From Publishers Weekly
McDermid's exhilarating fifth novel to feature Det. Chief Insp. Carol Jordan and Dr. Tony Hill (after The Torment of Others) finds Tony in the hospital after being attacked by an ax-wielding patient. Tony's eager to distract himself with Carol's latest caseβthe death of popular football star Robbie Bishop from ricin poisoning. Carol and her team frantically sift through Bishop's life, trying to find a link between the sports hero and the obscure poison. When an explosion rocks Bradfield's football stadium, Carol and Tony must consider whether Bishop's murder was an act of terrorism. As Carol butts heads with Britain's anti-terrorism unit, Tony works to unravel the motives behind the attacks, and his conclusions put him at odds with Carol like never before. McDermid nimbly weaves current eventsβthe stadium bombing is eerily similar to the 2005 London tube attacksβwith the ever-evolving personal and professional relationship between Tony and Carol. (Sept.)
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Review
Praise for Beneath the Bleeding: 'All the craft, panache and pace that we have come to expect from this outstanding writer! Vintage stuff: unplug the phone, lock the door and prepare to read in a sitting' Guardian 'Another intelligent and absorbing offering from one of crime fiction's most consistent performers' The Times 'The queen of British crime! Hill and Jordan are compelling creations and their encounters fairly crackle. McDermid is a consummate plotter so there are pleasing twists and turns in this first-rate story' Observer 'A great, topical read' Metro 'McDermid is at the peak of her murderous craft! on the page, McDermid makes criminal profiler Hill every bit as engaging as [Robson Green]' Daily Mirror 'Peerless!one of the world's finest crime writers, McDermid is currently at the top of her game' Glasgow Herald 'The Queen of serial killers in this country keeps her end up!. few can scoop Val on throat-clutching narrative! marvellous' Daily Mail 'A very good contemporary crime novel in terms of excitement, topicality and its sense of authenticity. but it delivers more than this: the complex and unpredictable relationship between Hill and Jordan lies at the heart of the series and is one of its greatest strengths. McDermid's writing gets better and better' Spectator 'McDermid's usual ingredients of fear, revulsion, ingenuity and heroism! this book is all the more gripping because some holds are barred' Literary Review 'McDermid is up there with the best' Good Reading 'Nail-biting' Woman & Home 'Skilfully plotted! highly recommended' Diva Praise for the Tony Hill thrillers: 'No one compares to McDermid' Guardian 'One of McDermid's finest, which is saying a lot' The Times 'This is McDermid on top form -- pass the Valium' Daily Mail 'Gripping, intelligent stuff' Mail on Sunday 'Val McDermid is an intelligent, supremely talented novelist and with this latest tale, she is writing at the height of her power. Utterly compelling' Glasgow Herald 'Serial killers, though meat and drink to crime writers, are thankfully rare. It is a tribute to the power of Val McDermid's imagination that she made this one seem so believable' Daily Telegraph 'Complex, combative and nuanced' Express 'Val McDermid, as ever, is adept at engendering irresistible suspense, as the fearsome attractiveness of the ever more benighted and bloody predicament works its effect on readers' Times Literary Supplement 'Stunningly exciting, horrifyingly good' Ruth Rendell 'Compelling and shocking' Minette Walters