Lurrrrrve was always. ( )

This appears to be the final volume of the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series and although I haven't been able to read them all, it was a fitting conclusion. As usual, McDermid's characters are terrific. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find the last episode in the library system and have no idea how the circumstances of this one came about. It wasn't a problem because the investigation was enough of a draw that I missed nothing. I really hope the break in the series is temporary and there are more Hill and Jordan to come. ( )

When it's a Tony Hill story you know it will be interesting, entertaining and a top-notch well written mystery. As usual this was great. So why didn't it get another star? Well Tony is in prison. That just didn't seem right to me. I know Val McDermid has it all worked out, but I want Tony and Carol to be working together. Carol is dealing with her drinking and PTSD, so hopefully things will soon be back to normal. I have followed Tony Hill and Carol Jordan from the start and loved every moment in their company. The book, although very readable, just didn't deliver the same impact as the others. The usual characters drift in and out of the story line, but the "must find out what happens next" feeling just didn't happen and the resolution of the main crime seemed weak. As for Carol and Tony...we get a very tiny glimmer of hope for their relationship. I do hope that Ms. McDermid will take the next Hill/Jordan book back to its exciting place that it was headed and give us some resolution on the tentative relationship between these two well-loved characters. It's not the same without them doing what they do best. ( )

Oh, very nice. Very, very nice developments in the continuing Hill & Jordan story. Loving the old faces and enjoying the new. The crimes are appalling, and full of sad commentary on the world, but at least there's light at the end of the tunnel for our friends. ( )

How the Dead Speak. Val McDermind. 2019. Tony Hill and Carol Jordan Mysteries Book 11. Hill is a criminal profiler and Jordan is a police inspector in charge of a special group that works on serial murders. I don’t know how many of these books I have read, but I have enjoyed the ones I have read. As I read this one, I wished I’d read them in order. We find out immediately that Hill is in prison for murder and he is refusing to see Carol until she gets treated for PTS syndrome. At the same time the bodies of 40 girls are discovered buried in front of a now closed convent, and if that were not enough. the bodies of several young men are discovered behind the convent in a vegetable garden. Carol’s old group is charged with determining what happened. Several loose ends are left. I assume for the sequel. I really enjoyed this, but think who haven’t read other titles in the series wouldn’t like it as much. Read them in order! ( )