“Have you read Val McDermid’s Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series? If you haven’t read them and you like brilliantly plotted thrillers that are edge-of-your-seat paced and filled with flawed and deeply human characters, you should. Begin with The Mermaids Singing (St. Martin, $7.99) and read them all in order.
I say this because you need to know these people, have their backgrounds and stories clear in your head before you read The Retribution (Atlantic Monthly Press, $25.00, signing here Tuesday, January 24, noon).
In one of their first collaborations and successes, Tony Hill and Carol Jordan identified and captured Jacko Vance, star athlete, celebrated television personality and sadistic killer. Vance was charming, charismatic, brilliant and completely without scruples, and they made sure he was locked away without any possibility of parole.
When Vance escapes, they know he’s going to come after them, but they have no idea exactly how. What Vance does to exact his retribution is exactly why you have to have read all the other books first. Knowing these people takes Vance’s actions out of the realm of shocking into completely devastating.
McDermid is one of the preeminent writers of our time, and with The Retribution she proves that she’s not afraid to take bold chances, to change things in powerful and unsuspected ways. I’ve always admired her writing, but with this one, McDermid has completely raised the bar. It left me breathless and drained. She is a master writer in every sense of the word!”—Fran, Seattle Mystery Bookshop. Buy The Mermaids Singing and The Retribution from Seattle Mystery Bookshop.