In the second book in the series, The Wire In The Blood, Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, help put away serial killer Jacko Vance. In this book, he has escaped from prison and is hell bent not only on revenge, but on retribution to those who wronged him and took away his freedom. His escape and actions force a wedge into the growing relationship between Tony and Carol and this is left in the air by the end of the book. The hunt for Vance is being lead by the West Mercia police, the same location that Carol is moving to following the closing of her unit in Bradfield. But she gets involved with the hunt and at the request of the Home Office, so is Tony.

At the same time there is a last hooray for the team in Bradfield as they hunt the killer of a sex workers. Tony is also, unofficially, helping with this case.

However, nothing goes right.

An excellent read. Just a word of advise, don't watch the episode of the TV series made of The Wire In The Blood, as the ending of that is so different to the book and is just incompatible with this book.

I've read more of Val McDermids Kate Brannigan series than this series featuring Tony Hill and Carol Jordan but I have also watched a dozen episodes of Wire in The Blood which is based on the pair and it is the book of the same name that first introduces the terrifying killer who is seeking revenge in The Retribution.
Jacko Vance, celebrity and hero was incarcerated for just a single murder of a teenage girl despite the police being convinced he was responsible for at least seventeen, as well as the brutal killing of a colleague who got too close. For the last ten years Jacko has focused his considerable resources of intelligence, patience and money, towards escaping jail and making everyone responsible pay before fleeing the country. His escape leaves clinical psychologist, Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan, who have just managed to find some sort of equilibrium in their difficult lives, reeling, especially when it becomes obvious Vance isn't targeting them directly, but the ones they love.
The Retribution is a gritty crime novel that delves into the darkness of human nature. While the main plot involves the sadistic behaviour of Vance and the desperate desire to recapture him, DCI Jordan's team is also searching for a serial killer murdering young street prostitutes - a last case before the Major Incident Team is disbanded due to budget cuts. McDermid doesn't spare us the details of the depravity committed by these two very different killers but it is the psychological tension that is so engrossing.
The murdered prostitutes are slow to be linked, changes in the method used by the killer confusing the team until the manner of deaths are attributed to a cancelled television show.
Vance is playing a cat and mouse game with Carol, Tony and Vance's ex wife, wounding them in ways certain to inflict psychological suffering. That his brilliant plan is eventually thwarted can be no surprise, but exactly who takes down Vance and how is a twist you won't see coming.
McDermid's protagonists, Hill and Jordan, are almost as tortured and flawed as the criminals they hunt. Their relationship is complicated, both carry unimaginable burdens that they have struggled to share. Vance shatters their fragile connection and for fans of the series this might be a blow.
Though the seventh of the series, The Retribution can be read as a stand alone but readers would benefit from having gotten to know the characters in previous books. The Retribution is a page turning psychological thriller with plenty of twists and turns by Scottish author, Val McDermid.

Val McDermid is the mother of the British serial killer novel. These are not American serial killers with the typical plot, Mr. Big Handsome and Damaged Sherriff/Police Officer driving around in fast cars to save the heroine at the last minute with everyone scarred, but deeper for their experience. Not even close.

Val McDermid can write and has a bountiful imagination. She writes fully fleshed characters, including evildoers who do evil that you wouldn't imagine in your wildest nightmares. Her stand-alones are excellent, as are her series, my favorite of which are the Tony and Carol Jordan books. Beginning with The Mermaids Singing, there are seven in the series. My favorite is The Wire in the Blood (which is also a pretty good British TV series), but they're all excellent.

These books will shock you to your core, will keep you up reading late, and might give you nightmares.

The Retribution is the latest in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series and it is well worth the read. Everything between everyone in the series has gained a deep level of complexity and the return of one of McDermid's scariest villains - Jacko Vance - makes for a whopping good read. If you haven't read the series and you love this kind of fiction, I highly recommend you start at the beginning and work your way through - you won't regret it. If you're already a fan, this one won't disappoint.

As a sidenote for anyone interested in reading LGBT books, Ms. McDermid is an out lesbian and treats things like sexual preference as normal within the working environment. Shocking, no? It just makes me love her more.