Review: Splinter the Silence by Val McDermid

 

Title: Splinter the Silence {Tony Hill & Carol Jordan #9}

Author: Val McDermid

Published: Atlantic Press December 2015

Status: Read from January 13 to 14, 2016 — I own a copy  {Courtesy the publisher/netgalley}

My Thoughts:

“Men like him, they loved women. They understood the kid of life that suited women best. They knew what women really wanted. Proper women didn’t want to be out there in the world, having to shout the odds all the time. They wanted to build homes, take care of families, make their mark and exercise their power inside the home. Being women, not fake men.”

Val McDermid’s ninth novel, Splinter the Silence, reunites the formidable team of Carol Jordan and Tony Hill in the hunt for a stalker determined to teach feminists a lesson.

In the aftermath of the tumultuous events in The Retribution and Cross and Burn Carol Jordan has buried herself in rural Bradfield, spending her retirement renovating her late brother’s property and drinking far too much. When she finds herself arrested for DUI there is only one person she can ask for help, Tony Hill, who is determined to dry her out. In order to distract Carol from her demons, Tony raises his concerns about the recent suicides of two women who had been the victims of a barrage of online vitriolic and threats. What begins as an abstract exercise quickly develops into a legitimate case and when Jordan is offered the opportunity to come out of retirement to set up a ‘flying’ major case unit, she can’t resist. Calling on former colleagues including DS Paula McIntyre, computer whiz Stacey Chen and of course, profiler Tony Hill to join ReMIT, Carol and her new team dig deeper, identifying a cunning serial killer.

Splinter the Silence is evenly split between developing character and the investigative plot.

It’s been a tough year or so for Carol in particular, who has faced several professional and personal challenges. Despite choosing to retire, it’s obvious that left to her own devices she is spiralling downward, and she needs help to get it together.

Commonwealth Cover

Also very much in focus is the complicated relationship between Carol and Tony,

“She didn’t think there actually was a word for the complicated matrix of feelings that bound her to Tony and him to her. With anyone else, so much intimacy would inevitably have led them to bed. But in spite of the chemistry between them, in spite of the sparks and the intensity, it was as if there was an electrical fence between them. And that was on the good days.”

Readers familiar with the series will also appreciate catching up with Paula, Stacey, Ambrose and the introduction of new team members.

The investigation highlights a topical subject – that of the extreme cyber-harassment too often visited on women via social media. The ReMIT team tracks down some of the worst offenders who have hurled vile abuse and threats of violence at the victims in an effort to identify in what manner they may have contributed to their deaths as they try to formulate a case.

As their inquiry coalesces, McDermid gives the killer his own narrative to illuminate his motives and methods. While I think this reduces the tension somewhat, it does lend the mystery an interesting cat-and-mouse quality as the police team closes in.

Splinter in Silence is a well crafted tale from award winning McDermid. A strong addition to a popular series that fans should enjoy as I did, it’s not one for a new reader to start with though. I’m looking forward to further developments in the series.

Available via

Atlantic I BookDepository I  Amazon US I Indiebound

Amazon UK I Amazon AU I Booko

Also by Val McDermid