Cross and Burn - (Tony Hill Novels) by Val McDermid (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"McDermid is at the top of her form in this sizzling story. . . . You will not put this one down until the final sentence."-Margaret Cannon, The Globe and Mail

"Hill and Jordan dominate as brilliantly as ever."--The Times (Saturday Review) (UK)

Val McDermid's Tony Hill and Carol Jordan novels are thrillers at their best--unbearably suspenseful, psychologically complex, expertly plotted and impossible to predict--and they have riveted millions worldwide. As Cross and Burn opens, Tony and Carol are facing the biggest challenge of their professional lives: how to live without each other. No one has seen Carol in three months, and without her, the police brass no longer want Tony's services. Even more damaging is the fact that they both hold Tony responsible for the bloody havoc their last case wreaked on Carol's life and family, and Carol has sworn she'll never speak to Tony again. But just because Tony and Carol's relationship is finished doesn't mean the killing is. A body has been discovered in an abandoned flat inhabited by squatters. As connections to other missing or dead women emerge, a horrifying pattern becomes clear: someone is killing women, all of whom bear a striking resemblance to Carol Jordan. And when the evidence begins to point in a disturbing and unexpected direction, thinking the unthinkable seems the only possible answer.

"Pure reading joy! Welcome back, queen of crime Val McDermid."--The Florida Times-Union

"Fiendishly clever . . . The ingenious way in which [the villain] tests the mettle of Hill and Jordan is not to be missed by fans of the unusual sleuthing duo."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Review Quotes

Praise for Cross and Burn:

"McDermid is at the top of her form in this sizzling story. . . . You will not put this one down until the final sentence."-Margaret Cannon, The Globe and Mail

"Pure reading joy! Welcome back, queen of crime Val McDermid."--Jane Crooks Britt, The Florida Times-Union

"Cross and Burn is a gripping read on a number of levels. . . . Val is back in top form with this novel. Satisfying on many different levels."--Deadly Pleasures

"Val McDermid's compulsively readable Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series finds a fresh hell to discover in her latest installment. . . . While McDermid is top of her class when it comes to writing intelligent, twisty, suspenseful thrillers, one of her strongest talents as a writer is her concern about relationships. . . . Completely absorbing. The way the characters are drawn so three dimensionally enriches every part of McDermid's novels. Cross and Burn is well worth the reading journey."--Robin Agnew, Mystery Scene

"Hill and Jordan dominate as brilliantly as ever."--The Times (Saturday Review) (UK)

"Connoisseurs of the crime novel will happily devour veteran thriller writer McDermid's masterful blend of crisp prose, complex characters, and relentless suspense."--Allison Block, Booklist (starred review)

"Enthralling and engrossing, perfect in every way. . . . There is no good place to stop reading Cross and Burn. The series . . . gets better and better. . . . Hill and Jordan, whether together or apart, are fascinating characters, and this latest installment of their lives is too good to miss--whether you've been along for the ride since the beginning or just jumped on the train."--Joe Hartlaub, Bookreporter.com

"Cross and Burn, the new Val McDermid novel, is the eighth title in her Wire in the Blood series featuring Tony Hill, the psychologically scarred forensic profiler, and DCI Carol Jordan. . . . What makes this series stand out is not so much the novels' plots, good though they are, as their powerful characterization, together with the authority and conviction underpinning the settings. In this case, McDermid makes us believe in Bradfield and care about a host of characters--and, in particular, about the tangled relationship of Jordan and Hill."--Andrew Taylor, The Spectator (UK)

"Fiendishly clever . . . The ingenious way in which [the villain] tests the mettle of Hill and Jordan is not to be missed by fans of the unusual sleuthing duo."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Fans of criminal psychologist Tony Hill and cop Carol Jordan will be delighted to see them pressed back into action. . . . As ever, McDermid's gift for taking ordinary, everyday events and giving them a sinister twist, plus her keen observations of human nature, make for a truly gripping tale."--Northamptonshire Telegraph (UK)

"McDermid earns her customary high marks for planting clues, mastering procedural detail and maintaining suspense as the net closes. As usual, however, the endlessly fraught relationships among the continuing characters are the real draw."--Kirkus Reviews

"Fans will admire Val for continuing to break borders and uncovering such intense and taboo issues. . . . McDermid unfolds a great study on human nature and the twisted individuals living on the fringes of society. . . . A tight assemblage of accidents just waiting to explode. . . snowballs into a chaotic and tense finale leaving little doubt about McDermid's expertise."--Michael Leonard, Curled Up with a Good Book (Blog)

About the Author

Val McDermid is the best-selling author of twenty-six previous novels, which have been translated into over forty languages and have sold over ten million copies worldwide.