A Book Review: The Wire in the Blood by Val McDermid

This August, my book club is reading The Wire in the Blood. This is a crime thriller written by Val McDermid. It is also the second book in a best-selling series featuring two criminal profilers; Dr. Tony Hill and Carol Jordon. A Google search indicated, that these books were adapted into a TV series too. Admittedly, I have never heard of of this series or its author until now, but I do like a good story about heroic detectives solving blood-chilling murders. I was feeling excited when the librarian handed this novel to me at the book club meeting. I read this book over the course of 5 days, but I have a mixed reaction to this book.

Synopsis:

Are all serial killers insane?

Criminal profilers, Dr. Tony Hill and Carol Jordon, are about to discover the answer to this question, the hard way.

Across the UK, dozens of teenage girls have vanished without any trace. The legal authorities are convinced, that these girls were runaways. But a budding detective, Shaz Bowman, suspected the otherwise. Shaz, a student of Dr. Hill's, proposed a theory so wild that not even her own teacher believed her.

When Shaz' mutilated body was discovered in her own apartment, however, Tony Hill had a change of mind. Maybe, Shaz was on to something and that's why the murderer killed her dead. Tony and Carol followed the clues to investigate the case, only to finding themselves become preys to a ruthless yet brilliant killer.

My thoughts on this book:

I have a mixed reaction about this book. I like the story because it is strung with tension. But on the other hand, I also found the pace in this book too slow, and its plot is unfocused. This book counts to 530 pages, but it spent the first 200 pages to establish the characters and their backgrounds. The first half of the book was dragged out. Once the story launched from the ground, what followed was 300 pages worth of suspense. I particularly enjoyed the middle book, where the story placed a heavy emphasis on the detective works. However, I dislike the ending of this book. It felt like a rushed conclusion. I am not sure if the author intended this book to end at a cliff hanger, or perhaps it is a setup for a sequel. Without spoiling the story, it suffices to say, to me this book feels unfinished.

Tony Hill and Carol Jordon made a pair of likable protagonists. I had a lot of fun reading about Tony Hill's approach at tackling the crime. This book also made an attempt at a romantic subplot involving our two protagonists, but I found the romance somewhat dim and flat. Meanwhile, the antagonist, the serial killer, he added most of the thrills to The Wire in the Blood. He is a frightening character, whose ruthless and cold-blooded behaviors threatened every character in this book with a real sense of danger.

Here I need to mention, The Wire in the Blood is very violent. Certain scenes in this book depicted gores and bodily mutilations in graphic details that may disturb sensitive readers. I do not think the author was glorifying the violence and the gores. I think the author used the violence to add weights to the horrifying nature of the crimes. However, if you have a low tolerance for gores and violence, then you may wish to approach this book with caution.

Despite the several issues I have against this book, I did enjoy The Wire in the Blood. If you can pass the long, tiring first half of the book, then you may discover a good detective story, full of suspense and tension, in the second half. The ending was disappointing, but the journey was good. Should the opportunities arise, I would be keen to read more books in this series.