Beneath the Bleeding

Tony Hill is in a hospital bed, recovering from an attack by a patient who came at him with an axe. He cannot stay out of the investigation that Carol Jordan is running: footballer Robbie Bishop, a popular star, has died of ricin poisoning.

Carol and her team go through Bishop's life looking for any link to such an obscure poison. Then an explosion rips through the football stadium in Bradfield. The detectives have to ask whether the murder and the blast are connected.

That question brings a larger one. They may be hunting a serial killer, a terrorist, or one person who is both. The case carries echoes of real-world terrorism.

Tony and Carol's own bond, personal and professional, takes a harder turn here. Their instincts about the case pull them apart, and both end up in conflict with Britain's anti-terrorism unit. Val McDermid's book sits fifth in the series pairing Tony Hill with Carol Jordan.