Book 9

Splinter the Silence

by Val McDermid

Published 27 August 2015
"Former detective Carol Jordan and profiler Tony Hill make a welcome return in this whiz-bang brain twister of an investigation into the suspicious deaths of several women that encompasses the ugly side of Internet trolls."--Boston Globe

Psychologist Tony Hill and former police detective Carol Jordan are back in Splinter the Silence--a masterful, compulsive read centered on the mysterious deaths of several women who were the victims of vicious cyberbullying. Is it violence if it's virtual? The outspoken women targeted by the increasingly cruel Internet trolls and bullies would say so. For some of them, the torrents of bile and vicious threats prove too much. They begin to silence themselves in a series of high-profile suicides. Or do they? Tony Hill isn't convinced. But he's the only one. After departing the force in a storm of grief, Carol Jordan is too busy messing up her life to care. Until she gets an unexpected second chance. Now it's game on, and the stakes have never been higher. Unpredictable and unputdownable, Splinter the Silence is a timely and disturbing look at the way the anonymity of the internet enables abuse--and a story of two of crime's most formidable enemies, confronting not just a killer but demons of their own.

"Dynamic . . . Check out this tartan noir treat."--People

"The novel is as rich in character development as it is in plot . . . We hold our breath as [the killer] plots his next murder and the team scrambles to find out who he is and what he plans to do. McDermid has delivered another stylishly written, complex thriller."--Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Powerful . . . McDermid's prose is pure pleasure to read . . . The plot is tight, the story is thrilling, the ending is as satisfying as they come . . . To read Splinter the Silence is to experience a master operating at the height of her considerable powers. Prepare to be swept away."--Mystery Scene


Book 11

How the Dead Speak

by Val McDermid

Published 22 August 2019

Longlisted for the 2020 Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year

The latest in internationally bestselling crime writer Val McDermid's beloved series, How The Dead Speak reunites Tony Hill and Carol Jordan after a mysterious skeleton turns up on the grounds of an old orphanage

Val McDermid is an award-winning, crime-writing powerhouse, and now she returns to her explosive, thrilling series featuring psychological profiler Tony Hill and ex-DCI Carol Jordan in her latest How The Dead Speak

With Tony behind bars and Carol finally out of road as a cop, he's finding unexpected outlets for his talents in jail and she's joined forces with a small informal group of lawyers and forensics experts looking into suspected miscarriages of justice. But they're doing it without each other; being in the same room at visiting hour is too painful to contemplate. Meanwhile, construction is suddenly halted on the redevelopment of an orphanage after dozens of skeletons are found buried in the grounds. Forensic examination reveals they date from between twenty and forty years ago when the nuns were running their repressive regime. But then a different set of skeletons are discovered in a far corner, young men from as recent as ten years ago.

When newly-promoted DI Paula McIntyre discovers that one of the male skeletons is that of a killer who is supposedly alive and behind bars--and the subject of one of Carol's miscarriage investigations--it brings Tony and Carol irresistibly into each other's orbit once again. A shocking, masterfully plotted novel that will leave readers breathless, How The Dead Speak is McDermid at her best and a can't miss read for long-time fans and new readers alike.