Splinter the Silence

October 26, 2015
Dr. Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, a former detective chief constable, still aren’t on speaking terms in their solid ninth outing (after 2013’s Cross and Burn), despite the closeness they once shared. Tony continues his clinical psychological work in Bradfield, England, while Carol is busy drinking herself into oblivion. Meanwhile, the top brass desire to create a new Major Incident Team that would serve an area beyond Bradford. Strings are pulled to get Carol back in charge, with Tony as her unofficial sobriety coach, much to her annoyance. The new team’s first case involves several outspoken women who have run afoul of Internet trolls after taking strong feminist stances; though the women and their causes seem unrelated, they all go on to commit suicide. Tony sees a pattern and warns Carol that there could something more sinister at work. Diamond Dagger Award–winner McDermid handles the delicate dance that is the slow reunion of her two heroes with as much grace as she affords the novel’s victims. Agent: Jane Gregory, Gregory & Company.

Gerard Doyle's performance of this mystery is so fine that listeners may have to remind themselves they're listening to a one-man show, not full-cast audio theater. His narration combined with such good writing makes this pure pleasure for the ears and mind. A rash of suicides is killing publicly assertive women--or are they being murdered? Ex-cop Carol Jordan is drafted to lead a new high-profile police unit. With the personal and professional assistance of psychologist Tony Hill, she takes on the suspicious deaths as a sort of a warm-up exercise for her team. Doyle's performance enhances McDermid's story and characters. G.S.D. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine