Comment

Jan 29, 2018
Val McDermind's strength lies in her plots, not in her writing. This latest Tony Hill novel was weak even in that. The serial killings were uninteresting, although I was relieved not to have to slog through pages of gruesome descriptions as is the usual. The subplot with Paula's foster child had a build-up but no pay off, and frankly, it was hard to care about some adolescent's angst. And with every tiny shred of advancement of the relationship between Tony and Carol that McDermid throws to her readers in each novel, she takes back twofold by the end. And frankly, the "surprise" ending was out of character for both characters whose development we have watched over lo these many novels and thus unbelievable. McDermid has turned Carol into an unstable harridan and Tony into her caretaker. What a disappointment.