One of the world’s finest crime writers, McDermid is currently at the top of her game’ Glasgow Herald

‘McDermid’s writing gets better and better’ Spectator

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