For Val McDermid rather average

No, The Vanishing Point is one, unfortunately - not to Val McDermids strongest novels. These meandering story about the kidnapping of the son of a Trash TV star and their ghostwriter too much in order to keep really caught the reader.

Although the novel begins with the bang of the kidnapping of Jimmy, the son, while adopted son, but this kidnapping is only superficially the theme of the novel, which actually revolves around betrayal and a refined scale fraud.

The focus of Paul himself to changing from Saul Trash TV star Scarlett The Harlot Higgins and professional ghostwriter Stephanie Harker and their friendly relationship to each other. Harker told - embedded in the framework of Jimmy's kidnapping - in my opinion a little too exhaustive flashbacks developing an almost too beautiful friendship between two very different women.

Higgins being the more interesting figure than the a little too one-dimensional guessed Harker. When designing Scarlett Higgins to Val McDermid has had obviously inspired by different figures from the Big Brother television milieu. Genuines precariat, yet very shrewd and therefore the middle-class daughter Harker far superior.

That Higgins Harker exploited for their purposes, above all, though lurking somewhere in the context, however, remains long hidden just on this client for Harker under the layer of their own rather naive approach.

As in almost all Val McDermid novels there are also here a Sidekick action - Stephanie Harker's ex-partner Pete Matthews turns out to be sociopathic stalker - but then the oddly abrupt end in emptiness. Here would be more then charged to the Higgins / Harker story been -herauszuholen.

At the end after the reader has already taken almost the halo of Higgins creates Val McDermid its act together a bit, all the way out without flying. Admittedly Somehow all this comes a little too deliberately, therefore, as if Val McDermid suddenly remembered that is still pending a final, but still.

A nice idea is the reference to Trick of the Dark ("All vengeance wants eternity") All vengeance wants eternity: detective story by introducing the nice cop Nick Nicolaidis as other actors and even Dr. Charlie Flint of which we must read more want a cameo procured.

And if we are now also lagged a little disappointed, but we are looking forward immensely to the German publication of Retribution (Retribution) Retaliation: A new case for Carol Jordan and Tony Hill (Knaur TB) in December. A Tony Hill / Carol Jordan-Roman and Val McDermid at best her. Promised!