Product Description

Stunning psychological thriller featuring Tony Hill, hero of The Wire in the Blood, from one of Britain's bestselling novelists For some, there is nothing so sweet, so thrilling, as the torment of others! 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...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7598 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Torment of Others is a salutary reminder what an asset to British crime fiction Val McDermid is. Her first books with journalist Lindsay Gordon as heroine gave hints of the talent that was to mature so impressively--and the subsequent series with the resourceful private eye Kate Brannigan demonstrated a sharper eye for the harder edges of society. But the best was just around the corner. McDermid's third sequence with clinical psychologist profiler Tony Hill was something of a quantum leap: as well as forging one of the most memorable figures in contemporary crime fiction with mildly eccentric Hill, McDermid added a degree of psychological acuity that made the earlier books seem like warm-ups for the main event.

The latest outing for Hill, The Torment of Others, also features McDermid's other richly realised creation, DCI Carol Jordan, and the author carries her familiar protagonists into truly unsettling new areas. This time, Hill is coping with a return to practical clinical profiling after a frustrating spell as an academic. And there's another major complication for him: his ex-partner Carol Jordan is no longer sure she wishes to be in charge of a team after the brutal sexual assault she suffered during undercover work. But she is persuaded to do so--and realises that one of her main tasks will be to create a cohesive unit.

A dead woman discovered in a sexual position on a bloody mattress, appears to be the victim of a killer the team knows all about: the monstrous Derek Tyler, who had carried out similarly bloody work two years before. However, forensics have landed Tyler in a mental institution--does this mean that Hill and Jordan are searching for a murderer who is copying the techniques of the psychotic Tyler?

While this may not be the best starting point for those new to McDermid, enthusiasts will find all the key elements are firmly and satisfyingly in place. --Barry Forshaw

Review
Praise for The Torment of Others 'One of McDermid's finest, which is saying a lot' Marcel Berlins, The Times 'Val McDermid is an intelligent, supremely talented novelist and with this latest tale, she is writing at the height of her power' Allan Laing, Glasgow Herald 'Complex, combative and nuanced' Barry Forshaw, Express 'Val McDermid, as ever, is adept at engendering irresistible suspense' Patricia Craig, Times Literary Supplement 'There are some terrific twists: just as the reader feels something has been securely settled, that we can identify a perpetrator to our satisfaction, McDermid gives a new jerk to the storyline and the chase is on again' Jane Jakeman, Scotland on Sunday 'No one compares to McDermid when it comes to the deviant side of human nature' Maxim Jakubowski, Guardian 'This is McDermid on top form - pass the valium' Daily Mail Praise for The Torment of Others 'One of McDermid's finest, which is saying a lot' Marcel Berlins, The Times 'Val McDermid is an intelligent, supremely talented novelist and with this latest tale, she is writing at the height of her power. It may not be comfortable, it may be neither pretty nor pleasant, but it is utterly compelling' Allan Laing, Glasgow Herald 'Serial killers, though meat and drink, to crime writers, are thankfully rare. It is a tribute to the power of Val McDermid's imagination that she made this one seem so believable' Daily Telegraph 'Complex, combative and nuanced' Barry Forshaw, Express 'Val McDermid, as ever, is adept at engendering irresistible suspense, as the fearsome attractiveness of the ever more benighted and bloody predicament works its effect on readers' Patricia Craig, Times Literary Supplement 'There are some terrific twists: just as the reader feels something has been securely settled, that we can identify a perpetrator to our satisfaction, McDermid gives a new jerk to the storyline and the chase is on again' Jane Jakeman, Scotland on Sunday

The Times
'A disturbing, high-tension book, unstinting in its portrayals of psychological distress. One of McDermid's best, which is saying a lot'

Customer Reviews

Worth reading even if you've seen the TV series
Whilst Carol Jordan is still trying to recover from her experiences when an undercover operation went badly wrong for her, a young woman is found murdered.
The killing is almost identical in MO to those committed by Derek Tyler, who is incarcerated in a mental institution and has become an elective mute. The discovery of this body and then a further victim appears to cast doubt over Tyler's conviction and the original enquiry and profiler Tony Hill is asked to consult on the case.
The new investigation leads the team to take the risky decision of setting up another undercover operation, but there are doubts that Carol will be able to cope after her recent traumatic experience.

This novel really shows Val McDermid at her finest. I was very disappointed with `Beneath the Bleeding' (the most recent novel) but this has really reminded me why she is held in such high regard. I have always watched the TV series `Wire In The Blood', but even so I would recommend that you read the novels: the subtleties of the relationship between Carol and Tony are far better read than watched. This book really was fantastically well written and very fast paced. Recommended.

Good but let down on a couple of points
It was a really good read and kept me interested but you felt the ending was too quickly wrapped up. The serial killer who thought of everything didn't have a paasword on the home computer that contained incriminating evidence.
Also the fact that the hookers seem to know who the creeper was but wouldn't say anything. That part of the story didn't ring through very well. Other than that it was well worth a read and I will track down her other novels.

Different type of crime thriller
Her characters are very harsh but you know that underneath their brave fronts they are usually vulnerable and that seems to draw them more sympathy from the reader.
What makes the Tony Hill books different from other crime thrillers is that having a psychologist involved in the story but not working directly as a cop gives the author the freedom to theorise about the murders, so providing a good contrast between this and the usual police procedural progress.
I was a bit disapppointed that there were two cases which were given prominence but turned out not to be linked and I felt that the child killer case was given a fairly swift windup at the end of the book.
Other than that a very good book. I've read several Val McDermid books and will read more.