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How the Dead Speak
(Tony Hill & Carol Jordan #11)
by
When human remains are discovered in the grounds of an old convent, it quickly becomes clear that someone has been using the site as their personal burial ground. But with the convent abandoned long ago and the remains dating back many years, could this be the work of more than one obsessive killer? It's an investigation that throws up more questions as the evidence mounts
...more
Hardcover, 480 pages
Published
August 22nd 2019
by Little, Brown
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Start your review of How the Dead Speak (Tony Hill & Carol Jordan, #11)

How The Dead Speak is the 11th book in the Carol Jordan and Tony Hill series. If you haven’t read this series so far, I would recommend that you don’t read this book first and possible start from the beginning, as the story of the principal characters is a continuation from the previous parts.
In this part, criminal psychologist Tony is behind bars and Carol finally out of the police department as a cop. Tony is finding unexpected outlets for his talents in jail and Carol has joined forces with ...more
In this part, criminal psychologist Tony is behind bars and Carol finally out of the police department as a cop. Tony is finding unexpected outlets for his talents in jail and Carol has joined forces with ...more

My thanks to Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Press, the author Val McDermid and Netgalley.
I've always suspected I would like this author. Truth is that I've never read her books because she had so many books already published. Dang, I do hate starting from the beginning! Well, turns out that I liked these characters! So, I'm going to have to start from the get go anyhow. This was a good story. Not great, because it still felt unfinished. I want to see those nuns get the justice that I think they deserve ...more
I've always suspected I would like this author. Truth is that I've never read her books because she had so many books already published. Dang, I do hate starting from the beginning! Well, turns out that I liked these characters! So, I'm going to have to start from the get go anyhow. This was a good story. Not great, because it still felt unfinished. I want to see those nuns get the justice that I think they deserve ...more

My thanks to Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Press, the author Val McDermid and Netgalley. I've always suspected I would like this author. Truth is that I've never read her books because she had so many books already published. Dang, I do hate starting from the beginning! Well, turns out that I liked these characters! So, I'm going to have to start from the get go anyhow. This was a good story. Not great, because it still felt unfinished. I want to see those nuns get the justice that I think they deserv
...more

3.5 stars
This is a hugely popular series & like most of its kind, you probably enjoy some instalments more than others. I’ve read them all & this was not one of my favourites but that may be down to the format of the story more than content which I’ll try to explain.
If you read the last one, no doubt you remember the ending. It was a corker. The old cast of regulars was broken up & here we get to see where everyone landed.
First, the elite police unit known as ReMIT has been reformed with some c ...more
This is a hugely popular series & like most of its kind, you probably enjoy some instalments more than others. I’ve read them all & this was not one of my favourites but that may be down to the format of the story more than content which I’ll try to explain.
If you read the last one, no doubt you remember the ending. It was a corker. The old cast of regulars was broken up & here we get to see where everyone landed.
First, the elite police unit known as ReMIT has been reformed with some c ...more

Aug 21, 2019
Mandy White (mandylovestoread)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
net-galley,
z-read-in-2019
How The Dead Speak is book 11 in the Carol Jordan and Tony Hill series. It has been a while since I read one of these books which is something I need to immediately rectify. I forgot how brilliant Val McDermid is and I am so looking forward to seeing her at BAD Writers Festival in Sydney in September. I received this book from Grove Atlantic with a publication date on 3rd December but it has already been released here in Australia and the UK - and I could not wait to read it. Fans of this series
...more

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Val McDermid, and Grove Atlantic for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
Always a fan of Val McDermid’s work, I was pleased to be able to read this eleventh novel in the Tony Hill-Carol Jordan series, which packs a punch and keeps the reader on their toes. After the fallout of a previous case, Tony Hill finds himself behind bars for manslaughter. That may seem a hindrance, but Hil ...more
Always a fan of Val McDermid’s work, I was pleased to be able to read this eleventh novel in the Tony Hill-Carol Jordan series, which packs a punch and keeps the reader on their toes. After the fallout of a previous case, Tony Hill finds himself behind bars for manslaughter. That may seem a hindrance, but Hil ...more

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
...more

The first books in this brilliant series were so very imaginative, gruesome and brutal that they are hard to live up to. Truly, Tony Hill and Carol Jordan were a force to be reckoned with – in all of their messy realities, from Carol’s growing alcoholism to Tony’s impotence. Their relationship has gone through every tragedy that you could dream up, and more besides. So the question is now: can these books survive Tony being in prison for murder, and Carol out of the police force?
In many ways, Ho ...more
In many ways, Ho ...more

This is identified as the 5th book in the Tony Hill/ Carol Jordan epic series. ( Not sure about that as there are additional books listed on Amazon featuring the pair). I felt it was a compelling follow-up to the stunning ending of Insidious Intent and its unsettling consequences.
Carol is no longer a detective, having been forced out of the ReMIT agency. She is well on her way to recovery from alcoholism but is suffering from PTSD. She is taking positive steps in undergoing therapy. Tony is in ...more
Carol is no longer a detective, having been forced out of the ReMIT agency. She is well on her way to recovery from alcoholism but is suffering from PTSD. She is taking positive steps in undergoing therapy. Tony is in ...more

Dec 22, 2019
Brenda
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2a-series-uptodate
After the events in the previous book, this book finds Tony in prison, Carol ousted from the police, and ReMIT reorganized with a new DCI. There are a few chapters featuring Tony, and a few featuring Carol, but the bulk of the book is carried by DI Paula McIntyre. There are some new members of ReMIT, but they haven’t quite earned trust yet. DCI Rutherford is focused on his image, but there are worse DCIs.
The book is written in usual McDermid style, meaning it is not a fast read. The pacing is st ...more
The book is written in usual McDermid style, meaning it is not a fast read. The pacing is st ...more

In “How the Dead Speak,” Val McDermid continues her outstanding Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series. Following the events in the previous book, “Insidious Intent,” Tony Hill is now in prison for manslaughter and Carol Jordan is at loose ends without him and her career. Jordan’s former team is investigating the discovery of two different sets of skeletons found on the grounds of a former convent. Meanwhile, Tony is forced to help his evil, vindictive mother, and Carol becomes involved with a group
...more

I took my time with this book, as I wanted to savor it and take in all the details rather than rushing to find out whodunnit.
I loved the excerpts at the beginning of each chapter, which are taken from the book that main character and psychological profiler Tony Hill is writing. For the most part, I read each one twice over for deeper meaning, or full comprehension, as I said, I wanted to savor McDermid's writing. Here are excerpts from two of my favorites:
1. Regarding selecting the best person ...more
I loved the excerpts at the beginning of each chapter, which are taken from the book that main character and psychological profiler Tony Hill is writing. For the most part, I read each one twice over for deeper meaning, or full comprehension, as I said, I wanted to savor McDermid's writing. Here are excerpts from two of my favorites:
1. Regarding selecting the best person ...more

3.5 STARS
Psychiatrist Tony Hill and ex-DCI Carol Jordan make another appearance in this 11th book of the series.
Picking up where Book 10 left off, Hill is in prison and Carol is no longer with the police department. She has joined forces with a small informal group of lawyers and forensics experts looking into suspected miscarriages of justice. A little different for both of them as they are working without each other.
Newly promoted DI Paula McIntyre picks up where Jordan left off. She and her t ...more
Psychiatrist Tony Hill and ex-DCI Carol Jordan make another appearance in this 11th book of the series.
Picking up where Book 10 left off, Hill is in prison and Carol is no longer with the police department. She has joined forces with a small informal group of lawyers and forensics experts looking into suspected miscarriages of justice. A little different for both of them as they are working without each other.
Newly promoted DI Paula McIntyre picks up where Jordan left off. She and her t ...more

Full disclosure -- my experience with Tony Hill and Carol Jordan is entirely based on the excellent BBC series of a few years back, and it wasn't until I read this, #11 in the series, that I encountered them or their team in Val McDermid's printed work. I have read others of her series, but this is my first Hill/Jordan. Val McDermid is one of those rarities -- a writer of thrillers who looks beyond the more sensational aspects of her characters' actions and/or motivations and delves deep. She al
...more

While I am very familiar with Val McDermid’s Carol Jordan & Tony Hill series from having watched the Wire in the Blood show some years ago, How the Dead Speak is the first book of the series I’ve actually read. And it was well worth the reading. There have been many changes in the formerly close ReMIT police team that Carol led in the past, the group that Tony Hill consulted to before the horrible end to the last case. Now Carol and Tony have gone on their own separate paths and the ReMIT group
...more

Even bad men can sometimes do good things

McDermid is not called the Queen of Crime for nothing.
At the end of Insidious Intent I could not see a way forward for this series. Not in the original sense of how it use to be. Tony and Carol at the end of everything they worked so hard to be. But I had great faith in Val after that last sentence. I saw that she had a plan, or at least I told myself she must have a plan. Okay, I was hoping and wishing and could not deal with the fact that all of it cou ...more

McDermid is not called the Queen of Crime for nothing.
At the end of Insidious Intent I could not see a way forward for this series. Not in the original sense of how it use to be. Tony and Carol at the end of everything they worked so hard to be. But I had great faith in Val after that last sentence. I saw that she had a plan, or at least I told myself she must have a plan. Okay, I was hoping and wishing and could not deal with the fact that all of it cou ...more

Oh,the joy and expectation one experiences when revisiting old,but not forgotten,friends!
Yes,they are now in a much different situation, deciding how to play the cards life has dealt them,one grappling with PTSD and the potential to do what she does best,but for different reasons,
the other,fudging a life behind bars,finding an inner strength to mirror the myriad changes that have befallen him.
Both undergoing a metamorphosis of a kind,they will emerge stronger,still hesitant,but willing to forge ...more
Yes,they are now in a much different situation, deciding how to play the cards life has dealt them,one grappling with PTSD and the potential to do what she does best,but for different reasons,
the other,fudging a life behind bars,finding an inner strength to mirror the myriad changes that have befallen him.
Both undergoing a metamorphosis of a kind,they will emerge stronger,still hesitant,but willing to forge ...more

Owing to disastrous events at the end of the previous novel Insidious Intent, Tony Hill is currently serving a 4-year prison term for manslaughter and Carol Jordan has been forced to resign from the police. The Regional Major Incident Team is currently headed by a preening incompetent called Ian Rutherford, although it is Paula McIntyre who is doing all the hard work to compensate for Carol’s absence.
For both their sakes, Tony is currently incommunicado with Carol, although events transpire to b ...more
For both their sakes, Tony is currently incommunicado with Carol, although events transpire to b ...more

Oct 05, 2019
Maranda
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2019-netgalley,
netgalley
Felt there was just too much going on and the fact that Tony and Carol did not interact was terrible.
Disappointed in this one that took me way too long to get though. "A copy of this book was provided by Grove Atlantic Atlantic Monthly Press via NetGalley. Comments here are my honest opinion." ...more
Disappointed in this one that took me way too long to get though. "A copy of this book was provided by Grove Atlantic Atlantic Monthly Press via NetGalley. Comments here are my honest opinion." ...more

Although this can be read as a stand alone as I did, I really wish I had read the previous one. I have no idea how Tony ended up in prison and Carol was fired but this is the situation when this books opens. They are both trying to adjust to their new lives and having a painful time of it. It is inspiring to read how Tony tries to carve out a new existence full of purpose.
The story concerns a discovery of a multitude of dead bodies found in a closed church school. Did the nuns kill a bunch of ...more
The story concerns a discovery of a multitude of dead bodies found in a closed church school. Did the nuns kill a bunch of ...more

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

Boring. Disappointing. Never thought I'd write those words for a Val McDermid book but...absolutely no tension..Tony and Carol not even working together..weak silly ending.
...more

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
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

At the end of the previous book in this long-running series, Insidious Intent - which I only finished two days ago - the author makes an impassioned plea to the reader not to spoil it for other fans by revealing the shocking twist. That was two years ago, but there will still be plenty of people who haven’t read it yet, so I’m going to keep this review as spoiler-free as I can. I strongly recommend that you don’t read this first if you are new to the series: you don’t necessarily need to go all
...more

I try hard not to write reviews with spoilers. Or ones that give away too much of the plot. Of course it also means I sometimes re-read a review of a book before starting the next book of the series and - unless it's ingrained into my mind for some reason - I rarely remember the detail.
So, given two years has passed since Val McDermid's last Tony Hill / Carol Jordan novel Insidious Intent was published (and I can't believe it's that long!), I'd completely forgotten Tony had gone to jail. I can't ...more
So, given two years has passed since Val McDermid's last Tony Hill / Carol Jordan novel Insidious Intent was published (and I can't believe it's that long!), I'd completely forgotten Tony had gone to jail. I can't ...more

3.5 stars
The eleventh book to feature former DCI Carol Jordan and clinical psychologist Tony Hill and the thirty-third novel by author Val McDermid and after the car crash that was Insidious Intent and separated the duo, How The Dead Speaks catches up with the old team, albeit on their separate journeys. Like Insidious Intent this novel isn’t a fantastic police procedural at all but it is a decent enough read with four disparate strands eventually merging into a coherent entity and some positive ...more
The eleventh book to feature former DCI Carol Jordan and clinical psychologist Tony Hill and the thirty-third novel by author Val McDermid and after the car crash that was Insidious Intent and separated the duo, How The Dead Speaks catches up with the old team, albeit on their separate journeys. Like Insidious Intent this novel isn’t a fantastic police procedural at all but it is a decent enough read with four disparate strands eventually merging into a coherent entity and some positive ...more

After the explosive ending of the 10th Tony Hill and Carol Jordan novel, Insidious Intent, I could not wait for this book. I adore this series and all of these characters. I feel personally invested in them and need them to succeed.
So for me, finding that at the start of the book, Tony is in prison serving a four year jail sentence and Carol is no longer a cop, is a real shake up to the series.
For not only is Carol no longer a cop, the Major Incident Team she headed has been revamped under the a ...more
So for me, finding that at the start of the book, Tony is in prison serving a four year jail sentence and Carol is no longer a cop, is a real shake up to the series.
For not only is Carol no longer a cop, the Major Incident Team she headed has been revamped under the a ...more
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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
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
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“How did these nuns end up with such grand accommodation? Last he’d heard, they were supposed to be all about poverty, chastity and obedience. Still, as Meatloaf pointed out, two out of three ain’t bad.”
—
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“One of the hardest things we have to do is learn to take responsibility for our own actions. Trying to sidestep actions that deep down we know are shameful is a powerful instinct. From Reading Crimes by DR TONY HILL”
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