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How the Dead Speak

(Tony Hill & Carol Jordan #11)

Val McDermid

4.48 · Rating details · 27 ratings · 15 reviews

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Hardcover, 480 pages

Expected publication: August 22nd 2019 by Little, Brown

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4.48 ·

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· 27 ratings · 15 reviews

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Aug 01, 2019 Ceecee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I was very pleased to receive this as I have read all the previous books in the series. However, it is perfectly possible to read this as a stand-alone. As you would expect there are several strains to the story as Tony Hill is in prison and Carol Jordan has left the police force. The scenes with Tony in prison are very vivid and the fear is tangible. Typically Tony puts his skills to good use and helps his fellow prisoners in various ways and I like this aspect. The story is interspersed with s I was very pleased to receive this as I have read all the previous books in the series. However, it is perfectly possible to read this as a stand-alone. As you would expect there are several strains to the story as Tony Hill is in prison and Carol Jordan has left the police force. The scenes with Tony in prison are very vivid and the fear is tangible. Typically Tony puts his skills to good use and helps his fellow prisoners in various ways and I like this aspect. The story is interspersed with sections from the book that Tony has been promising his publisher for years and now has the time to write. Whilst I found these interesting I did feel they broke up the flow of the story. There are two storylines for Carol, one that involves Tony’s odious mother Vanessa and one that follows an innocence project that she is invited to join and utilise her investigative skills. This did tie in with the storyline that the reMIT team investigate and that is a gritty storyline involving multiple bodies in a former convent and school. I really like the police characters such as Stacey, Paula, Alvin Ambrose, and some new characters that are also likeable with the exception of Carol’s replacement DCI Rutherford who is not!

I really enjoyed the book but with some reservations. There are several storylines which do not eventually tie together in a neat bow which Is ok, that isn’t essential but there are unresolved issues the biggest of which is the bodies in the convent. The abuse of such institutions is a well trodden path so are we to assume that Sister Mary Patrick is responsible during her time in charge? Is this dealt with in the next book?

Overall despite the above, it is a really good read as you would expect from someone of the calibre of Val McDermid. I like the love and bond between Tony and Carol, I like the team at reMIT in particular their doggedness and loyalty and I like the humour that alleviates the tension. I really liked the positive hopeful end which is what fans of this series have been so looking forward to!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an ARC ...more

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Aug 14, 2019 Craig Sisterson rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime, british

There are longstanding authors whose series plateau or dip after so long; one of many impressive things about Val McDermid’s crime writing is the way she continues to push herself and her characters, finding fresh stories to tell, issues to explore, and never leaving things static.

How The Dead Speak is a great example of that. The eleventh novel starring profiler Tony Hill and detective Carol Jordan sees the duo separated, and both struggling with new situations after the cataclysmic ending to ...more

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Aug 17, 2019 Elaine Tomasso rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I would like to thank Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance copy of How the Dead Speak, the eleventh novel to feature former detective Carol Jordan and forensic profiler Tony Hill.

When a developer discovers old bones in the garden of a former convent, DCI Rutherford, the head of the reformed ReMIT (regional major investigation team), is desperate to investigate and takes over the enquiry. In the meantime Carol Jordan and Tony Hill, former stalwarts of the team, are pursuing their post poli I would like to thank Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance copy of How the Dead Speak, the eleventh novel to feature former detective Carol Jordan and forensic profiler Tony Hill.

When a developer discovers old bones in the garden of a former convent, DCI Rutherford, the head of the reformed ReMIT (regional major investigation team), is desperate to investigate and takes over the enquiry. In the meantime Carol Jordan and Tony Hill, former stalwarts of the team, are pursuing their post police service lives far away from the action.

I thoroughly enjoyed How the Dead Speak which is an engrossing police procedural with extras. Initially I found it difficult to get absorbed in the narrative as it has four distinct strands and constantly switches between them and as a further distraction each switch is headed by a few sentences from the book Tony is writing. Until I got used to and eventually welcomed it it just seemed like more choppiness. I also think that it would have helped me if I’d read the previous novel in the series as it casts a long shadow over the early parts of the novel. Once I got a handle on all this, about a quarter of the way in, I was hooked and the old McDermid magic wove its spell.

The novel follows the police investigation, mostly from DI Paula McIntyre’s perspective, and is fascinating, not so much the original premise of bones in a religious building but where it goes. It also follows the developments in Tony and Carol’s lives as they try to forge a new direction post police. The fourth strand concerns businessman Mark Conway and his mysterious mission. This is a well crafted, multi stranded novel with each strand intersecting with another, mostly tangentially rather than coming together as a whole at the conclusion. This seems realistic to me. I do feel, however, that the crimes are a secondary consideration in this novel as no great feats of detection are required to solve them and that Ms McDermid is more interested in how her characters cope with change and where they see their future. I really liked Paula’s troubles in the new team, not that I want to see her struggle but dealing with self interested half wits is always a challenge. The opening scenes sum it all up nicely. The one thing that comes out of Tony and Carol’s separate situations is hope. After years of working with life’s darkness they are putting their lives back on track and moving towards the light. I found their journeys fascinating and relatable if somewhat beyond my own experience.

How the Dead Speak is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending. ...more

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Aug 10, 2019 Heather Fineisen rated it really liked it

A solid entry in the series. McDermid does not disappoint, always staying on the cusp of new technology and current events. Everyone is moving on in a new direction with Paula being showcased. Character development is moving right along as Tony and Carol' s relationship evolves. A favorite series.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

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Aug 04, 2019 Lorraine rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019, netgalley, mystery, police-procedural, val_mcdermid

My most grateful thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this very much anticipated book.

When we last saw Tony and Carol, their lives had changed forever. Tony was going to prison and Carol had resigned from the police. Now over a year has passed, and Tony has forbidden Carol to visit him until she gets treatment for PTSD. This she reluctantly does. Then she is approached by Tony's lawyer to join her new group which hopes to find new evidence to release innocent convicts from prison. Also, To ...more

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Aug 07, 2019 Cheryl M-M rated it it was amazing

This is book 11 in the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series, and after reading this one I absolutely will have to go back and re-read previous one. Tony is sat in jail for killing someone and Carol has retired from the police force. What the heck happened?

Breathing fresh air and new ideas into a long-term series isn't easy when you have a huge solid fan-base. Readers don't always like drastic changes. Kudos to McDermid for giving readers what they need without them being aware that they need it.

Put ...more

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Jul 10, 2019 Vicki rated it it was amazing

How the Dead Speak is book number 11 in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series. Though it is the first book in the series that I have read, I personally had no trouble following the story. There are a few things that would help to explain the characters a bit better had I read the previous books but it in no way took away from this particular book.

The main characters in the story are complex and flawed but nonetheless it helps make them more real. Each chapter goes from one persons situation to the n ...more

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Aug 14, 2019 J Earl rated it really liked it · review of another edition

How the Dead Speak is the eleventh Tony Hill/Carol Jordan book from Val McDermid and, while having a different feel still manages to satisfy.

If you're a reader of the series, you might wonder how there could be another volume without essentially erasing the results of the previous one. Well, McDermid managed to write a compelling novel while not disrupting the fictional world we inhabit in these novels. So, yes, Tony is in jail and Carol is no longer a cop. Yet this works here. I'll admit some p ...more

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Jul 30, 2019 Sharon Sample rated it liked it · review of another edition

I haven’t read any of the previous Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series and was disappointed with this book.

Forty female bodies are found in unmarked graves in a former convent school. What happened and why? But, then the plot gets muddled with the discovery of eight male bodies. The elite ReMIT team takes on the challenge. A couple of subplots scramble the story even more and felt like they were added just to include Tony and Carol.

Why do experienced writers use so many different points of view ...more

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Aug 17, 2019 Sharon S rated it really liked it

Realistic, shocking, thrilling, scary.

The novel has exerts between each chapter describing different kinds, types, and details of different crimes. Each one detailed as to who, why and how a stalker, murderer or rapest goes about their intentions. Then the story follows with what's happening to the current characters.
Definitely a fun read with multiple crime scenarios.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC eread. Review will be on Amazon on publication day.

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Aug 19, 2019 Chris Nolan rated it really liked it

A new novel featuring Tony Hill and Carol Jordan is always an enjoyable experience and How The Dead Speak is no exception. However, with Carol no longer in the police and Tony in prison, the nail-biting tension that has made this series so tremendous is lacking to a certain extent. Carol's old team are carrying on without her but new roles have been found for both Tony and Carol. Still an enjoyable read but is the series reaching its end?

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Jul 22, 2019 Roxanne Spencer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Once again, Val McDermid shows us why she is a master of the suspense novel. Carol Jordan and Tony Hill are in very different places--both literally and figuratively--in How the Dead Speak, and must make sense of their new circumstances. McDermid gives us an intriguing crime, but the real story here is Carol's and Tony's journeys.. Strong characters drive this story.

I received a digital ARC via Netgalley.

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Aug 05, 2019 Brenda Freeman rated it really liked it

This is the first in this series for me. I have read three other series by her and now must add this one as one to catch up on. The Carol & Tony parts of the story were good, but I enjoyed the detective workings and building of a new team as they work their first case together. The different dynamics were what made this book for me.

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Jul 28, 2019 Julie rated it it was amazing

Lucky enough to get a reading copy .. I loved it ..got a little lost on some of the side plots and to their purpose , but brilliant .. Carol Jordan and Tony Hill characters are my fave .. like the previous this one leaves the way to just carry on ...

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Jul 24, 2019 M rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc-edelweiss, arc-netgalley

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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About Val McDermid

Val McDermid

2,755 followers

Val McDermid is a No. 1 bestseller whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages, and have sold over eleven million copies.

She has won many awards internationally, including the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year and the LA Times Book of the Year Award. She was inducted into the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame in 2009 and was the recipient of the CWA Cart ...more