This was the second in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series. Tony Hill is teaching the art of psychological "profiling" to a small group of young police officers, who show varying degrees of interest and acceptance. One, however, a young live-wire called Shaz Bowman, believes she has identified the killer of a series of young girls. Her suspect is Jacko Vance, a popular TV presenter, married to an equally popular news anchor. Vance was a handsome former sportsman who lost his javelin-throwing arm in a ghastly accident; at the time, he achieved hero status with the public when he ignored his own injuries to save others. Since then, he has perfected a totally convincing persona of warmth and compassion, which, coupled with charity work, makes it impossible for anyone to accept that he could be a serial killer. Bowman, however, believes he could be and visits him, with disastrous consequences. Bowman is completely out of line here, as she is meant to be only "practising", not actually hunting a real killer. But her death, with graphically gory evidence of mafia-style torture, prompts the others to take her belief seriously and the fun begins.Carol Jordan meanwhile, is chasing a suspected serial arsonist, but gets caught up in the hunt for Bowman's assassin. As usual, she can't resist any appeal for help from Tony Hill and again, their relationship teeters toward tenderness. I found this book very gripping, as usual with Val's stuff, but I did have a problem with plausibility! The ordinary plods hate profilers and believe Shaz Bowman's killer is actually a young officer whose interest in her wasn't returned; he was spotted at her house, but was, in fact, the one who discovered her corpse. He and a few others, with Tony and Carol, pursue Vance "off the record", jeopardising the hunt for the arsonist and costing another officer her life. What with Carol's negligence and Tony Hill's interference (his insights are totally rejected by the police), this takes the cake for unorthodoxy! But it is, after all, a work of fiction - interestingly, published well before the recent revelations about popular entertainers.The book is laced with Val's usual (for me, anyway) skill at bringing characters to life, from the delicacy of the Tony-Carol brand of togetherness to the delightful Chris, a lesbian policewoman who calls everyone "doll" and who had once fancied Shaz, but ended up simply a solid friend. Then there is Vance's marriage - strictly for convenience to both partners: his wife, Micky, has been in a relationship for years with Betsy, her "personal assistant" and Vance can also use it to hide behind.I did feel a sense of let-down with the ending, though. I would have liked the evidence to have been examined in court. Surely the unorthodoxy of the pursuit would have allowed barristers to claim some of it as inadmissable, for starters. So things are left a bit too open for me! Still, a really satisfying, enjoyable read.
McDermid returns with another explosive thriller, returning with more horrific details and another sadistic killer bent on complete control. As DCI Jordan accepts a promotion in a new part of the country, she is faced with a new team with whom she must prove her worth, all while a slew of arsons haunt the township. Filling shoes in a predominantly male circle, Jordan struggles while trying to see if these fires are part of a larger serial arsonist's plan. When fires begin to claim more than property, Jordan seeks the assistance of Dr. Tony Hill, busy with his own new project. Hill is working on his Home Office project and launching the National Profiling Initiative, working with police applicants from around the UK. This team, some of the best and brightest, seeks to learn the art of profiling. When one of the team members takes an express interest in their 'practice case', where teenage girls have gone missing around the country over the last dozen years, Hill is eager to see her results. A monumental clue, missed by the local police department, opens eyes and drops jaws as a national television celebrity ends up in the crosshairs, at least in this 'mock report'. The report makes sense and the clues leave the possibility wide open, but it is when the report is presented to Jacko Vance, former Olympic hopeful and philanthropist, that things take a turn. McDermid has chapters running parallel to the main story about the plight of the serial killer's most recent victim, giving the reader gets a first-hand look into the stages of victimhood and how bad things could get. Explosive throughout with a great twist in the middle has McDermid fans lapping up all they can in this stunning thriller. Not your usual serial killer versus cops thriller, which makes it all the more interesting.Still new to the McDermid style, I am quite drawn to the work she's done. The gore and explicit detail reminds me of Chris Carter novels and its thrill is a match as well. McDermid has a way with words and dialogue that keeps the reader flipping pages well into the night. Perhaps my only critique in this novel is the unusually long chapters found throughout, easily breakable into smaller and more digestible portions. While surely a weak criticism, the 'just one more chapter' technique does not always work, as much as I would like it to. With a story more akin to Criminal Minds, where one knows the killer and hopes only that the authorities do not leave loopholes to let them go free, McDermid has done well in laying out the foundation for a great series. Good chemistry from our two main characters as well, with that emotionally connection present, though not as strong as in the opening novel.Kudos, Madam McDermid on another great novel. I am hooked and am prepared to delve into the next instalment.
What do You think about The Wire In The Blood (2005)?
4.5/5 Summary: Young girls are disappearing around the country, and there is nothing to connect them to one another, let alone the killer whose charming manner hides a warped and sick mind.Nobody gets inside the messy heads of serial killers like Dr Tony Hill. Now heading up a National Profiling Task Force, he sets his team air exercise: they are given the details of missing teenagers and asked to discover whether there is a sinister link between any of the cases." It is better to start reading knowing only the above. The original summary contains a few spoilers. I only read the first sentence before reading and really enjoyed it"My Review : First of all, I would like to say that this book has been sitting on my shelf for about 4 years. I finally decided to take the challenge of reading an adult mystery book. To my surprise, after marching half way through, I realized that this book is the second one in the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan Series. Thankfully, it is almost not related to the previous book.The first 40 pages were kind of slow and a bit boring, but I had to keep on reading , and I am glad that I did so. I was hooked my the mystery and fell in love with the characters . I loved how the writers switched the scenery from the cops and investigators to the the criminal. And how I loved the criminal's parts in the stories. Although short and brief, yet totally terrifying.The only reason I did not give it 5/5 is perhaps the way the writer showed who is the murderer and killed one of my favorite characters in the first half of a 533 book. The rest was about capturing the killer. The thing is, I scanned about 20-30 books in the second part, scanning is not a good thing.However, the book is worth reading. I loved everything in this book and I can't wait to read the FIRST book and the third. Because that ending was shocking and although I hope that the events will be discussed in the the third book, I fear that it might be an open ending.
—Ayah Assem
Just Finished Book 3 of my Home Library Project - 'A Wire in the Blood' by Val McDermid. I will admit that the reason I bought this years ago at a library book sale was that I enjoyed the BBC adaptation starring Robson Green. That being said, it is truly a creepy and disturbing mystery about a psychologist named Tony Hill who helps the Metropolitan police with profiling potential suspects, in this case a smooth TV personality whose Olympic career was cut short due to a tragic accident. In his spare time, he abducts and tortures young girls. One of Hill's protégés suspects him, with disastrous results, and Hill vows revenge.This is number 2 in a series featuring Hill and his colleague DCI Carol Jordan. While they are suspenseful and well plotted, I don't think I need to read another. I can't tolerate sick and twisted gore the way I used to. This book joins the 'To Donate' pile.
—Jackie
So... a TV-star invites teenage girls to meet him 'in secret'. They're not supposed to tell anyone. And guess what... They don't? I didn't believe a word of it. Teenage girls don't keep a secret like that. From the beginning of the book this disturbed me. And then I realized, it's not just that, there are more aspects of the story I find disappointing and unbelievable. Jacko Vance is a wonderful villain you just love to hate, but why does he need the sham marriage? It seemed completely obsolete. He could have had a moviestar wife whom he didn't see or a lot of loose relationships and the book would have been all the more believable. Instead Jacko Vance seems to be one of the few TV-stars that is happily married for 12 years. That in itself should raise the alarm that something is up with this guy. Although I like Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, the rest of the characters remained superficial. That was a disappointment, because "Wire in the Blood" claims to be a psychological thriller. I expect that every charachter that has a seperate role in the book would also show some psychological depth. All in all I will read more of Val Mcdermid because I have read other books and I know she can do better.
—Sanne
