by Val McDermid
Release Date: December 5th, 2017
2017 Atlantic Monthly Press
Kindle Edition; 424 Pages
ISBN: 978-0802127167
ASIN: B06XWH8SFW
Genre: Fiction / Mystery
Source: Review copy from publisher
4 / 5 Stars
Summary
In the north of England, single women are beginning to disappear from weddings. A pattern soon becomes clear: Someone is crashing the festivities and luring the women away--only to leave the victims' bodies in their own burned-out cars in remote locations. Tony and Carol are called upon to investigate--but this may be the toughest case they've ever had to face. Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant Paula McIntyre and her partner Elinor must deal with a cruel cyber-blackmailer targeting their teenage ward, Torin.
My Thoughts
Insidious Intent is the latest thriller featuring Tony Hill and Carol Jordan as they negotiate the emotional terrain of the previous year. I am a huge fan of this author and her books, and I was looking forward to discovering how Carol would deal with the aftermath of her brother's death and her alcoholism. I was definitely not disappointed as I thought the author wove an interesting mystery despite the heavily invested character development of her main characters. I, personally, really like the way the books are going and I have to say, I was definitely not prepared for the ending in this book.
The REMIT team is finally being tested in this book as the previous one dealt more with the recruiting and development of the people who were to be part of this new centralized force. When a car was found engulfed in flames, the police were not prepared to find the body of Kathryn McCormick in the interior. Although a lot of evidence had been destroyed in the fire, the coroner was able to confirm that Kathryn had been strangled before being placed in the car. With very little to go on, the REMIT team looked for clues and leads. When a second and then a third victim died in very similar situations, the REMIT team was under a lot of pressure to find a killer before he killed anyone else, but the team was stumped and looking for that one lead. I really enjoyed the characters in this novel, and I thought they fit in well together, but it was almost too seamless and perfect. The suspense of previous novels was not there as the tension was missing. Sometimes you need that antagonistic character as it makes things so much more interesting.
DCI Carol Jordan receives a lot of attention in this novel, and I was definitely not unhappy with that. A recovering alcoholic with plenty of pressure on her back for the REMIT team to be successful, it was interesting to see how the pressure got to her and how she dealt with it. To be honest, I was glad to see a bit of human frailty in her character these past few books as she always seemed to indomitable. I enjoyed the way her character developed in this book as she tried to deal with having her drunk driving charge eliminated and the ensuing chaos that ruling created in her life. With the weight of several deaths on her shoulders, and a serious case, Carol spent a lot of time thinking about her goals and the consequences she had to deal with because of her actions and those of others. However, I wasn't as crazy about Tony in this book as I felt his character development was off and he didn't seem like the same person. I did like how he dealt with Carol as well as the situation with Torin, but still something didn't sit well with me. I just can't quite put my finger on it though.
Although the author writes her books with the intention of being standalones, I really feel that one needs to begin at the beginning in order to really understand the motivations of the characters in this book. I like McDermid's style of writing, and although you know who the killer is because she tells you, a technique I normally dislike, it actually worked in this novel and I found myself wondering what the clue/lead would be when it finally came. And I can tell you that I was not prepared for the ending of this book. No more can be said as it would ruin the book, but I was almost disappointed knowing I would have to wait for a while before finding out what comes next.
Verdict
Insidious Intent is interesting with a lot of dark humour, some character development in long-standing characters, and a clever narrative, but somehow it didn't seem to capture that magic of the previous books. While I find the antagonist more interesting than the main characters, I have to ask myself why and the answer is simply because nothing really new was added in this novel. The team kind of plowed their way through the investigation and there was none of the suspense and intensity that is usually present. However, the author still writes a good novel and I have come to trust her ability to make unbelievable scenarios believable, so I am really hoping the ending of this book, while a bit out of place for the characters, leads to a whole different level of intensity in the next one.
Good review!
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