How the Dead Speak
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4.1 • 79 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Unmarked graves are found on the grounds of an old orphanage in this "riveting" British crime thriller by an Edgar Award finalist (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
With profiler Tony Hill behind bars and Carol Jordan no longer with the police, he's finding unexpected outlets for his talents in jail and she's joined forces with a group of lawyers and forensics experts looking into suspected miscarriages of justice. But they're doing it without each other; being in the same room at visiting hour is too painful to contemplate.
Meanwhile, construction is suddenly halted on the redevelopment of an orphanage after dozens of skeletons are found buried at the site. Forensic examination reveals they date from between twenty and forty years ago, when the nuns were running their repressive regime. But then a different set of skeletons is discovered in a far corner—young men from as recent as ten years ago.
When newly promoted DI Paula McIntyre discovers that one of the male skeletons is that of a killer who is supposedly alive and behind bars—and the subject of one of Carol's miscarriage investigations—it brings Tony and Carol irresistibly into each other's orbit once again in this masterfully plotted novel by "the queen of psychological thrillers" (Irish Independent).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Edgar-finalist McDermid's riveting 11th Tony Hill and Carol Jordan novel (after 2017's Insidious Intent), developers digging on the grounds of the shuttered Order of the Blessed Pearl convent, near Bradfield, England, uncover more than 30 children's skeletons, triggering an investigation by the regional major incident team. With Carol off the force and afflicted with PTSD, and Tony in prison for manslaughter, the team members suffer under the new leadership of Detective Chief Inspector Rutherford, who's hostile toward them. The stakes rise after the discovery of the murdered bodies of young men in a different area of the convent grounds. Interviews with an elderly retired priest, Fr. Michael Keenan, and Mother Benedict, who ran the convent, reveal a disturbing pattern of abuse at the hands of the nuns. Carol is lured out of isolation by a defense attorney, who persuades her to sign on to a new organization that helps wrongly convicted felons find justice. Series fans will be pleased to see Tony and Carol reunite after a long separation, despite the uncertainty of their complicated relationship's future. McDermid is writing at the top of her game.
