Killing the Shadows by Val McDermid

Mystery

Fiona Cameron is a psychologist that uses data to come up with geographies and theories on crimes. The police regularly call on her for help, though with a recent rape and murder case decided to call one of Fiona's colleagues who ended up botching the case. Fiona vows that she won't work with the Met again. Except they need her help and she needs them when a killer starts to murder mystery writers. Fiona's boyfriend is a mystery writer and she wants to make sure the police catch the killer before anything happens to him.

The description of what Fiona does was rather interesting, however when she describes it, it begins sounding like common sense. It made me wonder why the police need to bring in someone to explain these things. The only item that analysis was really needed for was geographies of where the killer may live or work.

Fiona isn't my favourite McDermid character, but she's not the worst either. She was a bit self-righteous and treated one of her best mates pretty shitty but got angry at him for her stupidity.

I wondered for a while why McDermid was putting so many crimes in to a single book with different killers. It was difficult to keep straight at first but eventually worked itself out and made sense.

First Line: "The haar moves up from the steel-grey waters of the Firth of Forth, a solid wall of mist the colour of cumulus."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

Fever of the Bone by Val McDermid

Fever of the Bone by Val McDermid
Mystery

Tony Hill and Carol Jordan are back for another round in McDermid's most recent book. With a new boss on the force, Jordan is threatened to have her team taken away from her and is told she can no longer use Hill's profiling techniques to help solve crimes. Knowing that Jordan won't be able to use him, Hill takes the time to consult on another case in a different county. This also gives him a chance to visit the home of the father that he never knew. He's not quite emotionally prepared for learning about his father which adds another layer of complexity.

Meanwhile, Jordan's team is desperate to prove themselves and they start to investigate the murder of a teenage boy whom has been mutilated. There are striking similarities between the case that Hill is working on and Jordan's case. A serial killer may be on the loose and no one is sure who this person could be or what their motive is.

As always, I really enjoy the chemistry between Hill and Jordan. Hill is such a vulnerable character which makes him so endearing. I wasn't impressed with Jordan's increasing abuse of alcohol and would much like to see that solved quickly as it doesn't add anything to the story line. Though I've found that most of these books can be read as a stand alone, I think this one is best read in series. There's just too much background information that would be missed by a reader not invested in this series.

McDermid can't go wrong. All of her mysteries are page turners that keep you guessing up to the last minute. This book was left with an interesting ending between Jordan and Hill which leaves me looking forward very much to the next book to see what the resolution is!

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First Line: "It all comes down to blood in the end."

Rating:
(4.5/5)

A Darker Domain by Val McDermid

A Darker Domain by Val McDermid
Mystery

Detective Sergeant Karen Pirie is a cold case detective from Fife, Scotland. She's got a sharp mind, a boss that's out for himself, and a suppressed lust for her partner. When new developments are made in a twenty year old kidnapping case, Karen is brought in to examine the evidence. The case involves the kidnapping of a daughter and grandson to a wealthy Scottish businessman. The two were ransomed but the handover was botched and the daughter of Brodie Grant was killed, the grandson never to be seen again. Grant still wants to find his grandson, stopping at nothing to get more information, including not giving Karen access to all of the information she needs to know about the case.

Adding to Karen's case load is Misha Gibson, who reports her father Mich Prentice as missing even though he left his family over 20 years ago during a national miners strike. Many in the village believe he went scabbing with strike-breakers, abandoning his family. But the other men that left claim that Prentice never went with them. Karen sets out to solve the mystery without telling her boss that she's working in the field again.

It's refreshing to have such an ordinary person as the main character of the book. Karen Pirie explains herself as a little chubby and has a great whit and quick brain. She is a little self-conscious but doesn't let it affect her professional life (just her personal life!). McDermid bills A Darker Domain as a stand alone novel but I'd really like to see the return of Karen Pirie. She's right up there with Tony Hill as great McDermid characters.

The mystery is a typical McDermid-style mystery. You have some inklings on what may happen but you're still surprised at what ends up happening. This novel was a page turner, just as expected. If you've never read a McDermid book before but are a general mystery fan I suggest you pick this book up. If you are a McDermid fan, this is another great work. Either way, I suggest getting this book as it doesn't disappoint.

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First Line: "The voice is soft, like the darkness that encloses them."

Rating:

(4.5/5)

The Last Temptation by Val McDermid

The Last Temptation by Val McDermid
Mystery

Carol Jordan is pulled into the European policing ring into the middle of a sting against a big criminal in Germany, Tadeusz Radecki. It turns out that Carol looks exactly like Radecki's deceased girlfriend and the police think Carol can use this to do business with Radecki. While Carol attempts to woo Radecki, she learns of a serial killer that her local police contact is trying to catch. Carol brings in her trusted friend Dr. Tony Hill in to draft up a profile to help catch the killer.

When Tony gets to Germany though, he has his work cut out for him. This killer seems to be killing only psychologists by drowning them and scalping them. What is the motive to this killer? What is he trying to prove? Tony must work against the clock to help find the killer.

I had troubles getting into this book, which is rare for a McDermid book. Though I suspect that could have been because it was around the holiday time and I kept thinking of all the things I needed to do. Once I was about 70 pages into the book though, I found that it picked up quickly and even though there were a couple of stories combined I was kept wondering what was going to happen.

There wasn't really a twist at the end of this book, which is a shame because McDermid usually does a good job of this. It's not McDermid's best works but it's still a good mystery and one that will keep you turning the pages.

First Line: "Blue is one colour the Danube never manages."

Rating:

(4/5)