Beneath the Bleeding

For readers of dark, character~driven British crime fiction, Val McDermid's Tony Hill novels have few peers. This latest book in the series does not disappoint. The story opens with a shocking attack on Tony Hill and moves on to the ricin poisoning of a football star that is frightening in its topicality. The characters are complex and beautifully developed, the prose literate and allusive, the plot marked by unpredictable twists. The book also fills in more of Tony Hill's charcter with the appearance of his mother for the first time, in scenes that help to explain his troubled psyche. The relationship of Tony and DCI Carole Jordan also moves to a deeper level as her loneliness and battles with alcohol begin to make her face her inner life as well as the complexities of her work. This is mystery writing at its best.

This book is a great read that kept my interest through the book. The only complaint I had is that Jordan became tiresome at times. For a cop who has more than a passing interest in solving some touchy cases, she doesn't like to look outside the box. Having said that, perhaps that's exactly how the author wants us to see her. Some of the story dragged a bit for me, which is why I only gave it 4 stars. But I liked the plot and the intricacies involved in determining the solutions to the two sets of stories, and the characters trying to determine if and how they were connected.

In "Beneath the Bleeding," Val McDermid brings back the formidable pair, Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan and Dr. Tony Hill, psychologist and profiler. Jordan and Hill have a lengthy history, and if circumstances had been right, they might have married and had a family. As it stands, they are close friends, and Hill is Carol's landlord. When Tony is attacked by an axe-wielding madman, he is laid up with a severe leg wound, but he still has the mental acuity to assist Jordan with some tricky cases. They include the mysterious poisoning of popular footballer Robbie Bishop and a possible terrorist attack. Jordan does not always agree with Tony's far-fetched theories, however, and the two have a way of butting heads when they do not see eye-to-eye. DCI Jordan runs the Major Incident Team and she is something of a workaholic who pushes herself to excel. Occasionally, hours of fruitless labor with nothing to show for it makes her so frustrated that she drinks more than she should. Still, she is respected at the Bradfield Police headquarters, and the members of her team are generally eager to please her. McDermid individualizes each detective, including the brilliant computer wizard, Detective Constable Stacy Chen; the ambitious maverick, DC Sam Evans; the emotionally fragile DC Paula McIntyre; the personable and hard-working Detective Sergeant Kevin Matthews; and the briskly competent DS Chris Devine. Each has an important role to play in what will prove to be extremely challenging investigations. Other characters of note are Vanessa Hill, Tony's horrifyingly selfish and overbearing mother and Yousef Aziz, a young man with a deadly secret. This is a wonderfully entertaining and fast-paced police procedural. McDermid is an intelligent and highly skilled writer who makes the art of balancing a large cast and a complicated story appear effortless. She is an expert at leading the reader in one direction, and then surprising us with shocking developments that we could never have anticipated. The chemistry between Hill and Jordan remains strong, although with the baggage that these two carry, one wonders if they will ever be able to sort out their lives, much less their relationship. With its realistic dialogue, carefully constructed plot, intriguing psychological undercurrents, and lively prose style, "Beneath the Bleeding" is McDermid at her best, which is very good indeed. Warning: Those who are offended by frank conversation and a liberal use of profanity may want to skip this one.

When one reads a Val McDermid novel, the expectation is that it will involve a serial killer. This book is no exception, although the author intertwines a couple of twists. To begin with, her protagonists--Dr. Tony Hill, psychologist and profiler, and DCI Carol Jordan--are continually at odds in attempting to solve their personal problems, as well as the crimes they are involved with. Tony's insights seem far out to Carol, which she sometimes attributes to the fact that he's in the hospital with a smashed knee, courtesy of a patient in that hospital, where he practices. Be that as it may, the challenge, at first, is to solve the poisoning of a popular footballer on the eve of a bog game. Then during the game, an explosion under the stands kills 35 persons. Are the events related? Is the bombing a terrorist act? Carol and her team's efforts are complicated by the invasion of a specialized terrorist force which takes over with strong-arm tactics. Two more poison murders gives Tony and Carol a few leads, and Tony continues to have free-thinking thoughts about all the crimes. The intricate lot is surpassed only by the smoothness of the writing. Tony and Carol are two marvelous creations, and they continue to enchant this reader. The book works on several levels--as a mystery, in delving into the relationships and personalities of the characters, and the contemporary nature of the "terrorist explosion," which was set off by a Muslim male. Great reading, and highly recommended.

When Dr.Tony Hill is attacked by an axe wielding madman at the mental hospital where he works, he is forced to recover from the ensuing operation in hospital, grumpy at being unable to walk and unable to help DCI Carol Jordan in several cases in which she is involved. A local football hero has died from poison and shortly afterwards, a bomb is exploded at the football stadium, killing over 30 people. The bomber is identified as a member of a local Muslim family and both the police and the press are convinced that this is a terrorist act. Tony isn't so sure about this and continues to try to convince Carol that the profile of this man doesn't fit the role of a terrorist. Carol is in one of her dark moods and resists Tony's theories, which places another barrier between them. It's a very good read with an ending which doesn't become obvious until the end.