See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

38 used & new from £0.01
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Beneath the Bleeding
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Beneath the Bleeding (Hardcover)

by Val McDermid (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


9 new from £3.14 26 used from £0.01 3 collectible from £9.95
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback £6.99 £3.99 112 used & new from £0.01

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

A Darker Domain

A Darker Domain

by Val McDermid
3.8 out of 5 stars (26)  £3.77
The Torment of Others

The Torment of Others

by Val McDermid
4.4 out of 5 stars (20)  £4.99
The Mermaids Singing

The Mermaids Singing

by Val McDermid
4.1 out of 5 stars (35)  £4.99
The Last Temptation

The Last Temptation

by Val McDermid
3.6 out of 5 stars (19)  £3.99
The Wire in the Blood

The Wire in the Blood

by Val McDermid
4.3 out of 5 stars (26)  £4.99
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 416 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; Second Edition edition (1 Aug 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 000724326X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007243266
  • Product Dimensions: 24.6 x 15.8 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 126,774 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #27 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Authors, A-Z > M > McDermid, Val

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk
It seems hard to believe now, but there was a day when Val McDermid was just another crime writer. True, her Kate Brannigan novels were highly accomplished and well-honed pieces of work, and if McDermid had written nothing else, they would have assured her a solid place in the history of the genre. But Beneath the Bleeding (as with most of the other work the author has done more recently) is a much more ambitious and considerable novel, written on a grander scale, tackling pertinent social issues and (most importantly) developing two highly memorable characters: forensic profiler Tony Hill and his police ally DCI Carol Jordan.

The new book, as disturbing as it is compulsively readable, continues to add new levels to the psychological thriller -- something that McDermid seems able to do in every new book. A star footballer has been murdered in the city of Bradfield. Shortly after, an explosion rocks the town's football stadium, wreaking mass carnage. In the current climate of fear regarding home-grown terrorism, it is inevitable that suspicion falls in this direction – but is money -- or something else -- involved here? Such as a bloody working out of some kind of revenge scenario against the football team? Needless to say, this is quite a different case from those that Tony Hill and Carol Jordan have previously been involved with, and the customary relationship (swinging between confrontation and admiration) is worked out with all the rigour that we expect from McDermid. Of course, this is an author who always has more fish to fry than the simple exigencies of the crime novel, and astringent commentaries on many aspects of British society are provocatively incorporated here (always, though, inter alia -- never at the expense of a forward-moving narrative). If you're a fan of the Wire in the Blood TV series, you should do yourself a favour and investigate the original novels – such as Beneath the Bleeding. They offer a considerably more involving experience. --Barry Forshaw

Review
Praise for the Tony Hill thrillers: 'No one compares to McDermid' Guardian 'One of McDermid's finest, which is saying a lot' The Times 'This is McDermid on top form -- pass the Valium' Daily Mail 'Gripping, intelligent stuff' Mail on Sunday 'Val McDermid is an intelligent, supremely talented novelist and with this latest tale, she is writing at the height of her power. Utterly compelling' Glasgow Herald 'Serial killers, though meat and drink to crime writers, are thankfully rare. It is a tribute to the power of Val McDermid's imagination that she made this one seem so believable' Daily Telegraph 'Complex, combative and nuanced' Express 'Val McDermid, as ever, is adept at engendering irresistible suspense, as the fearsome attractiveness of the ever more benighted and bloody predicament works its effect on readers' Times Literary Supplement 'Stunningly exciting, horrifyingly good' Ruth Rendell 'Compelling and shocking' Minette Walters

See all Product Description

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
women writers
val mcdermid
crime and punishment
british mysteries

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Beneath the Bleeding
60% buy the item featured on this page:
Beneath the Bleeding 3.5 out of 5 stars (24)
A Darker Domain
18% buy
A Darker Domain 3.8 out of 5 stars (26)
£3.77
A Place of Execution
8% buy
A Place of Execution 4.8 out of 5 stars (13)
£4.53
The Wire in the Blood
7% buy
The Wire in the Blood 4.3 out of 5 stars (26)
£4.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

24 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (6)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Above the Average, 12 Aug 2007
By OEJ (England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)      
Val McDermid has written some wonderful crime fiction tales in her time but she is probably best known for the series involving psychological profiler Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan, based in the fictional Yorkshire city of Bradfield. Expectations are bound to be high for this, the fifth in the 'Hill-Jordan' collection of novels so far, following hot on the heels of the fifth in the associated Wire in the Blood TV dramatisations. In effect there are two stories running in parallel with each other, one the hunt for a serial killer and the other the search for a mass murderer, each person displaying very different methods but sharing an obsession for careful planning and forward thinking.

Knowing that the author herself recently went through considerable pain and discomfort as a result of major knee surgery, I cannot help but regard her decision to place Tony Hill in a hospital bed recovering from - guess what - major knee surgery for very nearly the entirety of this story's time span as something of an indulgence on her part, possibly a gesture of thanks to those who treated and cared for her, I don't know, but I got the impression that this strand of the plot was slightly at odds with everything else that was going on. It did however enable the author to introduce Tony Hill's mother in a thread that promised interesting developments but ultimately faded into insignificance. On the other hand it did offer an insight into the complicated personality of Dr Hill, and in that respect the mission was successful. Of course, anyone who has seen the Wire in the Blood series on TV will visualise actor Robson Green as Tony Hill in this book, personally I did not find this a distraction at all as the actor plays the part very convincingly.

The modus operandi of the serial killer is compared to a hypothetical character in an Agatha Christie novel, something of a cop-out in my opinion, so as to confess to such an analogy before the reader can make such an accusation. But the thoughts, emotions and objectives of the bomber are by comparison absolutely contemporary, relevant and described with chilling effect. It is almost uncomfortable to read at times as it feels like a peep into the mind-set of individuals responsible for suicide bombings (successful or otherwise) which is of course very much a happening-right-now issue in the world we live in.

Beneath the Bleeding is described on the back cover as `The new Tony Hill thriller' but I consider that almost unfair, as in this, just as in the previous four in the series, Carol Jordan plays an equally important and leading role. At the end we are hardly any the wiser as to the status of their personal relationship, one which was rather strangely tested to the limit in this latest outing. I felt that Carol's animosity towards Tony for the majority of this story, in response to his efforts to solve the two murder hunts, lacked any real foundation. Carol and her team, despite their best efforts, continually made no progress at all while Tony was putting forward suggestions that Carol should have taken more seriously, based on their long-running professional respect for one another.

Hand on heart this is not quite up to the brilliant standard of THE MERMAIDS SINGING (the first in the Tony - Carol series, published in 1995) but no fan of Val's will be disappointed, she continues to demonstrate a highly professional approach to story-telling and she will surely gain many new admirers for her writing skills, especially in the crucial area of characterisation.
Comment Comments (2) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars newest tony hill book, 30 Jul 2007
The latest book in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan season. Leading on from the Torment of others, Tony and Carol share a house and a complex relationship of co-dependency and intellectual intimacy.
The beginning of the book sees Tony injured by one of the patients in his pyschiatric hospital, and hospitalized for most of the book. This leads to a change in the dynamic of their relationship, with Carol doubting his conclusions due to lack of trust in his ability to reason whilst recuperating. It also leads to Tony utilising Carol's team to assist his lines of enquiry, leading to further antagonism between them.

The new character introduced, Tony's unforgettable mother, Vanessa, tells us more about his troubled background.

The book was excellent with well realised characters and excellent dialogue as Val's readers have come to expect. The hospital storyline did lead to some frustration as much of the flow of the book seemed to be halted by this.

Also, there would be a query over how long such an intimate, but non consumated relationship can remain that way without it escalating into a very difficult position.

It has been left open for the next installment, bring it on, Val!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Good but missing something., 5 Aug 2007
By M. Thornton (Swansea, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I looked forward to reading this book having read all four previous books in the Carol/Tony series. It is an excellent top quality crime thriller yet it somehow felt that it was missing something compared to the previous books.

The story centres around an unexplained murder. Another serious crime takes place midway through the book, however the suspense is somewhat spoiled because the blurb on the cover tells you what this crime is and therefore you know it is going to happen and not be foiled. The story is paced well but is not quite as suspenseful as some of McDermid's previous books, perhaps because it doesn't have quite the same sense of immediate danger that 'The Last Temptation' and 'The Torment Of Others' had.

Throughout most of the book Tony is in hospital following an assualt at work. It was interesting to see how Tony coped with this but I was expecting something more to come out of the events at the very beginning of the book and the storyline featuring Tony's mother. As it stands it felt like the very first part of the book was simply a plot device to get Tony into hospital since there is very little reflection/repercussions from this event.

Carol's team from 'The Torment of Others' are back and it's great to see their characters being developed and the occasional reference to events from previous books. Carol has a slightly worrying habit which I thought would come to be important but again nothing happened about it.

Overall it was a good book with a satisfying ending. With any other author I would have given it five stars, however it's just not quite on a par with McDermid's superb earlier novels.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Insanely good...
Finding a "Wire in the Blood" series book that I hadn't read was a real treat, and this one didn't disappoint, from start to finish it had me gripped. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ms. E. J. White

5.0 out of 5 stars Top Notch Police Procedural
As a fan of Val McDermid, and having read all her books, I can say that this one is one of her best. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Wendy Jones

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing......
Its difficult to put my finger on it but i found this installment of the Tony & Carol saga well off target. Read more
Published 8 months ago by P. F. Yardley

4.0 out of 5 stars Beneath the Bleeding
When one reads a Val McDermid novel, the expectation is that it will involve a serial killer. This book is no exception, although the author intertwines a couple of twists. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Gloria Feit

3.0 out of 5 stars Takes a long time to get going and there isn't enough Tony Hill!
In `Beneath the Bleeding', Val McDermid has returned to the golden age method of murder; poisoning! As the book starts a young footballer is receiving medical attention for a... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Snapdragon

5.0 out of 5 stars Astonishingly good
An unputdownable read....

If all crime writing was this good, I would be incredibly happy. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Opus_Seven

2.0 out of 5 stars Murder by numbers that doesn't add up
Val McDermid is a great writer and has written some astonishingly good books in the past, but this book isn't up to par. Read more
Published 11 months ago by unlikely_heroine

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite A Page Turner
Beneath The Bleeding is the fifth book in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series. In this one, they have to investigate the mysterious death of top Premiership football player, Robbie... Read more
Published 13 months ago by J.Flood

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not the best
This latest installment from Val McDermid was eagerly anticipated. However, I found that unlike all her other books, I didn't race through it as I usually do. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Librarian

4.0 out of 5 stars Good old page-turner
After slamming the last book I read shut in disgust, I picked this next Val McDermid eagerly off the shelf and hurried home. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Boof

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

Let Olay Amaze You

Olay Total Effects Day Moisturiser SPF15 50ml
Amazon.co.uk sells all your favourite ranges from Olay, including Regenerist and Total Effects.

›Discover Olay at Amazon.co.uk

  

A Close Shave

Philips Nivea Coolskin HS8060 Moisturizing Rotary Shaving System
For all types of hair removal, stay smooth with Amazon.co.uk.

›Discover Shaving & Hair Removal

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates