Splinter the Silence

This book starts out with Carol Jordan at a state of flux, MIT no more, and her life in free fall. Can Tony, who she is barely talking to now, help her out of this situation?
It was good to see the series get back on track, after one or two books where I felt the very essence of the series was lost to some degree. In some sense the investigation at the heart of the book was secondary to the other events going on in the story. A number of women's suicides appear to be nothing but that, however Tony Hill feels different about these and seeks to find out if there are any connections or if there is more to these suicides. This was a very good read and I feel it has now been set up for more books in the series, especially with the point the show more book was left at, with a twist at the very end! Hopefully we won't have to wait too long. show less

I’ve written before about my disappointment in some of the recent Val McDermid novels but I keep reading them anyway, just because they’re so darned page-turny. I’m pleased to say this one is the best I’ve read in a while.

Retired DCI Carol Jordan and her former team are dispersed, working in different jobs, or none at all. However events conspire to bring Carol and psychological profiler Tony Hill back together. They attempt to rebuild their fragile friendship and, along the way begin looking into a case that may not even be a case – a series of apparent suicides by high-profile women who have been trolled on social media for expressing feminist views. The rest of the team become drawn in. Meanwhile Carol, being Carol, has an show more opportunity that she may have sabotaged before she even knows about it.

What draws me back to these books, and what makes this such a good one, is that they are completely immersive. You know the characters but you want to know them more. Like real people, just when you think you’ve got them, they have the capacity to surprise you. McDermid is brilliant at the subtleties of human interaction, the small spaces between what we mean and what we say, the pain and the history that stops some people getting what they want. That’s why the Jordan and Hill situation – two people who can’t be together but can’t move on either – so exasperating in life, is fascinating in art.

Some people have raised questions about plausibility – it’s fair to say the killer and his motivation were the least interesting thing about the book. But that, for me, is not the point. Murders are rare, non-domestic murders, that require high-level detection skills, are even rarer. And yet crime fiction is ubiquitous. Authors have to be allowed a little licence.

What McDermid does do is capture the nature of modern policing – the team work, the specialisation, the dynamics of a group who are both allies and rivals. And she has an eye on every corner of contemporary culture – from Twitter to the garden centre.

She has thrown another couple of hand-grenades into her mix of gifted but conflicted characters which nicely sets up the next book. I can’t wait.
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I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley. show less

This is the 9th and most recent installment in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan mystery/thriller series and the most enjoyable in some time. While helping Carol deal with her alcoholism and the shattering effects it has had on her, Tony stumbles on a pattern of strong, feminist women who have apparently committed suicide in quite literary ways after being subject to cyberbullying for their outspokenness. I was happy to see Tony being stronger than usual and Carol acting more like a friend and less like Tony's harridan of a mother. I also enjoyed some retribution handed out to a particularly deserving person at the end.

I was happy to win a copy of Splinter the Silence through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. I've already listened to my local library's collection of Ms. McDermid's books. Her Carol Jordan/Tony Hill series are my favorites among her works I've encountered, even if she does tend to put her lead characters through the wringer.

Carol Jordan's boozing has caught up with her: she's been arrested for 'drink' driving. It doesn't matter that she was on a quiet back road and going barely three miles from a party to her home. She makes two calls for help. The first one was a mistake that will come back to haunt her. The second one is to Tony Hill. Carol just wants a drive home, but Tony gives her what she needs. Carol is forced to confront show more the fact that she really is an alcoholic. Tony wants to take her mind off her humiliation and addiction, so he has members of her former team looking at some cases of women who committed suicide after being threatened by internet trolls. We readers already know that Tony is on to something. There's a very damaged serial killer out there who wants women back to what he considers their only proper roles: wives and mothers. Yes, we will learn why he is the way he is.

Meanwhile, the Home Office has a plan for a regional major incident team. Carol Jordan is wanted to head it, but she won't be able to with a criminal record. Carol isn't happy with how that works out.

Paula and Stacy are both very dissatisfied with their current duties. Will they jump at the chance to join REMIT? Besides old members of the team, we get recruits from characters previously met. Will ambitious and selfish Sam Evans be invited?

I loved the way the team got to work on the case that only Tony suspected was a case. I loved the usual glimpses into the characters' private lives and the mind of the killer. I loved what happened to a jerk who had it coming. The suspense grows as we know the killer has a new target, Will REMIT be in time?

We get some samples of the horrible threats posted by internet trolls (we also get to meet a couple of them). Sick! Sick! Sick!

I did hate one thing about the end, though we'll probably have to wait until the next book to see how it affects those involved.

Gerard Doyle's narration really set the mood. The book is tense enough that I didn't dare listen to it when I went to bed because I knew it would keep me awake.

I do hope, though, that Highbridge, the publisher, used those plastic binder rings only on review copies. The bottom one of mine popped free on its own before I'd even gotten to CD eight. show less

Just when I think Val McDermid's got herself written into a corner, she finds a believable way back into the series. I'm relieved, because I thought maybe she was done with Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, and I'm delighted to follow their convoluted, gritty, morality-challenging stories a little further on. Does not disappoint, and I particularly appreciate an author tackling toxic online misogyny.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.

This is my first Val McDermid mystery, but it definitely won't be my last! Taking on a very contemporary issue of cyber bullying, Police detective Carol Jordan is investigating what appears to be some unrelated suicides - cases of prominent women who have been outspoken in the public about controversial issues. Immediately, they have received the unwelcome attention of some nasty cyber bullies which drove them to the brink of taking their own lives. But criminal psychologist Tony Hill's Spidey senses are tingling and he feels that these suicides might be more than what they appear to be. What follows is a fast-paced, well-crafted literary thriller.

There is a backstory behind the mystery which deals with Carol Jordan's self destructive show more addiction to alcohol and her desire to return to the police force. I enjoyed the detour from the pure action and it added depth and nuance to the characters, making me much more interested in reading more by this author.

I listened to the audio edition of this mystery, expertly narrated by Gerard Doyle. It did take some getting used to because the last books I listened to by this narrator were Christopher Paolini's Inheritance series, so I kept expecting dragons to burst out. But, he does a nice job of accents and voices and there were definitely moments where I was glued to my earbuds.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook through Library Thing's Early Reviewer program in exchange for an honest review. show less

I just recently found out what a troll was, and that is basically what the background case in this book is about. Scary stuff. I say background because this book is more focused on the trials and prevails of Carol Jordan. No longer a cop, drinking heavily, though she doesn't admit to having a problem, brings Tony Hill once again to the rescue.

It also serves to bring Carol back into police work and to getting her getting back together the old team. Loved seeing them all together again and meeting a few new members as well.

Another series I have read for a long time and one where I have come to care about the characters. The relationship between Tony and Carol is complicated and a work in progress. Both distressing and frightening to read show more about cyber bullying and its horrors. Price we pay for the world at our fingertips but as this case highlights, some pay a much higher price.

Love these characters and enjoyed the story. McDermid has seldom disappointed.

ARC from Netgalley. show less