"Val McDermid is a world-class crime writer whose books have sold millions worldwide. Now joining the Atlantic Monthly Press list for the first time, she is back with a chilling, high-velocity thriller featuring her immensely popular creations, clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill and detective Carol Jordan.

Tony Hill has had a good run. He and detective Carol Jordan have put away scores of dangerous criminals at a rate that colleagues envy. But there is one serial killer who has shaped and defined their careers, and whose evil surpasses all others: Jacko Vance, ex-celebrity and sociopath whose brilliance and utter lack of remorse have never left Tony’s mind in the ten years since his imprisonment. Now Jacko has escaped from prison—even more twisted and cunning than before, he is focused on wreaking revenge on Tony and Carol for his years spent in prison.

Tony and Carol don’t know when Jacko will strike, or where. All they know is that Jacko will cause them to feel fear like they’ve never known. A chilling, utterly gripping tour de force, The Retribution is the ideal introduction or re-introduction to the world of Tony Hill and Carol Jordan. It is an unforgettable read."

How I've been missing Tony Hill! Not having Wire in the Blood anymore is painful, like the torture devised by one of Bradfield's sickest. At least I still have the books even if I don't have Robson Green...

Dr. Tony Hill's life has hit a new level of contentment. During his hospital stay for a damaged knee, he found out one of the secrets of his life; who his father was. More than that, he discovered that far from despising him as his mother had always said, he had left Tony his expensive house. For the first time, Tony has a place that makes him feel safe and even loved. More significantly, he is about to give up his job working with damaged individuals in a psychiatric hospital and move to live there. The most important person in his life, DCI Carol Jordan, has agreed to live in the house with him as she takes up a new job there.

But plans often go awry. Carol is faced with a new serial killer in her last days at her old job. Street prostitutes are showing up dead and it is clear their murders are the act of the same person. As she works the case with her team, something even worse happens.

Jacko Vance was imprisoned over a decade ago for his crimes. He had kidnapped, tortured and killed seventeen teenage girls although the case against him for those crimes was thrown out. He had been given a life sentence for killing a police officer, a new forensic profiler working under Tony Hill who was the first to see Vance for what he was. The world saw him as a hugely successful TV presenter who had been on his way to winning an Olympic gold medal before the accident that ruined his chances. Once that dream was over he felt free to indulge the desires he had always harbored.

Now Vance has managed to escape custody and it is clear that the main thing on his mind is retribution against the people he holds responsible for his incarceration. That list includes his ex-wife but also Carol Jordan and Tony Hill along with other police officers from the original case. Can the pair find and imprison him again before he can carry out his plans?

The Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series is one of the strongest in the mystery genre. Val McDermid has created two private individuals, both scarred by events in their background, who have found each other and are making the best of the lives they've been given. The tension is always high and the reader must find out what happens next. This book is recommended for mystery readers.