Beneath the Bleeding (Tony Hill and Carol Jordan Series #5) »

Scottish crime writer Val McDermid's books have won the Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, have been named New York Times Notable Books, and have been finalists for the Edgar Award. She lives in the north of England.

Published in the U. S. for the first time

The residents of Bradfield are devastated when their star midfielder dies, the victim of a bizarre, seemingly motiveless murder. In a hospital, recovering from injuries, criminal profiler and psychologist Dr. Tony Hill struggles to make sense of the fragments of information he can gather in order to help his ally, Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan, bring a killer to justice. Then an explosion rips through a soccer stadium, leaving dozens dead and many more injured, and Jordan finds herself pushed to the margins of the investigation by the intelligence services. Despite the dark places in their relationship, Tony and Carol remain the best hope for uncovering the truth about an ever-increasing series of unspeakable crimes. Are they terrorist attacks, a personal vendetta . . . or something even more sinister?

Publishers Weekly

McDermid's exhilarating fifth novel to feature Det. Chief Insp. Carol Jordan and Dr. Tony Hill (after The Torment of Others) finds Tony in the hospital after being attacked by an ax-wielding patient. Tony's eager to distract himself with Carol's latest case—the death of popular football star Robbie Bishop from ricin poisoning. Carol and her team frantically sift through Bishop's life, trying to find a link between the sports hero and the obscure poison. When an explosion rocks Bradfield's football stadium, Carol and Tony must consider whether Bishop's murder was an act of terrorism. As Carol butts heads with Britain's anti-terrorism unit, Tony works to unravel the motives behind the attacks, and his conclusions put him at odds with Carol like never before. McDermid nimbly weaves current events—the stadium bombing is eerily similar to the 2005 London tube attacks—with the ever-evolving personal and professional relationship between Tony and Carol. (Sept.)