Publishers Weekly
★ 09/02/2013
McDermid’s fiendishly clever eighth novel featuring forensic psychologist Tony Hill and detective Carol Jordan (after The Retribution) finds the two partners on the outs. Jordan has resigned from the Bradfield, England, police force and taken up a labor-intensive DIY job. Hill is still struggling with the events that have driven Jordan from his life. Meanwhile, Det. Sgt. Paula McIntyre, who formerly served with Jordan, catches two cases—one involving a missing person, the other a vicious murder—that together engulf her both personally and professionally. A psychopath is intent on kidnapping and training the perfect wife—and beating to death and disfiguring his “mistakes.” When McIntyre’s decision to seek help from Hill takes a drastic, unexpected turn, she’s forced to turn to the reclusive Jordan instead. The villain may be a mere foil, but the ingenious way in which he tests the mettle of Hill and Jordan is not to be missed by fans of the unusual sleuthing duo. Agent: Jane Gregory, Gregory & Company. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Praise for The Vanishing Point
“The Vanishing Point . . . is marked by [McDermid’s] trademark stunners, including a climax that packs a vicious punch. And readers are again left to marvel at her ingenuity.”—Jay Strafford, Richmond Times-Dispatch
“McDermid knows crime, but more importantly, she knows the dark side of men and women and the havoc they can wreak on each other’s lives. . . . The Vanishing Point is a stand-alone and does it ever. . . . [The] opening is shocking, edge-of-your-seat unnerving and violent on different levels. The reader is immediately drawn in by Harker’s overwhelming panic and fear. It’s taut, smart, vivid writing.”—Victoria Brownworth, Lambda Literary
“Her 26th novel opens with a nerve-shredding set piece that will send a chill down many a parent’s spine. . . . . McDermid vividly conveys the rising terror and panic of the situation. . . . . McDermid keeps tension high with red herrings and plot twists. The sheer brio of her writing produces that increasingly rare thing, a genuine page-turner that doesn’t insult its readers’ intelligence.”—Shirley Whiteside, The Independent on Sunday (UK)
Praise for The Retribution
“It’s no big deal for an author to return to a beloved sleuth—but a beloved serial killer? . . . Hill and Jordan are two very bright detectives, but you still want to toss them under the bus when Jacko, who is every bit as charming as he thinks he is, flashes his come-hither smile.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
“Everyone else’s serial killers seem pale imitations. . . . Val McDermid . . . has the ruthless psychological scalpel that forms part of the equipment of all good novelists, whatever their genre. And, fortunately for us, she knows just how to use it.”—The Guardian
“Gripping and well-written.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer
Library Journal
Cartier Diamond Dagger Award winner McDermid's ever-reliable police detective Carol Jordan and clinical psychologist Tony Hill are barely speaking after terrible events in their last outing, The Retribution. But a string of murders, whose victims look like Jordan, might bring them back together. Lots of library marketing.
