Press Release for Val McDermid's new Carol Jordan/ Tony Hill novel

Val McDermid

Splinter the Silence

Published by Little, Brown; Thursday 27 August 2015

£18.99, Hardback and eBook

‘That day, waiting had been almost unbearable. He wanted something more spectacular, something that couldn’t be ignored. These deaths needed to make a mark . . .’

Number one bestselling author Val McDermid is back with her most gripping, chilling, suspenseful novel yet, featuring two of the most distinctive and unforgettable characters in crime fiction: Tony Hill and Carol Jordan. Published on 27 August 2015 by Little, Brown, this will be the chart-topping crime writer’s 29^th book.

Psychological profiler Tony Hill is trained to see patterns, to decode the mysteries of human behaviour, and when he comes across a series of suicides among women targeted by vicious online bullies, he begins to wonder if there is more to these tragedies than meets the eye.  Similar circumstances, different deaths.  Could it be murder? But what kind of serial killer wants his crimes to stay hidden?

Former DCI Carol Jordan has her own demons to confront, but with lives at stake, Carol and Tony begin the hunt for the most dangerous kind of killer – someone who has nothing to fear, and nothing to lose . . .

Dubbed the Queen of psychological thrillers, Val McDermid has sold over 11 million books to date and is translated into 30 languages.   She is perhaps best-known for her Wire in the Blood series, featuring clinical psychologist Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan, which was adapted for television starring Robson Green. She has also written two series around private detective Kate Brannigan and journalist Lindsay Gordon, in addition to several award-winning standalone novels and a children’s picture book, My Granny is a Pirate.

McDermid continues to be a hugely versatile writer with her novels selling across the globe.  At the same time, she has a burgeoning broadcasting career with regular and hugely popular appearances on TV and radio, not to mention providing enormously entertaining talks at events across the country and indeed world.

Author information

Award-winning crime writer Val McDermid is a Number One bestseller, translated into more than 30 languages, with over two million copies sold in the UK and over 10 million

worldwide. She has written 28 bestselling novels to date; Splinter the Silence will be her 29th. In 2014, Val not only published The Skeleton Road, but also her critically-acclaimed reimagining of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and her exploration of forensic science, Forensics: An Anatomy of Crime in October

A regular broadcaster with BBC Radio, Val’s five-part Woman's Hour drama Village SOS was broadcast on BBC Radio 4, and in 2011 Val also presented BBC Radio 4 serial The Chalet School, in which she talked about how the series of books inspired her education and career.  Val was also a huge success on the infamous Desert Island Discs.  Val has fronted several features for BBC Two’s The Culture Show and is also a supporter of the Million for a Morgue campaign, which aims to build a world class morgue that will be named after one of the crime writers involved. 

In 2011, Val was the recipient of the Pioneer Award at the 23^rd Annual Lambda Literary Awards. In 2010, she was awarded the prestigious CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger.  This followed her induction into the Hall of Fame at the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards in 2009, the same year in which she was elected to an Honorary Fellowship at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She has won many awards internationally, including the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year and the LA Times Book of the Year Award. In 2007, she won The Stonewall Writer of the Year Award. In December 2012, Val became a Celebrity Mastermind champion, with her winnings donated to women’s charity, Eaves.

The popular ITV series Wire in the Blood, based on McDermid’s books and starring Robson Green as Tony Hill, ran for an impressive six series.  A 3-part ITV drama of Val’s A Place of Execution was broadcast in the autumn of 2007 to great critical acclaim and won the 2010 Edgar Award for Best Screenplay.

In 2012, Val publisher her first book for children, My Granny is a Pirate!  Hugely successful festival appearances followed creating a new, and somewhat younger, following.

Val was born in Kirkcaldy, a small town in the heart of the Scottish mining community. She graduated in English at St Hilda’s College, Oxford – the first from a Scottish state school to do so - before going on to be an award winning journalist for sixteen years. Her first novel was published in 1987.  She is a lifelong Raith Rovers Football Club supporter and at the start of June 2011 was appointed as a Director on the board. Val’s other loves in life include walking on the beach, cars and music. She writes full time and divides her time between Cheshire and Edinburgh. 

Watch out for The Crime warp's review of Splinter The Silence - coming soon!