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The Torment of Others by Val McDermid
Apr. 14th, 2007 01:48 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
A dead girl lies on a blood-soaked mattress, her limbs spread in a parody of ecstasy. The scene matches a series of murders which ended when irrefutable forensic evidence secured the conviction of one Derek Tyler. But Tyler's been locked up in a mental institution for two years, barely speaking a word - except to say that 'the Voice' told him to do it.
Top criminal psychologist Dr Tony Hill is prepared to think the unthinkable - this is not a copycat murder but something much stranger. While DCI Carol Jordan and her team mount a desperate and dangerous undercover police operation to trap the murderer, Hill heads towards a terrifying face-off with one of the most perverse killers he has ever encountered ...
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Whilst I still have a lot of respect for McDermid's ability to pace a novel and write tension, I thought that the plotting of this left a great deal to be desired and can't help but feel that the Jordan/Hill dynamic has reached the end of its course. In fact, given that there has been no further book in this series since this was published in 2004, I'm hoping that McDermid will only need one to wrap it up completely.
A dead girl lies on a blood-soaked mattress, her limbs spread in a parody of ecstasy. The scene matches a series of murders which ended when irrefutable forensic evidence secured the conviction of one Derek Tyler. But Tyler's been locked up in a mental institution for two years, barely speaking a word - except to say that 'the Voice' told him to do it.
Top criminal psychologist Dr Tony Hill is prepared to think the unthinkable - this is not a copycat murder but something much stranger. While DCI Carol Jordan and her team mount a desperate and dangerous undercover police operation to trap the murderer, Hill heads towards a terrifying face-off with one of the most perverse killers he has ever encountered ...
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): ) The Verdict:
Whilst I still have a lot of respect for McDermid's ability to pace a novel and write tension, I thought that the plotting of this left a great deal to be desired and can't help but feel that the Jordan/Hill dynamic has reached the end of its course. In fact, given that there has been no further book in this series since this was published in 2004, I'm hoping that McDermid will only need one to wrap it up completely.
