Cross and Burn by Val McDermid

Cross and Burn is the eighth Tony Hill and Carol Jordan novel by Val McDermid. Published in 2013, it is the sequel to The Retribution and the action takes place just a few months after the events of that book.

Since Jacko Vance went on his killing spree in The Retribution, everything has changed for Dr Tony Hill, DCI Carol Jordan and the team. The Major Incident Team (MIT) has been disbanded and Tony and Carol have gone their separate ways. The events of the last novel mean that Carol is no longer speaking to Tony and has gone completely to ground. None of her former colleagues even know where she is.

Cross and Burn is as much DS Paula McIntyre’s story as it is Tony and Carol’s. She has always been a major character in the series, but she steps up to a leading role in Cross and Burn. Someone is killing women who bear a resemblance to Carol Jordan. As part of her new job, Paula is on the team investigating the disappearances and also has a personal involvement with one of the cases.

Then Tony finds himself with a dangerous link to the investigation. Is it time to track Carol down and get her help? How will she respond after cutting all her ties with Tony?

Cross and Burn is another gory, but brilliant, page turner from Val McDermid. It is interesting to read how all the characters cope away from the relative safety of the MIT and how Carol gets through yet another life changing trauma. I love this series and will be sad to get to the end of it.

Can you read Cross and Burn as a standalone novel? Personally, I don’t think so. There is no need to go right back to the start of the series, but this works best if it is read as part of a trilogy starting with Fever of the Bone and followed by The Retribution.