Splinter the Silence

“Former detective Carol Jordan and profiler Tony Hill make a welcome return in this whiz-bang brain twister of an investigation into the suspicious deaths of several women that encompasses the ugly side of Internet trolls.”—Boston Globe

Psychologist Tony Hill and former police detective Carol Jordan are back in Splinter the Silence—a masterful, compulsive read centered on the mysterious deaths of several women who were the victims of vicious cyberbullying. Is it violence if it’s virtual? The outspoken women targeted by the increasingly cruel Internet trolls and bullies would say so. For some of them, the torrents of bile and vicious threats prove too much. They begin to silence themselves in a series of high-profile suicides. Or do they? Tony Hill isn’t convinced. But he’s the only one. After departing the force in a storm of grief, Carol Jordan is too busy messing up her life to care. Until she gets an unexpected second chance. Now it’s game on, and the stakes have never been higher. Unpredictable and unputdownable, Splinter the Silence is a timely and disturbing look at the way the anonymity of the internet enables abuse—and a story of two of crime’s most formidable enemies, confronting not just a killer but demons of their own.

“Dynamic . . . Check out this tartan noir treat.”—People

“The novel is as rich in character development as it is in plot . . . We hold our breath as [the killer] plots his next murder and the team scrambles to find out who he is and what he plans to do. McDermid has delivered another stylishly written, complex thriller.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Powerful . . . McDermid’s prose is pure pleasure to read . . . The plot is tight, the story is thrilling, the ending is as satisfying as they come . . . To read Splinter the Silence is to experience a master operating at the height of her considerable powers. Prepare to be swept away.”—Mystery Scene