About
How the Dead Speak Synopsis
The eleventh book in the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series, from No. 1 bestselling author Val McDermid.
'We are all creatures of habit. Even murderers...'
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 bodies dating back many years, could this be the work of more than one obsessive killer?
The investigation throws up more questions as the evidence mounts but, after their last disastrous case, Tony Hill and Carol Jordan can only watch from afar. As they deal with the consequences, someone with a terrifying routine is biding their time - and both Tony and Carol find themselves closer to the edge than they have ever been before . . .
Masterful and filled with suspense, this is the most electrifying, heart-racing thriller yet from number one bestseller and queen of crime Val McDermid.
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Press Reviews
Val McDermid Press Reviews
Elegantly choreographed . . . McDermid fashions a finale which tees up the next thriller in this sequence admirably - The Scotsman
'The queen of crime is still at the top of her game' - Independent
This is McDermid on exemplary form, generating the requisite suspense but never forgetting that the characterisation of Hill and Jordan is a key ingredient - Financial Times
McDermid's storytelling is as classy and compelling as ever - Observer
The ingenuity with which Val McDermid keeps her crime-fighting duo fresh is as captivating as her deftly plotted denouement - Scotland on Sunday
Author
About Val McDermid
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 aw ards 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 w as the recipient of the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for 2010. In 2011 she received the Lambda Literary Foundation Pioneer Award. She writes full time and divides her time between Cheshire and Edinburgh.
In 2016 Val was awarded the Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award. McDermid said: “It's an honour and a thrill to receive this award. The community of writers and readers at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is unlike any other in its warmth and generosity and so this means a huge amount to me. This year sees the publication of my 30th novel and I can't think of a better way to celebrate that.”
In 2010 she received the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, which honours outstanding achievement in the field of crime writing. Margaret Murphy, then chair of the CWA, said: "The CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger award acknowledges the work of an author who has made an outstanding contribution to the genre. Val McDermid is a worthy winner whose work has entertained and thrilled millions of readers as well as many more who have enjoyed the TV adaptations her books have inspired."
Author photo © Charlie Hopkinson
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