Media Reviews
Praise for Val McDermid
I love every word Val McDermid writes. If you haven't discovered her genius yet, you are in for a rare treat. --Harlan Coben
McDermid is as smooth a practitioner of crime fiction as anyone out there. [...] She's the best we've got. -- New York Times Book Review
[McDermid's] work is taut, psychologically complex and so gripping that it puts your life on hold - The Times (UK)
McDermid has become a whiz at generating breathless, crosscutting suspense. -- GQ
Smooth. Confident. Deeply satisfying. What else can you say about McDermid's writing...The Jordan-Hill relationship remains the star of the show... it's a match made in heaven amid hell on earth. - Entertainment Weekly (editor's choice)
Val McDermid is one of the bright lights of the mystery field. -- The Washington Post
One of my favorite authors, Val McDermid is an important writer--witty, never sentimental, taking us through mean streets w
Praise for The Retribution
Be very afraid as you meet a truly inventive serial killer. Val McDermid's 25th novel is stunningly good, but it comes with a health warning. It is truly disturbing. Not in the sense of too many detailed descriptions of violence or post mortem examinations, but in what she does in entering the mind of a wholly evil, exceptionally inventive serial killer of teenage girls. -- The Times (UK)
[McDermid's] writing...remains taut and unflinching. In The Retribution, criminal psychologist Hill and DCI Jordan are back on the trail of Jacko Vance, the charismatic sports and TV star and serial killer of The Wire in the Blood. He has escaped from prison with a head full of vengeance and heart full of malice. As in all her novels, McDermid creates a brooding tension that allows readers to get close to characters whose lives are about to be ripped apart. --Danuta Kean, The Independent (UK)
Val McDermid...has done more to establish the British variant of the serial killer than anyone else--so successfully, indeed, that everyone else's serial killers seem pale imitations...McDermid handles the multiple viewpoints of this complex narrative with assurance. She flicks from crisis to crisis, constantly misdirecting her readers. She is brilliant at sensational set-pieces... and Hill and Jordan have a psychological depth that's rare in crime fiction...She also has the ruthless psychological scalpel that forms part of the equipment of all good novelists, whatever their genre. And, fortunately for us, she knows just how to use it. --Andrew Taylor, The Guardian (UK)
It's perhaps fitting that for McDermid's 25th novel she's revisited her most thrillingly murderous creation, Jacko Vance...Put away by McDermid's crime-cracking dream team--psychological profiler Dr. Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan--Vance never stopped plotting his escape. Finally, and brilliantly, in The Retribution he achieves his aim, then sets about exac
Praise for The Retribution
Val McDermid's 25th novel is stunningly good, but it comes with a health warning. Not in the sense of too many detailed descriptions of violence or post mortem examinations, but in what she does in entering the mind of a wholly evil, exceptionally inventive serial killer of teenage girls. . . . Vance is a character in the exaggerated mould of the likes of Hannibal Lector and Lisbeth Salander, and his tussle with Hill and Jordan achieves grotesque, frightening proportions. -- The Times (UK)
A gripping and well-written crime thriller. If you've been following McDermid's Hill/Jordon series, this new addition won't disappoint you. And if, like me, you're new to Val McDermid's work, The Retribution is a good introduction. --Paul Davis, The Philadelphia Inquirer
The novel's deft prose, sprinkled with psychological insight and sparks of wit, makes it hard to turn away. -- Shelf-Awareness (online)
[McDermid's] writing...remains taut and unflinching. . . . As in all her novels, McDermid creates a brooding tension that allows readers to get close to characters whose lives are about to be ripped apart. --Danuta Kean, The Independent (UK)
Superb. . . . The emotional wedge that the sadistic Jacko is able to drive between Tony and Carol makes this one of McDermid's strongest efforts. -- Publishers Weekly
Val McDermid . . . has done more to establish the British variant of the serial killer than anyone else--so successfully, indeed, that everyone else's serial killers seem pale imitations . . . . McDermid handles the multiple viewpoints of this complex narrative with assurance. She flicks from crisis to crisis, constantly misdirecting her readers. She is brilliant at sensational set-pieces . . . and Hill and Jordan have a psychological depth that's rare in crime fiction. . . . She also has the ruthless psychological scalpel that forms part of the equipment of all good novelists, whatever their g
Praise for The Retribution
Val McDermid s 25th novel is stunningly good, but it comes with a health warning. Not in the sense of too many detailed descriptions of violence or post mortem examinations, but in what she does in entering the mind of a wholly evil, exceptionally inventive serial killer of teenage girls. . . . Vance is a character in the exaggerated mould of the likes of Hannibal Lector and Lisbeth Salander, and his tussle with Hill and Jordan achieves grotesque, frightening proportions. The Times (UK)
A gripping and well-written crime thriller. If you've been following McDermid's Hill/Jordon series, this new addition won't disappoint you. And if, like me, you're new to Val McDermid's work, The Retribution is a good introduction. Paul Davis, The Philadelphia Inquirer
The novel s deft prose, sprinkled with psychological insight and sparks of wit, makes it hard to turn away. Shelf-Awareness (online)
[McDermid s] writingremains taut and unflinching. . . . As in all her novels, McDermid creates a brooding tension that allows readers to get close to characters whose lives are about to be ripped apart. Danuta Kean, The Independent (UK)
Superb. . . . The emotional wedge that the sadistic Jacko is able to drive between Tony and Carol makes this one of McDermid s strongest efforts. Publishers Weekly
Val McDermid . . . has done more to establish the British variant of the serial killer than anyone elseso successfully, indeed, that everyone else s serial killers seem pale imitations . . . . McDermid handles the multiple viewpoints of this complex narrative with assurance. She flicks from crisis to crisis, constantly misdirecting her readers. She is brilliant at sensational set-pieces . . . and Hill and Jordan have a psychological depth that's rare in crime fiction. . . . She also has the ruthless psychological scalpel that forms part of the equipment of all good novelists, whatever their genre. And, fortunately for us, she knows just how to use it. Andrew Taylor, The Guardian (UK)
The villain in the seventh thriller in the Tony Hill series . . . is like a slowly growing tsunami that finally spends its fury on the inhabitants of the shore. . . . As usual, McDermid shifts point-of-view deftly, moving from Jacko s plans for escape and then retribution to Hill s and Carol s thoughts on how to outwit and outrun him. . . . For those who like script-like prose with shock after shock . . . McDermid is perfect. Connie Fletcher, Booklist
It s perhaps fitting that for McDermid s 25th novel she s revisited her most thrillingly murderous creation, Jacko Vance. . . . Put away by McDermid s crime-cracking dream teampsychological profiler Dr. Tony Hill and DCI Carol JordanVance never stopped plotting his escape. Finally, and brilliantly, in The Retribution he achieves his aim, then sets about exacting revenge on Hill and Jordan. Henry Sutton, The Daily Mirror (UK) (four-star review)
McDermid is such a central figure in British crime fiction that it is hard to imagine a time when she was not. David Robinson, The Scotsman (UK)
British author Val McDermid s psychological thrillers are richly layered with palpable suspense and intense emotion. . . . In the strongly plotted The Retribution, McDermid returns to the partnership of crime profiler Tony Hill and detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan. . . . The Retribution moves at a brisk pace as McDermid keeps the taut plot frighteningly believable. Oline H. Cogdill, South Florida Sun Sentinel
McDermid has made the transition from enfant terrible to grande dame. Nicholas Wroe, The Guardian (UK)
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