Book review: The Vanishing Point by Val McDermid
The Vanishing Point by Val McDermid is described as her “most accomplished standalone novel to date” and for me it is the first McDermid novel I’ve reviewed. There are some fine moments in this suspense novel and it is original in its array of well-developed characters which include a reality television star, ghost writer, FBI agent, Scotland Yard officer and Romanian nanny, to name a few. And it only took a few pages in the first chapter for the action and suspense to begin. Stephanie is asked to go to a special area of airport security because the metal rods and bolts in her leg have set off the metal detector. Jimmy, who Stephanie is travelling with, presumably her son, waits nearby while she goes through the additional clearance process. While she watches, a man comes alongside the boy, speaks to him and they walk away together. She screams and attempts to chase them but the overzealous airport security officers think she’s a terrorist and eventually taser her while the...