The Retribution (Tony Hill/Carol Jordan #7) by Val McDermid
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction
Read: 26th February 2017
I don't know why some say this was the worst Tony Hill/Carol Jordan book. Why? Because readers were wanting to see Tony and Carol hit the sack together? Because Carol got the shits with Tony and blamed him for her brother's murder? Really? Doesn't that speak to the dynamics of their relationship? They don't have to bed each other to have the kind of respect for one another that has been earned as theirs has. So when Carol's brother is murdered it's only natural for Carol to lash out and blame Tony, who she trusted completely. She felt he let her down and her brother by not foretelling this aspect of Vance's revenge.
While I was disappointed to see Carol too stubborn to see Tony's pain and blame him, I felt this was one of the best in the series for some time. 'Beneath the Bleeding' was one of the worst and lacked my interest being sports related and Tony's god awful mother Vanessa. I think 'The Torment of Others' was probably the last best one, though 'Fever of the Bone' wasn't too bad. This one however had all the hallmarks of the early Hill and Jordan mysteries, particularly revisiting an old nemesis from the second book, Jacko Vance. My only disappointment being Vanessa outsmarted him. Really? She's a hateful person and as I was reading the lead up, I was rooting for Vance to finish the job before Tony got there...even if he was still on the scene or Carol got him back at the house...even if. But alas, the awful Vanessa lives to breathe another day and to turn up in another book down the line. Does that sound awful? At least in the imagination and pages of a book is it safe to wish something like that...only because I'd hate to see her lash more hate on Tony in the future as she has done so all his life.
In all, a fantastic read. Well done Val McDermid! I'll have to tweet you my thoughts now...
While I was disappointed to see Carol too stubborn to see Tony's pain and blame him, I felt this was one of the best in the series for some time. 'Beneath the Bleeding' was one of the worst and lacked my interest being sports related and Tony's god awful mother Vanessa. I think 'The Torment of Others' was probably the last best one, though 'Fever of the Bone' wasn't too bad. This one however had all the hallmarks of the early Hill and Jordan mysteries, particularly revisiting an old nemesis from the second book, Jacko Vance. My only disappointment being Vanessa outsmarted him. Really? She's a hateful person and as I was reading the lead up, I was rooting for Vance to finish the job before Tony got there...even if he was still on the scene or Carol got him back at the house...even if. But alas, the awful Vanessa lives to breathe another day and to turn up in another book down the line. Does that sound awful? At least in the imagination and pages of a book is it safe to wish something like that...only because I'd hate to see her lash more hate on Tony in the future as she has done so all his life.
In all, a fantastic read. Well done Val McDermid! I'll have to tweet you my thoughts now...
