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Tony Hill & Carol Jordan #1
The Mermaids Singing
1
414 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,653 reviews
January 4, 2018
4.5 stars
This book, unbelievably, had been on my to-be-read shelf for almost 4 years. I’ve decided I’m going to be reading mostly books off my personal list this year, and this was a very easy first pick.
Holy cow, this novel is intense! If you do not like dark and twisted, stay away from this one. The story features a serial killer with very grotesque and sickening methods. DI Carol Jordan is paired with the new guy, forensic psychologist Dr. Tony Hill, as part of the team assigned to track the murderer. Helpful clues are few and far between and the cops are starting to look more to Tony to come up with a break in the case. But Tony has his own idiosyncrasies that he is struggling with; idiosyncrasies that may color his work in this investigation.
This book impressed me for two major reasons. Firstly, Ms. McDermid really shows her chops with her knowledge of forensic psychology. She apparently has no formal training in the field, so her insight reflects some heavy duty research. Secondly, her writing is magnificent. I would actually call this a literary thriller. It seems that every sentence says something significant and in a very interesting way. I have rarely seen writing like this in the popular thrillers of today. I should also mention that despite this novel being published in 1995, other than Carol often needing her DC to find her a phone and the cops not being very computer savvy, the story did not feel like a throwback tale.
Another plus is the excerpts from the killer’s diary, which give us a window to his background and thought processes.
I liked DI Carol Jordan and Dr. Tony Hill. I liked them a lot. Their relationship, I feel, is going to prove to be complex. From the last sentence in the book, I can see there are going to be struggles for Tony in the books ahead. Sorry, Tony, but that makes me happy, and I eagerly look forward to seeing how you deal with your issues, your next assignment, and your relationship with Carol.
I highly recommend The Mermaids Singing to all thriller fans that like their stories dark, dark, dark.
This book, unbelievably, had been on my to-be-read shelf for almost 4 years. I’ve decided I’m going to be reading mostly books off my personal list this year, and this was a very easy first pick.
Holy cow, this novel is intense! If you do not like dark and twisted, stay away from this one. The story features a serial killer with very grotesque and sickening methods. DI Carol Jordan is paired with the new guy, forensic psychologist Dr. Tony Hill, as part of the team assigned to track the murderer. Helpful clues are few and far between and the cops are starting to look more to Tony to come up with a break in the case. But Tony has his own idiosyncrasies that he is struggling with; idiosyncrasies that may color his work in this investigation.
This book impressed me for two major reasons. Firstly, Ms. McDermid really shows her chops with her knowledge of forensic psychology. She apparently has no formal training in the field, so her insight reflects some heavy duty research. Secondly, her writing is magnificent. I would actually call this a literary thriller. It seems that every sentence says something significant and in a very interesting way. I have rarely seen writing like this in the popular thrillers of today. I should also mention that despite this novel being published in 1995, other than Carol often needing her DC to find her a phone and the cops not being very computer savvy, the story did not feel like a throwback tale.
Another plus is the excerpts from the killer’s diary, which give us a window to his background and thought processes.
I liked DI Carol Jordan and Dr. Tony Hill. I liked them a lot. Their relationship, I feel, is going to prove to be complex. From the last sentence in the book, I can see there are going to be struggles for Tony in the books ahead. Sorry, Tony, but that makes me happy, and I eagerly look forward to seeing how you deal with your issues, your next assignment, and your relationship with Carol.
I highly recommend The Mermaids Singing to all thriller fans that like their stories dark, dark, dark.
January 10, 2025
Tony Hill & Carol Jordan #1: Published in 1995 this very good first-in-a-series introduces savvy intelligent serial killer profiler, Tony Hill, who has an impotency problem(!), and battling-the-odds in a male dominated police force Carol Jordan, one of the most innovative- and forward- thinking police on the force. These two people are sort of forced together when it appears there's a vicious serial killer of what are likely in-the-closet men. The case is weakened because the powers that be just didn't seem motivated by a killer of gay men!
A series that got turned into the popular UK TV show 'Wire In The Blood'. A very good read with, dare I say it again, multi-faceted believable far-from-perfect characters. I also like how it did not over focus on general police misogyny or homophobia, but focused more on the stories of the female and gay male characters. The case is a pretty dark and intriguing tale, and I really can't see how anyone would be able to guess the killer before the big reveal. An 8 out of 12, well earned Four Star read.
2025 read
A series that got turned into the popular UK TV show 'Wire In The Blood'. A very good read with, dare I say it again, multi-faceted believable far-from-perfect characters. I also like how it did not over focus on general police misogyny or homophobia, but focused more on the stories of the female and gay male characters. The case is a pretty dark and intriguing tale, and I really can't see how anyone would be able to guess the killer before the big reveal. An 8 out of 12, well earned Four Star read.
2025 read
September 4, 2017
That's how this novel was recommended for me;
This series is perfect for fans of The X-Files and Cormoran Strike.
Like I'm not obsessed enough..
And now I pass the recommendation for every “Criminal Profiling” cases fans..from the early “Jack the Ripper’s Case, Sherlock’s Cases, to Scarlet from 'Silence of the Lambs'.
The art of getting INSIDE the Criminal's Mind..you'll experience it here.. depressingly well.
This is my first read for Val McDermid, and she truly surprised me.
She gives the characters depth, the crimes written interestingly thrilling and mysterious though you read small chapters from the criminal’s POV.
The “Criminal Profiling” that Mr. Tony's doing here is like you're practicing it yourself while reading. which is somehow depressing for me...you can feel the stress and the depression one felt to be in the head of the criminal... the loneliness, the need of a friend.. God it was really depressing... She's really got it so well.
Also since she was a journalist specialized in crimes, - Thanks to Lee Child’s introduction for this 20 years anniversary edition - she made a great work of making me as if I'm inside the police headquarters, some -bad- criminal journalists techniques.
And above all… How the Profiling works, the process.. the HOLMS system that helps investigations.
Did she add too much information and details? Yes. Yet everything has its place in the plot.
-The details in the settings and the atmosphere of the place is what made my huge surprise about the setting.-
But , more in the style, let's see first
A gruesome series of gay related crimes in an English Town. The Hometown Police Force uses a criminal Profiler though their stubborn old guys in the Force feels bad about it.
The Profiler teams up with the detective inspector...both were lone wolves, due to a certain complicated past.
It's the 90s.. there was recent gay crimes in Britain already, so the fear spread. The Police -out of some religious bosses- unmoved by this kind of crimes..
But the thing is, all the murdered weren't open about their homosexuality.
That makes indicating a certain Criminal Profiling for the killer harder for Dr. Tony Hill.
Too much is going on, too much efforts, work, red herrings, pressures..till the very end.
The writing is very detailed, very interesting, gruesome and bald..
I felt at first that it may be a bit slow, with all these details.. you know.. but so was Cormoran Strike and many other psychic crimes novels. It starts with building the place, characters and atmosphere. By half of the novel the pages will turn way faster than the first half.
The slowness at first cause of building two things;
1) The Characters;
-------------
The Profiler
The author captured brilliantly the feeling of A Man who lives in the minds of the criminals.
Doctor Tony Hill, the ‘Profiler’, this profession that were hugely highlighted in the 90s , mostly cause of the huge media interest after the Glamorous Jodie Foster’s performance in The Silence of the Lambs.
Later there was many TV show caring for this ‘new’ deal, though it can be tracked to the nineteenth century with Jack the Ripper’s case , even Sherlock’s adventures.
It seems here in the novel weren't that popular in the Police headquarters.
So Dr. Tony not only his first job there is hard and mysterious but also he must prove himself to the doubtful colleagues.
Also his love ‘more sexual’ life is a wreck, due to his real perfect doing of his work.. living inside the criminal mind.
And there's his ‘partner’
Inspector Carol Jordan
She has a different love issues, she's almost Lone Wolf just as Tony, if not for her cat and younger computer graphic genius.
And as much as I liked her so much, yet I didn't like very few of the ‘almost-insta-love’ between her and Tony. It came fast, or may be I'm used to very slow burning love of Mulder and Scully.
The rest of the characters also were deep enough, some will sure love to meet again in later books, Carol's brother and his computers skills -in the 90s- was a very nostalgic touch.
2)The Setting
------------
With the very detailed describing of the Town that the story takes place, Bradfield, halfway through the novel, I felt I know the Town where the plot takes place by heart. Even its place in north England.
So I decided to Google some real photos of it to see if it matches the one on my mind by all the details I've read. To my surprise There's NO Bradfield at all… it's all imaginative town created by McDermid. Yet I swear I can draw a map of its streets, districts and plazas and its lifestyle.
That was brilliant really.. that's why yhe slowness I talked about is totally forgiven.. she made me live inside her story..truly live there.
her also vivid experience of the gay life in UK, the reaction of the community , some of the officers..etc, was so realistic.
I love the 90s, so it was great to read about how fascinating the Computer programs and graphics leaps… the obsession with the sex phone landline calls.. the HOLMES smart program. Etc.
And as I said, as Mr. Lee Child said also, everything has a place in the big plot here…
The Twist here is that.. I'm in love with this series though I almost felt bored by its first chapter and thought it will be 4 stars max..
It's 4.5 :)
Thank you Lema so much for the recommendation
Mohammed Arabey
From 20 Jan 2017
To 25 Jan 2017
This series is perfect for fans of The X-Files and Cormoran Strike.
Like I'm not obsessed enough..
And now I pass the recommendation for every “Criminal Profiling” cases fans..from the early “Jack the Ripper’s Case, Sherlock’s Cases, to Scarlet from 'Silence of the Lambs'.
The art of getting INSIDE the Criminal's Mind..you'll experience it here.. depressingly well.
This is my first read for Val McDermid, and she truly surprised me.
She gives the characters depth, the crimes written interestingly thrilling and mysterious though you read small chapters from the criminal’s POV.
The “Criminal Profiling” that Mr. Tony's doing here is like you're practicing it yourself while reading. which is somehow depressing for me...you can feel the stress and the depression one felt to be in the head of the criminal... the loneliness, the need of a friend.. God it was really depressing... She's really got it so well.
Also since she was a journalist specialized in crimes, - Thanks to Lee Child’s introduction for this 20 years anniversary edition - she made a great work of making me as if I'm inside the police headquarters, some -bad- criminal journalists techniques.
And above all… How the Profiling works, the process.. the HOLMS system that helps investigations.
Did she add too much information and details? Yes. Yet everything has its place in the plot.
-The details in the settings and the atmosphere of the place is what made my huge surprise about the setting.-
But , more in the style, let's see first
** The Story **
A gruesome series of gay related crimes in an English Town. The Hometown Police Force uses a criminal Profiler though their stubborn old guys in the Force feels bad about it.
The Profiler teams up with the detective inspector...both were lone wolves, due to a certain complicated past.
It's the 90s.. there was recent gay crimes in Britain already, so the fear spread. The Police -out of some religious bosses- unmoved by this kind of crimes..
But the thing is, all the murdered weren't open about their homosexuality.
That makes indicating a certain Criminal Profiling for the killer harder for Dr. Tony Hill.
Too much is going on, too much efforts, work, red herrings, pressures..till the very end.
** The Writing Style **
The writing is very detailed, very interesting, gruesome and bald..
I felt at first that it may be a bit slow, with all these details.. you know.. but so was Cormoran Strike and many other psychic crimes novels. It starts with building the place, characters and atmosphere. By half of the novel the pages will turn way faster than the first half.
The slowness at first cause of building two things;
1) The Characters;
-------------
The Profiler
The author captured brilliantly the feeling of A Man who lives in the minds of the criminals.
Doctor Tony Hill, the ‘Profiler’, this profession that were hugely highlighted in the 90s , mostly cause of the huge media interest after the Glamorous Jodie Foster’s performance in The Silence of the Lambs.
Later there was many TV show caring for this ‘new’ deal, though it can be tracked to the nineteenth century with Jack the Ripper’s case , even Sherlock’s adventures.
It seems here in the novel weren't that popular in the Police headquarters.
So Dr. Tony not only his first job there is hard and mysterious but also he must prove himself to the doubtful colleagues.
Also his love ‘more sexual’ life is a wreck, due to his real perfect doing of his work.. living inside the criminal mind.
And there's his ‘partner’
Inspector Carol Jordan
She has a different love issues, she's almost Lone Wolf just as Tony, if not for her cat and younger computer graphic genius.
And as much as I liked her so much, yet I didn't like very few of the ‘almost-insta-love’ between her and Tony. It came fast, or may be I'm used to very slow burning love of Mulder and Scully.
The rest of the characters also were deep enough, some will sure love to meet again in later books, Carol's brother and his computers skills -in the 90s- was a very nostalgic touch.
2)The Setting
------------
With the very detailed describing of the Town that the story takes place, Bradfield, halfway through the novel, I felt I know the Town where the plot takes place by heart. Even its place in north England.
So I decided to Google some real photos of it to see if it matches the one on my mind by all the details I've read. To my surprise There's NO Bradfield at all… it's all imaginative town created by McDermid. Yet I swear I can draw a map of its streets, districts and plazas and its lifestyle.
That was brilliant really.. that's why yhe slowness I talked about is totally forgiven.. she made me live inside her story..truly live there.
her also vivid experience of the gay life in UK, the reaction of the community , some of the officers..etc, was so realistic.
I love the 90s, so it was great to read about how fascinating the Computer programs and graphics leaps… the obsession with the sex phone landline calls.. the HOLMES smart program. Etc.
And as I said, as Mr. Lee Child said also, everything has a place in the big plot here…
The Twist here is that.. I'm in love with this series though I almost felt bored by its first chapter and thought it will be 4 stars max..
It's 4.5 :)
Thank you Lema so much for the recommendation
Mohammed Arabey
From 20 Jan 2017
To 25 Jan 2017
April 1, 2017
I have been meaning to get around to this one for years. Having been an avid fan of the TV show I am really not sure why it has taken me so long! Anyway at last I picked it up and read it and I am very glad I did.
The TV series was good but the book is better. There is some really brutal stuff in it but I skimmed over the bits that really disturbed me. The killer uses instruments of torture which are really appalling to imagine, but leaving some of the descriptions of them unread did not spoil the book for me.
The character of Tony Hill is a masterpiece, so clever and together in some ways yet so lacking in others. In fact all of the characters are well drawn although just occasionally tending towards stereotypes.
I loved the pacing of the book, the way the killers actions are inserted into the main story and the details of the police work. The book is very dated now and the technology made me smile a few times, but in fact a lack of mobile phones etc. does make for a better story! It all builds logically towards a pretty obvious finale with a totally unforseen twist in the tale.
Excellent value and I will be reading the sequel very soon!
The TV series was good but the book is better. There is some really brutal stuff in it but I skimmed over the bits that really disturbed me. The killer uses instruments of torture which are really appalling to imagine, but leaving some of the descriptions of them unread did not spoil the book for me.
The character of Tony Hill is a masterpiece, so clever and together in some ways yet so lacking in others. In fact all of the characters are well drawn although just occasionally tending towards stereotypes.
I loved the pacing of the book, the way the killers actions are inserted into the main story and the details of the police work. The book is very dated now and the technology made me smile a few times, but in fact a lack of mobile phones etc. does make for a better story! It all builds logically towards a pretty obvious finale with a totally unforseen twist in the tale.
Excellent value and I will be reading the sequel very soon!
June 10, 2021
Val McDermid is a great writer. This is about a serial killer and it goes into detail about how the killer tortures, so it is hard to read at times and I skipped a lot of it. I just don't want those images in my head. That being said, I really enjoyed the characters of Tony Hill and Carol Jorden and I believe I will continue with the series. I am hoping that there will be no more sexual sadists though, I am too much of a wimp to take even reading it.
October 13, 2019
4.5 Stars.
Wow! That was disturbing, diabolical, deranged, and demented. Warning: graphic mutilation, torture, death by grotesque medieval instruments. However, it was so well written, and the characters so intriguing that I barely put the book down. When I did so, it was to search for the series on streaming TV and watch the episode adapted from The Mermaid’s Singing. This attention-catching title remains a mystery to me as I could find no connection with this intense and frightening story.
I had never heard of the award-winning author, Val McDermid, but I look forward to catching up with this series and the TV adaptations during the stormy winter days ahead.
The story features criminal psychologist/profiler, Tony Hill. He is a newcomer to the murder squad and teamed with investigators Carol Jordan. They are to work on an urgent case involving four progressively gruesome murders. These mutilated bodies are usually found dumped in a seedy area frequented by gay men.
Tony and Carol make an interesting team and are dedicated, bright and likable, although both are discontent with their personal lives. Their relationship is an uneasy one. Both are workaholics, and come to like each other and respect each other’s expertise in crime-solving. Tony, in particular, has many idiosyncrasies and is dysfunctional sexually. Carol has romantic inclinations towards Tony, but he rejects her cues and flirtations. He avoids personal closeness with anyone, which hurts and embarrasses Carol. This leads to temporary rifts in their friendship and work alliance.
They soon realize that they are in pursuit of a highly intelligent, fiendish and unique serial killer. This complex plot shows us some interesting rivalries, betrayals and office politics within the police department. I hope that Tony and Carol can maintain their friendship and working partnership in further books in the series.
Highly recommended for readers who like their police procedurals to be grim and dark.
Wow! That was disturbing, diabolical, deranged, and demented. Warning: graphic mutilation, torture, death by grotesque medieval instruments. However, it was so well written, and the characters so intriguing that I barely put the book down. When I did so, it was to search for the series on streaming TV and watch the episode adapted from The Mermaid’s Singing. This attention-catching title remains a mystery to me as I could find no connection with this intense and frightening story.
I had never heard of the award-winning author, Val McDermid, but I look forward to catching up with this series and the TV adaptations during the stormy winter days ahead.
The story features criminal psychologist/profiler, Tony Hill. He is a newcomer to the murder squad and teamed with investigators Carol Jordan. They are to work on an urgent case involving four progressively gruesome murders. These mutilated bodies are usually found dumped in a seedy area frequented by gay men.
Tony and Carol make an interesting team and are dedicated, bright and likable, although both are discontent with their personal lives. Their relationship is an uneasy one. Both are workaholics, and come to like each other and respect each other’s expertise in crime-solving. Tony, in particular, has many idiosyncrasies and is dysfunctional sexually. Carol has romantic inclinations towards Tony, but he rejects her cues and flirtations. He avoids personal closeness with anyone, which hurts and embarrasses Carol. This leads to temporary rifts in their friendship and work alliance.
They soon realize that they are in pursuit of a highly intelligent, fiendish and unique serial killer. This complex plot shows us some interesting rivalries, betrayals and office politics within the police department. I hope that Tony and Carol can maintain their friendship and working partnership in further books in the series.
Highly recommended for readers who like their police procedurals to be grim and dark.
January 16, 2018
This is the first time I’ve read a Val McDermid book, and now I see why she is an international #1 bestselling, award-winning author. What took me so freakin' long?!
This book is so well written and the characters fully fleshed out. I found the development of the psychological profile fascinating. Some of the chapters in this book are pages from the antagonist's diary. The book starts with the very first entry and showed me that this guy is one of the most sinister antagonists I’ve ever encountered. McDermid doesn’t hold back on describing what this guy does. I thought Cody McFadyen's monster and Chelsea Cain's Gretchen Lowell were bad. If you think Karin Slaughter's books are too violent, do not read this one.
I wasn’t too far into this book when I went searching for the rest of the books in the Carol Jordan/Tony Hill series. My library didn’t have them all, but the missing books are now on their way to me.
I want to thank Chris for her review and to Heather for the second nudge to read this book. And with thanks to Maureen, I have A Place of Execution sitting here to be read soon.
This book is so well written and the characters fully fleshed out. I found the development of the psychological profile fascinating. Some of the chapters in this book are pages from the antagonist's diary. The book starts with the very first entry and showed me that this guy is one of the most sinister antagonists I’ve ever encountered. McDermid doesn’t hold back on describing what this guy does. I thought Cody McFadyen's monster and Chelsea Cain's Gretchen Lowell were bad. If you think Karin Slaughter's books are too violent, do not read this one.
I wasn’t too far into this book when I went searching for the rest of the books in the Carol Jordan/Tony Hill series. My library didn’t have them all, but the missing books are now on their way to me.
I want to thank Chris for her review and to Heather for the second nudge to read this book. And with thanks to Maureen, I have A Place of Execution sitting here to be read soon.
May 25, 2010
This was fantastic. It had a little bit of this
and a little bit of that
and lets not forget this
It was nice to see men being the victims for once. It was disturbing at times, and maybe that was why I loved it.
and a little bit of that
and lets not forget this
It was nice to see men being the victims for once. It was disturbing at times, and maybe that was why I loved it.
Read
April 18, 2011There I was, plowing through this shifting-from-OK-to-mediocre-and-back little UK police procedural (don't judge me, it's how I relax, and P.D. James is apparently retiring) when all of a sudden, I was sandbagged by a plot that turned on hate for queerness. I don't know how this was quite possible, since I saw the Wire in the Blood series based on these books when it was first broadcast here, but apparently I either forgot this particular plot twist or repressed it out of dire hate.
The villain, you see, is a transsexual, only just like in Silence of the Lambs (because about half-a-dozen other references to Silence of the Lambs weren't enough -- it was 1995, after all) a failed transsexual, because apparently the only thing worse than a man wanting to be a woman is a man "pretending" to be a woman, I don't even know. So, "really," "he's" a transvestite. And I really hate this kind of dodge because it allows the author to pay lip service to the idea "of course all gay/transgender people aren't like this and gosh I would hate to be called prejudiced" while simultaneously actually appealing to all kinds of subterranean prejudices, just as how schizophrenics usually aren't that violent but they make up ninety percent of People Who Just Go Batshit and Attack You With Axes on Law & Order. Transsexuals are People, Just Like You and Me! except when they have elaborate re-created torture machines down in their basements and choose perfectly nice young heterosexual men whose broken mangled bloodless bodies then get tossed into gay cruising spots, yuk yuk. Never mind that Jeffrey Dahmer never put on a dress. I suppose if I cared I could go into detail about how much the plot reveals about the author's, and society's, apparent anxiety wrt literally policing gender identity lines, but I am just too disgusted. Disgusted, also, with the fact this particular storyline is still blazingly popular, and bought by many people, including me (even if I didn't know - I should have checked the ending like I always do). I bought several books by this author, including this one, on sale but don't know if I want to read the others now. (Doubtless someone will come along to piously tell me Depiction Does Not Equal Approval. But dammit, I'm tired of these kinds of stories. Why are people still writing them? Why are we still reading them?)
What's really sad is that the author is a woman and altho the focus of the series is a Brilliant Male Profiler Type, another protagonist is a career policewoman whom I can almost picture as a young Jane Tennison, altho not so brittle and battered. But this female Inspector casually slurs the killer with a blend of personal pronouns (yes, referring to a sexual sadist/serial killer, altho I doubt a racial slur would have been approved at that point). I like to think women are maybe a little more clueful sometimes when it comes to gender and sex discrimination. But apparently not. We can be just as confused by, and therefore hateful of, difference in others as men can be, despite whatever prejudice we ourselves might've endured at the hands of society. Not quite what one hopes for in terms of equality.
I seriously suggest everyone who's read this book donate one (1) dollar (that's a $1 bill) to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, or its equivalent in non-US countries. One dollar is about three dollars less than what we tend to spend on a fancy cup of coffee, yet these books apparently sell well enough that that might mean a nice influx of cash for them, if people really did do it.
A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey
The villain, you see, is a transsexual, only just like in Silence of the Lambs (because about half-a-dozen other references to Silence of the Lambs weren't enough -- it was 1995, after all) a failed transsexual, because apparently the only thing worse than a man wanting to be a woman is a man "pretending" to be a woman, I don't even know. So, "really," "he's" a transvestite. And I really hate this kind of dodge because it allows the author to pay lip service to the idea "of course all gay/transgender people aren't like this and gosh I would hate to be called prejudiced" while simultaneously actually appealing to all kinds of subterranean prejudices, just as how schizophrenics usually aren't that violent but they make up ninety percent of People Who Just Go Batshit and Attack You With Axes on Law & Order. Transsexuals are People, Just Like You and Me! except when they have elaborate re-created torture machines down in their basements and choose perfectly nice young heterosexual men whose broken mangled bloodless bodies then get tossed into gay cruising spots, yuk yuk. Never mind that Jeffrey Dahmer never put on a dress. I suppose if I cared I could go into detail about how much the plot reveals about the author's, and society's, apparent anxiety wrt literally policing gender identity lines, but I am just too disgusted. Disgusted, also, with the fact this particular storyline is still blazingly popular, and bought by many people, including me (even if I didn't know - I should have checked the ending like I always do). I bought several books by this author, including this one, on sale but don't know if I want to read the others now. (Doubtless someone will come along to piously tell me Depiction Does Not Equal Approval. But dammit, I'm tired of these kinds of stories. Why are people still writing them? Why are we still reading them?)
What's really sad is that the author is a woman and altho the focus of the series is a Brilliant Male Profiler Type, another protagonist is a career policewoman whom I can almost picture as a young Jane Tennison, altho not so brittle and battered. But this female Inspector casually slurs the killer with a blend of personal pronouns (yes, referring to a sexual sadist/serial killer, altho I doubt a racial slur would have been approved at that point). I like to think women are maybe a little more clueful sometimes when it comes to gender and sex discrimination. But apparently not. We can be just as confused by, and therefore hateful of, difference in others as men can be, despite whatever prejudice we ourselves might've endured at the hands of society. Not quite what one hopes for in terms of equality.
I seriously suggest everyone who's read this book donate one (1) dollar (that's a $1 bill) to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, or its equivalent in non-US countries. One dollar is about three dollars less than what we tend to spend on a fancy cup of coffee, yet these books apparently sell well enough that that might mean a nice influx of cash for them, if people really did do it.
A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 31, 2024
Die explizite Darstellung von Gewalt in Form von mittelalterlichen Foltermethoden war für meinen Geschmack zu explizit und aus Sicht des Killers unangenehm genüßlich dargestellt. But torture and violence sells. Gerade wenn man einen neue Serie platziert, wie Val McDermid dies in den 90er mit diesem Buch tat, dann muss man sich von der Masse abheben. Sie macht es über den Grad der Verstörtheit. Letztlich war dies aber nicht die hauptsächliche Grund, warum mir der Krimi nicht gefiel. Auch die Sprache war in Ordnung.
Vielmehr störten mich die Stereotypen und die blassen Charaktere für ein Buch von dieser Länge. Gerade die Klischees bezüglich Homosexuellen waren teilweise wirklich zum Augenrollen. Zudem kann man sich kaum vorstellen, dass das Buch aufgrund der gestiegenen Sensibilität in der Gesellschaft gegen Homo- und Transphobie heute noch so veröffentlicht werden würde. Ich spürte Mitte des Buchs, dass mich die Geschichte zunehmend abstieß. Daher las ich quer bis zum Ende und war danach froh, dass ich nicht mehr Zeit in die Lektüre investierte. Die Auflösung des Falls schlägt in ihrer Reißerischkeit die Darstellung von Gewalt um Längen.
Vielmehr störten mich die Stereotypen und die blassen Charaktere für ein Buch von dieser Länge. Gerade die Klischees bezüglich Homosexuellen waren teilweise wirklich zum Augenrollen. Zudem kann man sich kaum vorstellen, dass das Buch aufgrund der gestiegenen Sensibilität in der Gesellschaft gegen Homo- und Transphobie heute noch so veröffentlicht werden würde. Ich spürte Mitte des Buchs, dass mich die Geschichte zunehmend abstieß. Daher las ich quer bis zum Ende und war danach froh, dass ich nicht mehr Zeit in die Lektüre investierte. Die Auflösung des Falls schlägt in ihrer Reißerischkeit die Darstellung von Gewalt um Längen.
January 7, 2018
4.5 stars
Several years ago now, I read the T.S. Eliot poem from which this book takes its title, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and... well, I cannot really call myself a poetry fan. I liked it well enough, in that I finished it and didn't HATE it, but... I just don't have the patience for poetry. I dislike reading in verse, I am terrible at picking out symbolism and metaphor... Poetry and I just don't mesh.
But... having reread the poem after finishing this book, I appreciate it so much more.
This novel is such a fascinating exploration into the psyche, of impotent desire and compulsion and fantasy. It takes this poetic inspiration and influence, because it seems pretty clear to me that it was part of the inspiration, and turns it up to 11. It's violent, and depraved, and desperate, and understandable and identifiable nonetheless. Perhaps even because of being so dark and grim.
We have here a rather straightforward female Detective Inspector in Carol Jordan. She's youngish, not as experienced, and, of course, dealing with the Boys Club of policing in the late 20th century. She's told to work with Tony Hill, who is trying to establish criminal profiling as a legitimate means of crime solving - amidst as much push-back from the "Real" police who of course know best. So, in case you need it spelled out, Ms. Jordan has been set up to fail, setting the department up to CONVENIENTLY prove two of their axioms: 1) women should be in the kitchen and the bedroom - not the police department; 2) ditto all this namby-wamby head-shrinking. Let the policing be done by the real police. So... obviously THAT happens.
Tony Hill is an interesting character. He outwardly displays a level of professional confidence that belies his crippling personal insecurities. For all of his skill and ability to get into the minds of others, he fails so often to analyze his own, which leaves him incredibly vulnerable.
The real star of the show here, though, is the killer. The story is told through alternating perspectives: Tony & Carol's investigation (mainly focusing on Tony as the "main" character), and the killer's personal journals detailing the thoughts and deeds of a very depraved and dangerous mind.
There are a few social issues touched on in this book - sexism and LGBTQ issues being pretty major ones, and it would be easy to pick them apart. I have no criticism there, though. I think, given the time period when this was written and set, the attitudes seem appropriate. Though there is definitely homophobic and other -phobic sentiments, I did not get the impression that it was being scapegoated. Hopefully that makes sense.
Identity and acceptance is something that we all need, and being denied who we are and what we need can cause major psychological issues. Right, Tony? ;)
Anyway, this book contains very graphic sex and violence, torture actually. And not "really violent violence" being described as torture, but recreated Spanish Inquisition-style torture. So if that's not your bag, skip this book. But it's worth it if you can overcome the gruesome. It's an interesting and insightful police procedural, for sure.
One note I would add is that I listened to this on audio, and while it was... fine... I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. Simply because the killer's voice tends to give a bit away, I think. As a reader, we aren't supposed to know anything about the killer's identity. We have written journal interludes. But the voice... hints. So, for that reason, I kind of wish I had READ it rather than listened, because I like the surprise. But of course, your mileage may vary. I did like the reader otherwise.
Several years ago now, I read the T.S. Eliot poem from which this book takes its title, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and... well, I cannot really call myself a poetry fan. I liked it well enough, in that I finished it and didn't HATE it, but... I just don't have the patience for poetry. I dislike reading in verse, I am terrible at picking out symbolism and metaphor... Poetry and I just don't mesh.
But... having reread the poem after finishing this book, I appreciate it so much more.
"Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent"
"To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;
There will be time to murder and create,"
"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think that they will sing to me.
I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.
We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown."
This novel is such a fascinating exploration into the psyche, of impotent desire and compulsion and fantasy. It takes this poetic inspiration and influence, because it seems pretty clear to me that it was part of the inspiration, and turns it up to 11. It's violent, and depraved, and desperate, and understandable and identifiable nonetheless. Perhaps even because of being so dark and grim.
We have here a rather straightforward female Detective Inspector in Carol Jordan. She's youngish, not as experienced, and, of course, dealing with the Boys Club of policing in the late 20th century. She's told to work with Tony Hill, who is trying to establish criminal profiling as a legitimate means of crime solving - amidst as much push-back from the "Real" police who of course know best. So, in case you need it spelled out, Ms. Jordan has been set up to fail, setting the department up to CONVENIENTLY prove two of their axioms: 1) women should be in the kitchen and the bedroom - not the police department; 2) ditto all this namby-wamby head-shrinking. Let the policing be done by the real police. So... obviously THAT happens.
Tony Hill is an interesting character. He outwardly displays a level of professional confidence that belies his crippling personal insecurities. For all of his skill and ability to get into the minds of others, he fails so often to analyze his own, which leaves him incredibly vulnerable.
The real star of the show here, though, is the killer. The story is told through alternating perspectives: Tony & Carol's investigation (mainly focusing on Tony as the "main" character), and the killer's personal journals detailing the thoughts and deeds of a very depraved and dangerous mind.
There are a few social issues touched on in this book - sexism and LGBTQ issues being pretty major ones, and it would be easy to pick them apart. I have no criticism there, though. I think, given the time period when this was written and set, the attitudes seem appropriate. Though there is definitely homophobic and other -phobic sentiments, I did not get the impression that it was being scapegoated. Hopefully that makes sense.
Identity and acceptance is something that we all need, and being denied who we are and what we need can cause major psychological issues. Right, Tony? ;)
Anyway, this book contains very graphic sex and violence, torture actually. And not "really violent violence" being described as torture, but recreated Spanish Inquisition-style torture. So if that's not your bag, skip this book. But it's worth it if you can overcome the gruesome. It's an interesting and insightful police procedural, for sure.
One note I would add is that I listened to this on audio, and while it was... fine... I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. Simply because the killer's voice tends to give a bit away, I think. As a reader, we aren't supposed to know anything about the killer's identity. We have written journal interludes. But the voice... hints. So, for that reason, I kind of wish I had READ it rather than listened, because I like the surprise. But of course, your mileage may vary. I did like the reader otherwise.
November 6, 2019
Strap in kids....
Things I said to myself and my husband while I was reading this;
"wait, what?" (repeat 500x at various volume levels depending on how confused/horrified I was).
"This book was published in 1995?"
"Hey Dan listen to this sentence 'Even without the animation of her blue eyes, he could see that she'd be classified as beautiful.' No really that's what it says. Stop laughing! This isn't funny!"
"Was Val McDermid in a coma when The Silence of the Lambs was written? Red Dragon just somehow kinda blew right past her? Does she go to the movies? No I do NOT make everything about Hannibal! Look its relevant in this case okay!?"
"This book was PUBLISHED in 1995!?!?!?!?!??!"
"Jesus god this won the Gold Dagger Award. No I don't know what that is but it sounds important."
"Its almost impressive how this book manages to be insulting to so many communities, genders, and sexual orientations at once. Like you really have to make an effort for something like that."
"THIS BOOK WAS PUBLISHED IN 1995!!!!!!!!!?????!!!!!?????"
Before my head explodes let me take you on a little flashback vacation with me to a kinder, gentler time. Its 1995 and I'm a senior in high school. One of my best friends is a guy named Russell who happens to be gay. This is not something I think too much about because I am an entirely self centered teenager. I certainly don't care that he's gay, he's my friend. He's funny, and he's a great actor and singer, he calls me one of his "fag hags" and we even take a picture at a local carnival with some other friends that says "Three Hags and a Fag" that I'll keep hanging in my room for years.
I love Russell, sincerely and truly, but I don't really know him. I don't know what it means to be gay and out in 1995, what it means for his relationship with his family, for his relationships with anyone outside of our tight little group of friends.
One day Russell isn't in school and we're told that he's going to be getting home tutoring because he's developed ulcerary colititis. Stomach ulcers. It will be a long time before I really understand what's happened. That the stress of being constantly bullied and harassed by the boys on the football team, kids in gym class, people he just passes in the halls has gotten to be too damn much. And our wonderful, sympathetic institution has decided that rather than address this or god forbid reprimand the kids responsible and the teachers who did nothing, they'll shuffle Russell away and use everyone's tax dollars to pay for private tutors until everything just disappears.
I will not really get this for a long, long time. I won't really understand how wrong everything about this story is. How so many people, including me with my casual disregard, failed my friend and drove him even further into depression and self loathing. Longs years will pass and the world will shift and I will grow up and have children of my own and one day Russell will message me on Facebook, long after we've fallen out of touch, and tell me he's sorry for putting me through "so much drama" and that I helped save his life and I will begin to see what that life was back then. And dear god will I ever have regrets.
Now though I'm a selfish, stupid teenager and its 1995 and we don't care about gay people. Because everything we see and read tells us they don't matter in any meaningful way. If there are gay characters on television shows or movies (and we're still a few years off from "Will and Grace" at this point, I mean the country is still recovering from Tom Hanks dancing with Antonio Banderas in "Philadephia") they're wearing feather boas and lisping and comically hitting on the main character. They're the subject of "hilarious" AIDS joke filled monologues by famous comedians like Eddie Murphy and ignored by presidents like Ronald Reagan who think AIDS is "their" problem.
And in Val McDermid's horribly tone deaf, piss poor thriller they're monsters. They're "queers" and "poofters" (because England) if the character is especially homophobic and anything they do has to have the word "gay" in front of it. They're not business owners or just every day people. They're "gay business owners" or people living a "gay life" whatever the hell that means. They exclusively lispy or macho. Wearing leather and buttless chaps or giggling like school girls. They're stereotypes, with the kind of poorly drawn, completely unrealistic characteristics that get us up in arms (or should) when they're applied to literally any other marginalized group.
So this is the world we're in here. And in this world these gaayyysss(sibilant 's') are being murdered horribly by someone with a penchant for Inquisitorial torture devices. The cracker jack genius profiler they bring in to help solve the case dubs him "Handy Andy" ostensibly because he must be really handy with a hammer to build these things but mainly because GAAAYYYYY!!!
There's a bunch of other people involved. A stereotypical supervisor who's really terrible at his job and yells at everyone and is super stupid. The liason officer who's life is hard because she's a beautiful woman in a man's world. And of course our genius profiler who says things like "he's very good at his work our boy" and "How do I get in your head and figure out who you are!?" when he's not lamenting his impotence (which is a huge plot point for some reason) and darkly contemplating how he's just like the monsters he profiles.
So maybe her treatment of the gay community in its entirety shouldn't have surprised me since the rest of the book is every thriller/mystery stereotype there is.
This wouldn't have been a good book even without all these issues. Its one of those gore with no substance, jump scare kind of thrillers where you kind of mutter "ew" as you read the journal entries of Handy Andy who of course meticulously rights down everything he does. Our profiler is monumentally bad at his job. By the end when the killer is finally revealed he'd gotten so many things so confoundingly wrong with the profile I half expected him to quit his job.
So what does he get so wrong? What does the entire "mystery" of the killer's identity hang on? What's really got me so dang riled up here? Well, I'm going to have to hide that under a spoiler tag but here we go.
I think the worst thing here is the way that none of the hero's of this book ever once see either the victims or the murderer as human. Their "otherness" is such that they can't be seen as anything other than a series of preconceived personality traits based on fear and ignorance. At one point Carol, the very put upon female officer who's also clearly meant to be the one most sensitive to the crimes simply because she's female refers to the murderer as and its just so flippant and awful.
But even that would be okay if everyone took something away from what ends up being the reality of the situation. Except no one does. Not one character has some sort of internal revelation about how maybe they shouldn't make assumptions about victims or perps based entirely on their own prejudices. There are no conversations about how much sooner they might have figured it all out if they weren't all so caught up in fear and loathing of homosexuality or anything that doesn't fit their idea of "normal."
I look back on the girl I was in 1995 with a certain amount of sympathy. I loved my friend and embraced everything about him and that counts for something even if I couldn't look past my own narrow world view to really consider what life was like for him and reach out to be there for him in a more real way. She grew up to be a woman who tries to recognize her own privilege and stay aware of the harder path many other people have to walk. I own the attitudes of my past, not proudly of course, but because its what you have to do if you want to grow into a better person. You can't sugarcoat shitty things you said or did or even thought. You have to look at them, admit them, learn from them and try to be better.
But when I read things like this I'm reminded of where my attitudes and ideas came from. They came from writers, and film makers, and comedians, who wrote things like this that painted anything that wasn't "normal" heterosexuality as, at best, something comical or, in this case something to be feared, hated and hunted down and destroyed utterly.
Things I said to myself and my husband while I was reading this;
"wait, what?" (repeat 500x at various volume levels depending on how confused/horrified I was).
"This book was published in 1995?"
"Hey Dan listen to this sentence 'Even without the animation of her blue eyes, he could see that she'd be classified as beautiful.' No really that's what it says. Stop laughing! This isn't funny!"
"Was Val McDermid in a coma when The Silence of the Lambs was written? Red Dragon just somehow kinda blew right past her? Does she go to the movies? No I do NOT make everything about Hannibal! Look its relevant in this case okay!?"
"This book was PUBLISHED in 1995!?!?!?!?!??!"
"Jesus god this won the Gold Dagger Award. No I don't know what that is but it sounds important."
"Its almost impressive how this book manages to be insulting to so many communities, genders, and sexual orientations at once. Like you really have to make an effort for something like that."
"THIS BOOK WAS PUBLISHED IN 1995!!!!!!!!!?????!!!!!?????"
Before my head explodes let me take you on a little flashback vacation with me to a kinder, gentler time. Its 1995 and I'm a senior in high school. One of my best friends is a guy named Russell who happens to be gay. This is not something I think too much about because I am an entirely self centered teenager. I certainly don't care that he's gay, he's my friend. He's funny, and he's a great actor and singer, he calls me one of his "fag hags" and we even take a picture at a local carnival with some other friends that says "Three Hags and a Fag" that I'll keep hanging in my room for years.
I love Russell, sincerely and truly, but I don't really know him. I don't know what it means to be gay and out in 1995, what it means for his relationship with his family, for his relationships with anyone outside of our tight little group of friends.
One day Russell isn't in school and we're told that he's going to be getting home tutoring because he's developed ulcerary colititis. Stomach ulcers. It will be a long time before I really understand what's happened. That the stress of being constantly bullied and harassed by the boys on the football team, kids in gym class, people he just passes in the halls has gotten to be too damn much. And our wonderful, sympathetic institution has decided that rather than address this or god forbid reprimand the kids responsible and the teachers who did nothing, they'll shuffle Russell away and use everyone's tax dollars to pay for private tutors until everything just disappears.
I will not really get this for a long, long time. I won't really understand how wrong everything about this story is. How so many people, including me with my casual disregard, failed my friend and drove him even further into depression and self loathing. Longs years will pass and the world will shift and I will grow up and have children of my own and one day Russell will message me on Facebook, long after we've fallen out of touch, and tell me he's sorry for putting me through "so much drama" and that I helped save his life and I will begin to see what that life was back then. And dear god will I ever have regrets.
Now though I'm a selfish, stupid teenager and its 1995 and we don't care about gay people. Because everything we see and read tells us they don't matter in any meaningful way. If there are gay characters on television shows or movies (and we're still a few years off from "Will and Grace" at this point, I mean the country is still recovering from Tom Hanks dancing with Antonio Banderas in "Philadephia") they're wearing feather boas and lisping and comically hitting on the main character. They're the subject of "hilarious" AIDS joke filled monologues by famous comedians like Eddie Murphy and ignored by presidents like Ronald Reagan who think AIDS is "their" problem.
And in Val McDermid's horribly tone deaf, piss poor thriller they're monsters. They're "queers" and "poofters" (because England) if the character is especially homophobic and anything they do has to have the word "gay" in front of it. They're not business owners or just every day people. They're "gay business owners" or people living a "gay life" whatever the hell that means. They exclusively lispy or macho. Wearing leather and buttless chaps or giggling like school girls. They're stereotypes, with the kind of poorly drawn, completely unrealistic characteristics that get us up in arms (or should) when they're applied to literally any other marginalized group.
So this is the world we're in here. And in this world these gaayyysss(sibilant 's') are being murdered horribly by someone with a penchant for Inquisitorial torture devices. The cracker jack genius profiler they bring in to help solve the case dubs him "Handy Andy" ostensibly because he must be really handy with a hammer to build these things but mainly because GAAAYYYYY!!!
There's a bunch of other people involved. A stereotypical supervisor who's really terrible at his job and yells at everyone and is super stupid. The liason officer who's life is hard because she's a beautiful woman in a man's world. And of course our genius profiler who says things like "he's very good at his work our boy" and "How do I get in your head and figure out who you are!?" when he's not lamenting his impotence (which is a huge plot point for some reason) and darkly contemplating how he's just like the monsters he profiles.
So maybe her treatment of the gay community in its entirety shouldn't have surprised me since the rest of the book is every thriller/mystery stereotype there is.
This wouldn't have been a good book even without all these issues. Its one of those gore with no substance, jump scare kind of thrillers where you kind of mutter "ew" as you read the journal entries of Handy Andy who of course meticulously rights down everything he does. Our profiler is monumentally bad at his job. By the end when the killer is finally revealed he'd gotten so many things so confoundingly wrong with the profile I half expected him to quit his job.
So what does he get so wrong? What does the entire "mystery" of the killer's identity hang on? What's really got me so dang riled up here? Well, I'm going to have to hide that under a spoiler tag but here we go.
I think the worst thing here is the way that none of the hero's of this book ever once see either the victims or the murderer as human. Their "otherness" is such that they can't be seen as anything other than a series of preconceived personality traits based on fear and ignorance. At one point Carol, the very put upon female officer who's also clearly meant to be the one most sensitive to the crimes simply because she's female refers to the murderer as and its just so flippant and awful.
But even that would be okay if everyone took something away from what ends up being the reality of the situation. Except no one does. Not one character has some sort of internal revelation about how maybe they shouldn't make assumptions about victims or perps based entirely on their own prejudices. There are no conversations about how much sooner they might have figured it all out if they weren't all so caught up in fear and loathing of homosexuality or anything that doesn't fit their idea of "normal."
I look back on the girl I was in 1995 with a certain amount of sympathy. I loved my friend and embraced everything about him and that counts for something even if I couldn't look past my own narrow world view to really consider what life was like for him and reach out to be there for him in a more real way. She grew up to be a woman who tries to recognize her own privilege and stay aware of the harder path many other people have to walk. I own the attitudes of my past, not proudly of course, but because its what you have to do if you want to grow into a better person. You can't sugarcoat shitty things you said or did or even thought. You have to look at them, admit them, learn from them and try to be better.
But when I read things like this I'm reminded of where my attitudes and ideas came from. They came from writers, and film makers, and comedians, who wrote things like this that painted anything that wasn't "normal" heterosexuality as, at best, something comical or, in this case something to be feared, hated and hunted down and destroyed utterly.
June 4, 2023
‘The Mermaids Singing’ by Val McDermid is the first in the Tony Hill/Detective Inspector Carol Jordan mysteries. It's expert and fast, if somewhat tech-dated. A serial killer is loose, and typically, the police brass refuse to recognize it, partially because it is perceived as a gay community criminal spree, and partially because of the maddog media coverage that would ensue. Then the third body with incredible marks of torture is found, so reluctantly the bosses include a woman detective and approve the calling in of Dr. Tony Hill as a profiler. This is a time when police see profilers as carny acts or conmen.
Fortunately for Hill and Jordan, they have one progressive boss, John Brandon, Bradfield Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Constable. Brandon believes in modern methods and he is on their side. At crucial moments, he provides the kind of assistance they need to get the job done. The real problem is the unknown murderer is VERY scary, vicious - and oops! Dr. Hill's profile is leaked out to the press! Oh oh. The bad guy likes to read the newspapers - and gets the idea some of the police need punishment. Dr. Hill in particular appears to be insulting and hurtful to a poor murderer. There is a Spanish Inquisition torture that the killer has been thinking to try.....
Well.
Many sensitive types should not read this novel.
First, there is lots of explicit torture. On the other hand, it's not gratuitous, in my opinion. However, it keeps on coming. As someone who reads a GREAT deal, of course I've come across historical and explicit descriptions of torture before. The Spanish Inquisition truly used incredibly awful devices of torture in real life, and the bad guy in this book, a serial killer of young men, builds such devices to use in his murders, having studied them in British museums.
Second, readers may be disturbed if you are a political activist or have PTSD or you simply react quickly becoming wrathful about perceived prejudices first and ask questions later. There is " ______bashing” (fill in the blank, i.e., LGBT, women, *racial slur*, police) in fiction and in this novel which depicts, to me, realistic situations. While they reflect real true-life instances of criminal behavior we have all read about or seen in the news, this book may have you writing nasty comments and protesting against it. Goodreads reviewers are doing just that about this novel.
Occasionally I read books which shock me because the authors are showing explicitly their real racist/sexist/sexual orientation prejudices and ignorant stances, but I did not sense any of that in this author’s writing. However, some reviewers did. I understand the defensiveness of some reviewers, but I honestly only felt this novel is a hardcore mystery with horror elements. I have known people of the LGBT community. I have known women and men and police who went off the rails or behaved badly. In my personal life experience, I witnessed a slow-motion mental crash and subsequent hospitalization of a transgender individual in college. I went through a stage when I was in my 20's and participating in protest marches where I couldn't stand ANY possible slurs or impugning of reputations or morality about the minorities of society because I saw prejudice. I hated the “free speech” truths which gave white heterosexual males ammunition when twisted to fit their cruel prejudiced agendas. I get it. But I didn’t see authorial animosity in this book, only a ‘keeping it real’, reflecting real life situations.
Third, Tony Hill is the 'hero' psychologist who helps terrible criminals - and I can see how this character being a hero could really disgust some readers. Some of my blue collar and Republican friends might see him as one of those 'bleeding-heart liberals who see criminals through rose-tinted glasses and serve as apologists for bad people who should be shot but only get liberal judges that slap them on the wrist because they feel sorry for the bastards'. (As an aside to my conservative friends: you, see? I DO listen!)
Tony Hill is as pure of a real-life psychologist depiction as I ever did read in a fiction. He is an insecure and self-flagellating loner, but he presents to the world a very professional and reasoned image that, for the most part, is true to who he is, too. He is not perfect and he has his demons. But psychologists who care tend to strike the hard-core rage-based observer as a ‘wine-drinking wanker’ (Hill HAS hair on his chest, just saying...). That said, he is also a 1970's-style psychologist. I've noticed recently newly-minted psychologists are more into recommending a six-week behavior modification course of therapy with excessive drugs - and don't let the door hit your butt on your way out. Tony Hill actually has curiosity for why people are in mental disarray, and since I share that macabre fascination, I like Dr. Hill. I too prefer wine over whiskey, but I like both.
Fortunately for Hill and Jordan, they have one progressive boss, John Brandon, Bradfield Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Constable. Brandon believes in modern methods and he is on their side. At crucial moments, he provides the kind of assistance they need to get the job done. The real problem is the unknown murderer is VERY scary, vicious - and oops! Dr. Hill's profile is leaked out to the press! Oh oh. The bad guy likes to read the newspapers - and gets the idea some of the police need punishment. Dr. Hill in particular appears to be insulting and hurtful to a poor murderer. There is a Spanish Inquisition torture that the killer has been thinking to try.....
Well.
Many sensitive types should not read this novel.
First, there is lots of explicit torture. On the other hand, it's not gratuitous, in my opinion. However, it keeps on coming. As someone who reads a GREAT deal, of course I've come across historical and explicit descriptions of torture before. The Spanish Inquisition truly used incredibly awful devices of torture in real life, and the bad guy in this book, a serial killer of young men, builds such devices to use in his murders, having studied them in British museums.
Second, readers may be disturbed if you are a political activist or have PTSD or you simply react quickly becoming wrathful about perceived prejudices first and ask questions later. There is " ______bashing” (fill in the blank, i.e., LGBT, women, *racial slur*, police) in fiction and in this novel which depicts, to me, realistic situations. While they reflect real true-life instances of criminal behavior we have all read about or seen in the news, this book may have you writing nasty comments and protesting against it. Goodreads reviewers are doing just that about this novel.
Occasionally I read books which shock me because the authors are showing explicitly their real racist/sexist/sexual orientation prejudices and ignorant stances, but I did not sense any of that in this author’s writing. However, some reviewers did. I understand the defensiveness of some reviewers, but I honestly only felt this novel is a hardcore mystery with horror elements. I have known people of the LGBT community. I have known women and men and police who went off the rails or behaved badly. In my personal life experience, I witnessed a slow-motion mental crash and subsequent hospitalization of a transgender individual in college. I went through a stage when I was in my 20's and participating in protest marches where I couldn't stand ANY possible slurs or impugning of reputations or morality about the minorities of society because I saw prejudice. I hated the “free speech” truths which gave white heterosexual males ammunition when twisted to fit their cruel prejudiced agendas. I get it. But I didn’t see authorial animosity in this book, only a ‘keeping it real’, reflecting real life situations.
Third, Tony Hill is the 'hero' psychologist who helps terrible criminals - and I can see how this character being a hero could really disgust some readers. Some of my blue collar and Republican friends might see him as one of those 'bleeding-heart liberals who see criminals through rose-tinted glasses and serve as apologists for bad people who should be shot but only get liberal judges that slap them on the wrist because they feel sorry for the bastards'. (As an aside to my conservative friends: you, see? I DO listen!)
Tony Hill is as pure of a real-life psychologist depiction as I ever did read in a fiction. He is an insecure and self-flagellating loner, but he presents to the world a very professional and reasoned image that, for the most part, is true to who he is, too. He is not perfect and he has his demons. But psychologists who care tend to strike the hard-core rage-based observer as a ‘wine-drinking wanker’ (Hill HAS hair on his chest, just saying...). That said, he is also a 1970's-style psychologist. I've noticed recently newly-minted psychologists are more into recommending a six-week behavior modification course of therapy with excessive drugs - and don't let the door hit your butt on your way out. Tony Hill actually has curiosity for why people are in mental disarray, and since I share that macabre fascination, I like Dr. Hill. I too prefer wine over whiskey, but I like both.
January 23, 2011
Oh, yuck, this book.
I have quite a strong stomach. It's not that impressive or anything, but I'm not incredibly easily shocked. This book, however, was more than I could bear. I like books and TV that take a look at the darker side of life, but the torture scenes were unneccessary and extremely gratuitous (sp?). It seemed like McDermid wrote it to shock. The killer lacked nuances and did not interest me in the slightest; s/he may as well have had a mustache to twiddle. There was no depth to their narrative and, to me, if you're going to write about a killer in that way, you need to infuse them with more depth. This was simply a creepy narrative with nothing to distinguish itself. But, on that note, I almost laughed while reading several reviews of this book. At one point, the killer tortures a German shepherd. And I am disgusted by animal cruelty of any kind and, yes, this scene was hard to handle. What I find harder to handle is the way that people are taking issue with that scene - as opposed to the others in which the killer tortures various human men. Animal cruelty is a terrible and horrible thing, but I don't think it's quite as bad as mass torture/murder somehow.
I have quite a strong stomach. It's not that impressive or anything, but I'm not incredibly easily shocked. This book, however, was more than I could bear. I like books and TV that take a look at the darker side of life, but the torture scenes were unneccessary and extremely gratuitous (sp?). It seemed like McDermid wrote it to shock. The killer lacked nuances and did not interest me in the slightest; s/he may as well have had a mustache to twiddle. There was no depth to their narrative and, to me, if you're going to write about a killer in that way, you need to infuse them with more depth. This was simply a creepy narrative with nothing to distinguish itself. But, on that note, I almost laughed while reading several reviews of this book. At one point, the killer tortures a German shepherd. And I am disgusted by animal cruelty of any kind and, yes, this scene was hard to handle. What I find harder to handle is the way that people are taking issue with that scene - as opposed to the others in which the killer tortures various human men. Animal cruelty is a terrible and horrible thing, but I don't think it's quite as bad as mass torture/murder somehow.
July 25, 2015
I have only read a couple of Val McDermid's books but have enjoyed them and intend to read more in the future.This is the 1st book in the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series and is an excellent start. The characters are meaty and I can imagine they offer a lot of chances to develop further in future books. Quite gruesome in places as it describes a killer who is obsessed with ancient torture methods. I feel confident that this series will only get better.
January 12, 2020
The first of 11 books in the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan mystery series and it’s easy to see why nearly all of them have 4+ star ratings on Goodreads. Graham Roberts was an excellent audible narrator for this well developed but unusual plot and these characterizations. Not for the squeamish as the torture scenes are stomach turning.
April 21, 2014
Choosing to tackle a new series, I was drawn to Val McDermid and the premise behind it. Pairing a police detective and a criminal psychologist is by no means new, but the British angle was a fresh approach for me and one that seems to work well. McDermid takes the reader down the path of numerous sub-plots while presenting a fascinating main tale to capture the attention of all who dare to explore. When men are found murdered in predominantly gay hangouts, the police are baffled as to where they ought to begin and with whom they are dealing. Add to that, the gruesome means by which the victims are killed, and the story takes on a whole other level. Could the means of torture be a religious way of scorning these men for their sexual proclivities, doubly so when none is a declared homosexual? While Carol Jordan is tasked with leading the investigation, she's tossed a helper/hindrance in the form of Dr. Tony Hill, Home Office criminal psychologist whose tasked with creating a database useful to tracking serials murderers. Through their teamwork and respective expertise, Jordan and Hill begin to get a better idea of the cunning murderer they seek, but not before more bodies pile up and the killings become more and more gruesome. Paralleling the progress of the investigation, each chapter offers a journal entry of sorts from the killer, with subtle clues by which the reader can piece things together. Filled with stunning storytelling and interesting details, McDermid does well to hook the reader early and throughout this horrid tale, right through until the last page. A successful opening to the series.
While some lament the treatment of homosexuality within the story, I feel it adequately reflects both the limited understanding and willingness to openly accept the lifestyle, both within the press and police (and perhaps society). While McDermid pulls no punches and does dive right in, making generalisations throughout, she presents it all in a tasteful way while not hiding some of the preconceived notions. Her great use of the giant flaws within both Jordan and Hill's lives, McDermid shows that no one, no matter how important their jobs or settled they appear, is truly free from personal struggles. Of great interest is the way in which she portrays Dr. Tony Hill, who will surely return in all books, and his inner weaknesses with the opposite sex and his own missing sexuality. Powerfully done in this novel, whose central theme is discovery and presentation of one's sexuality.
Kudos Madam McDermid for this wonderful introduction in the series. I am eager to see how some of the upcoming novels compare with this highly controversial opening.
While some lament the treatment of homosexuality within the story, I feel it adequately reflects both the limited understanding and willingness to openly accept the lifestyle, both within the press and police (and perhaps society). While McDermid pulls no punches and does dive right in, making generalisations throughout, she presents it all in a tasteful way while not hiding some of the preconceived notions. Her great use of the giant flaws within both Jordan and Hill's lives, McDermid shows that no one, no matter how important their jobs or settled they appear, is truly free from personal struggles. Of great interest is the way in which she portrays Dr. Tony Hill, who will surely return in all books, and his inner weaknesses with the opposite sex and his own missing sexuality. Powerfully done in this novel, whose central theme is discovery and presentation of one's sexuality.
Kudos Madam McDermid for this wonderful introduction in the series. I am eager to see how some of the upcoming novels compare with this highly controversial opening.
July 26, 2019
DNF
As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.
I mostly hated the stilted prose and clichéd dialogue. Examples:
Reading his acts by the light of such mute traces as he left behind him, the police became aware that latterly he must have loitered. And the reason which governed him is striking; because at once it records—that murder was not pursued by him simply as a means to an end, but also as an end for itself.
-
Kevin made a face as his taste buds clenched on the strong bitter coffee that lurked under a swirl of foam that looked more like industrial effluent than a cappuccino.
.
As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.
I mostly hated the stilted prose and clichéd dialogue. Examples:
Reading his acts by the light of such mute traces as he left behind him, the police became aware that latterly he must have loitered. And the reason which governed him is striking; because at once it records—that murder was not pursued by him simply as a means to an end, but also as an end for itself.
-
Kevin made a face as his taste buds clenched on the strong bitter coffee that lurked under a swirl of foam that looked more like industrial effluent than a cappuccino.
.
August 27, 2022
The Mermaids singing (Tony Hill & Carol Jordan, #1) by Val McDermid.
I went back and reread books I did not enjoy with the first read. This book was among the few rereads and I'm so glad I gave it another try. The duo of Tony Hill & Carol Jordan have joined the other series among my favorites.
This author has the Karen Pirie series and stand alone novels that are also excellent.
I went back and reread books I did not enjoy with the first read. This book was among the few rereads and I'm so glad I gave it another try. The duo of Tony Hill & Carol Jordan have joined the other series among my favorites.
This author has the Karen Pirie series and stand alone novels that are also excellent.
June 9, 2022
I decided to start at the beginning of the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series. Although it was published in North America in 1995, I never heard anything about it at that time. Few UK books are publicized in the US or Canada until they become international sensations. It was before the time of the internet and Goodreads and I was much less likely to be exposed to information about it via popular magazines or while meandering through bookstores. About 10 years ago, I read one book from the series that failed to overwhelm me (don’t remember its name) and two years ago, I read the latest book, which I liked. So I’ll be posting my thoughts about a book that many of you read 15-20 years ago.
To begin with, THE MERMAIDS SINGING stands up well considering that it was written in the early 90s. I did find it shockingly explicit in terms of deviant sexuality and, as well, descriptions of gruesome torture. (I like shockingly explicit, but potential readers should be forewarned). Mysteries and thrillers popular in the US during the early 90s were not so nearly explicit in terms of deviant sexuality or graphic violence and possibly this is why the novel did not receive the publicity it deserved when it was first published. I don’t know if it received more publicity in the UK but I think that it must have, because McDermid continued to publish follow-up stories.
Synopsis:
Dr. Tony Hill, a forensic psychologist, has recently been asked to establish a department that will be used to profile serial offenders, and as a test run, he is asked to work on a case in which apparently closeted gay men are brutally tortured before their bodies are dumped. He is asked to work with DI Carol Jordan. Tony is to provide the “real” police with information they can use to narrow the range of suspects.
Interspersed with the investigation undertaken by Tony and Carol, we get excerpts from a journal being written by the killer. We discover that he is killing these men because they “rejected” him. As well, he describes the horrendous torture scenes in detail.
While trying to build a profile of the killer, Tony visits a gay bar where some patrons are involved in the sadomasochistic sexual scene. As a result of this visit, and police imprudence, an innocent man dies.
The identity of the killer is a surprise to all — Tony as well as the reader. Because of his naïveté, Tony narrowly escapes death.
My Reactions:
In this first novel, I found that I liked Carol Jordan much more than Tony Hill. Carol is a strongly driven woman who has suffered, at both the career level and in her personal life, for being ambitious. Tony, on the other hand, is weak and insecure, with a lot of personal hang-ups. Yet it was quite obvious from the beginning that Tony is the “main” protagonist, and that Carol, although important, has a supporting role. It is possible that because the prime character, a male, was ineffectual and, accordingly, THE MERMAIDS SINGING did not reflect the American stereotype of male toughness, that this book was largely overlooked in the US.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My reviews for:
The Wire in the Blood
(Tony Hill & Carol Jordan #2)
The Last Temptation
(Tony Hill & Carol Jordan #3)
The Torment of Others
(Tony Hill & Carol Jordan #4)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To begin with, THE MERMAIDS SINGING stands up well considering that it was written in the early 90s. I did find it shockingly explicit in terms of deviant sexuality and, as well, descriptions of gruesome torture. (I like shockingly explicit, but potential readers should be forewarned). Mysteries and thrillers popular in the US during the early 90s were not so nearly explicit in terms of deviant sexuality or graphic violence and possibly this is why the novel did not receive the publicity it deserved when it was first published. I don’t know if it received more publicity in the UK but I think that it must have, because McDermid continued to publish follow-up stories.
Synopsis:
Dr. Tony Hill, a forensic psychologist, has recently been asked to establish a department that will be used to profile serial offenders, and as a test run, he is asked to work on a case in which apparently closeted gay men are brutally tortured before their bodies are dumped. He is asked to work with DI Carol Jordan. Tony is to provide the “real” police with information they can use to narrow the range of suspects.
Interspersed with the investigation undertaken by Tony and Carol, we get excerpts from a journal being written by the killer. We discover that he is killing these men because they “rejected” him. As well, he describes the horrendous torture scenes in detail.
While trying to build a profile of the killer, Tony visits a gay bar where some patrons are involved in the sadomasochistic sexual scene. As a result of this visit, and police imprudence, an innocent man dies.
The identity of the killer is a surprise to all — Tony as well as the reader. Because of his naïveté, Tony narrowly escapes death.
My Reactions:
In this first novel, I found that I liked Carol Jordan much more than Tony Hill. Carol is a strongly driven woman who has suffered, at both the career level and in her personal life, for being ambitious. Tony, on the other hand, is weak and insecure, with a lot of personal hang-ups. Yet it was quite obvious from the beginning that Tony is the “main” protagonist, and that Carol, although important, has a supporting role. It is possible that because the prime character, a male, was ineffectual and, accordingly, THE MERMAIDS SINGING did not reflect the American stereotype of male toughness, that this book was largely overlooked in the US.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My reviews for:
The Wire in the Blood
(Tony Hill & Carol Jordan #2)
The Last Temptation
(Tony Hill & Carol Jordan #3)
The Torment of Others
(Tony Hill & Carol Jordan #4)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 6, 2019
Number 1 in The Hill & Jordan series.
Trying to marry the face of the author, which appears on the back sleeve, and the mind that came up with gruesomely terrifying story is hard to achieve.
This is a truly horrific and compelling read.
The police are faced with, what looks like, gay related hate killings. Problem is the killer is meticulous in his attention to detail. The corpses are washed clean before being dumped. There is not a single sign of any trace evidence. And the bodies keep coming.
In desperation the ACC in charge brings Dr. Tony Hill into the investigation. Dr. Hill is at the forefront of a new method in crime solving, profiling. Dr. Hill is not embraced by all of his new colleagues, most of whom think profiling is just a lot of crap. Most of the time he feels he’s just pushing water up hill.
Dr. Tony Hill is partnered with Inspector Carol Jordan and between them they try to accomplish what the rest of the force can’t.
As a Psychologist Dr. Hill an interesting character as he comes with a lot of his own personal problems. He may be brilliant at what he does but he’s far from perfect.
The reader follows the story from both the police and the killer’s perspective. Reading the killers thoughts is not for the faint hearted. There are some truly horrific acts performed on the victims.
The book is full of memorable characters, some you will love and some you will love to hate.
Highly recommended, just don’t read it before going to bed.
4/5 Stars.
Trying to marry the face of the author, which appears on the back sleeve, and the mind that came up with gruesomely terrifying story is hard to achieve.
This is a truly horrific and compelling read.
The police are faced with, what looks like, gay related hate killings. Problem is the killer is meticulous in his attention to detail. The corpses are washed clean before being dumped. There is not a single sign of any trace evidence. And the bodies keep coming.
In desperation the ACC in charge brings Dr. Tony Hill into the investigation. Dr. Hill is at the forefront of a new method in crime solving, profiling. Dr. Hill is not embraced by all of his new colleagues, most of whom think profiling is just a lot of crap. Most of the time he feels he’s just pushing water up hill.
Dr. Tony Hill is partnered with Inspector Carol Jordan and between them they try to accomplish what the rest of the force can’t.
As a Psychologist Dr. Hill an interesting character as he comes with a lot of his own personal problems. He may be brilliant at what he does but he’s far from perfect.
The reader follows the story from both the police and the killer’s perspective. Reading the killers thoughts is not for the faint hearted. There are some truly horrific acts performed on the victims.
The book is full of memorable characters, some you will love and some you will love to hate.
Highly recommended, just don’t read it before going to bed.
4/5 Stars.
October 19, 2018
WHEW!!!! This book grabs you and won't let go. This is the first in the continuing series of DI Carol Jordan and criminal profiler Dr. Tony Hill and I don't think any other of the books (I have read a couple) is as intense or as graphic as this one.
Four young men, who have no connection to each other, are found, battered and broken and obviously tortured horribly before they were killed. There is a serial killer on the loose and has committed the perfect crimes......so far. Although the police have little faith in criminal profiling, Jordan and Hill team up to approach these crimes from a psychological standpoint. And where it leads will make the reader wince. The denouement is slightly far-fetched but it still will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very frightening ending.
Four young men, who have no connection to each other, are found, battered and broken and obviously tortured horribly before they were killed. There is a serial killer on the loose and has committed the perfect crimes......so far. Although the police have little faith in criminal profiling, Jordan and Hill team up to approach these crimes from a psychological standpoint. And where it leads will make the reader wince. The denouement is slightly far-fetched but it still will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very frightening ending.
November 24, 2016
Val McDermid (n. 1955)
Alguns Spoilers
1 - Nunca tinha lido nenhum livro da escritora escocesa Val McDermid (n. 1955);
2 – “O Canto das Sereias” foi publicado originalmente em 1995;
3 – É um thriller com uma construção narrativa muito interessante, alternando os capítulos entre as principais personagens, conferindo a evolução da investigação criminal, com as descrições dos pensamentos e estados de espírito do assassino, a sua mentalidade e o seu planeamento, com recurso a uma excelente caracterização dos intervenientes, destacando-se o psicólogo clínico e “profiler” Tony Hill e a inspectora Carol Jordan;
4 – A introdução da comunidade “gay/homossexual” surge num relacionamento e vivência marginal, numa cidade caracterizada pela existência de uma polícia homofóbica, onde existe um serial killer que mutila sexualmente e macabramente as suas “presas”, registando em vídeo os seus actos, servindo-se de um diário onde regista o seu raciocínio, utilizando essa tecnologia para um registo futuro;
6 – Tony Hill é uma personagem atormentada, socialmente desajustada, com uma argúcia e perspicácia reveladora de uma inteligência superior;
7 – “O Canto das Sereias” possui um grafismo narrativo brilhante, num livro tenso e emocionante, baseado em excelentes personagens, com detalhes requintados e precisos na descrição dos instrumentos medievais de tortura e sua manipulação, num sadismo atroz e atormentador…
8 – “O Canto das Sereias” é um livro 5 estrelas.
March 9, 2015
The Mermaids Singing is Val McDermid’s first in a series of Tony Hill and Carol Jordan novels, and I must confess that I have mixed feelings about this one. It is certainly well written and is, without a doubt, a fascinating combination of police procedural and psychological thriller.
Men are being murdered in the fictional city of Bradfield, England, and their mutilated bodies are being dumped in the Temple Fields area where the gay bars are located. After the third body is found, Assistant Chief Constable John Brandon does what Detective Superintendent Tom Cross will not – he admits, as many have believed all along, that these heinous acts were committed by one person, and he calls upon the Home Office’s profiler, Tony Hill, to consult on the case.
Hill is paired with Detective Inspector Carol Jordan, and this proves to be a good match, in many ways. If only…. If only DS Cross weren’t determined to make it difficult to accept Hill being on the team. Fortunately, Brandon wins that round… If only there weren’t so much attraction between the Tony and Carol… if only Tony didn’t have problems with dysfunction when it came to relationships with women.
Speaking of dysfunction – the killer has it in spades. The person is not named, but we see what happens to the victims through the journal that the killer keeps, beginning before the first murder. Dr. Hill enters the story after the third killing, which is where we pick up the police action, so we have some catching up to do with the killer’s thoughts and actions. This person is intelligent and extremely careful, planning everything in minute detail so as not to leave behind any evidence. Lonely? Of course. Delusional? Yes. Sadistic? Absolutely.
That is where the tug-of-war tears at my feelings about this book. I know that The Mermaids Singing won the Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction in 1995, but I have to add a caveat here. Those who do not wish to read about torture and mutilation may want to skip over the killer’s sections of the book, or perhaps forego reading this one altogether. Ms. McDermid has painted this individual with a very sick and twisted psyche, and there were times as I read the journal sections that I thought she went too far. Also, does she sensationalize the gay scene with the sadomasochistic scenarios and the brutal murders she portrays? The Temple Fields area felt stereotypically dark and sleazy. But this was the 1990s. AIDS had been around less than 10 years. Whatever rights forward steps gays had taken, fear of the disease sent many of them back into the closet, and in some cases, brought the bullies and the gay-bashers out of the woodwork. In 1993, there was a serial killer in London dubbed “the Gay Slayer;” however, the author says in her acknowledgements that she started planning this book in the spring of 1992, which was before the real murders started. (The book was published in 1995.)
Tony Hill and Carol Hill, however, are brilliantly conceived and well developed characters. There is a push-pull between them that is palpable. Carol does not understand what Tony’s issues are, and Tony cannot reveal them, at least not yet. But there is much that makes them a good fit. There is humor. Their specific training and intuition complements each other, and they respect the other’s skill sets. I think I will enjoy reading more about Tony Hill and Carol Jordan.
The supporting characters were well written too. John Bradford, and Tom Cross, whom I have already mentioned, plus Carol’s brother Mark, as well as a few others, make up a cast who add realism and depth to the story. (It is amusing to read about the mid-90s technology, such as answering machines and camcorders.)
Finally, there was the twist. Yes! As my British friends would say, I was “gobsmacked”! I felt like I should have seen it coming. Tony Hill, the brilliant profiler, didn’t see it coming either, so I’m in good company. If you have a strong stomach and are not easily offended, then you will probably enjoy The Mermaid Singing.
4 of 5 stars
Men are being murdered in the fictional city of Bradfield, England, and their mutilated bodies are being dumped in the Temple Fields area where the gay bars are located. After the third body is found, Assistant Chief Constable John Brandon does what Detective Superintendent Tom Cross will not – he admits, as many have believed all along, that these heinous acts were committed by one person, and he calls upon the Home Office’s profiler, Tony Hill, to consult on the case.
Hill is paired with Detective Inspector Carol Jordan, and this proves to be a good match, in many ways. If only…. If only DS Cross weren’t determined to make it difficult to accept Hill being on the team. Fortunately, Brandon wins that round… If only there weren’t so much attraction between the Tony and Carol… if only Tony didn’t have problems with dysfunction when it came to relationships with women.
Speaking of dysfunction – the killer has it in spades. The person is not named, but we see what happens to the victims through the journal that the killer keeps, beginning before the first murder. Dr. Hill enters the story after the third killing, which is where we pick up the police action, so we have some catching up to do with the killer’s thoughts and actions. This person is intelligent and extremely careful, planning everything in minute detail so as not to leave behind any evidence. Lonely? Of course. Delusional? Yes. Sadistic? Absolutely.
That is where the tug-of-war tears at my feelings about this book. I know that The Mermaids Singing won the Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction in 1995, but I have to add a caveat here. Those who do not wish to read about torture and mutilation may want to skip over the killer’s sections of the book, or perhaps forego reading this one altogether. Ms. McDermid has painted this individual with a very sick and twisted psyche, and there were times as I read the journal sections that I thought she went too far. Also, does she sensationalize the gay scene with the sadomasochistic scenarios and the brutal murders she portrays? The Temple Fields area felt stereotypically dark and sleazy. But this was the 1990s. AIDS had been around less than 10 years. Whatever rights forward steps gays had taken, fear of the disease sent many of them back into the closet, and in some cases, brought the bullies and the gay-bashers out of the woodwork. In 1993, there was a serial killer in London dubbed “the Gay Slayer;” however, the author says in her acknowledgements that she started planning this book in the spring of 1992, which was before the real murders started. (The book was published in 1995.)
Tony Hill and Carol Hill, however, are brilliantly conceived and well developed characters. There is a push-pull between them that is palpable. Carol does not understand what Tony’s issues are, and Tony cannot reveal them, at least not yet. But there is much that makes them a good fit. There is humor. Their specific training and intuition complements each other, and they respect the other’s skill sets. I think I will enjoy reading more about Tony Hill and Carol Jordan.
The supporting characters were well written too. John Bradford, and Tom Cross, whom I have already mentioned, plus Carol’s brother Mark, as well as a few others, make up a cast who add realism and depth to the story. (It is amusing to read about the mid-90s technology, such as answering machines and camcorders.)
Finally, there was the twist. Yes! As my British friends would say, I was “gobsmacked”! I felt like I should have seen it coming. Tony Hill, the brilliant profiler, didn’t see it coming either, so I’m in good company. If you have a strong stomach and are not easily offended, then you will probably enjoy The Mermaid Singing.
4 of 5 stars
March 21, 2018
A chilling, thrilling, E-Ticket ride! Val McDermid does not disappoint in the first entry of her Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series. The diary entries from the killer are some of the most chilling things I have read. His research in to medieval torture devices is both fascinating and sickening at the same time. I have to admit there were a couple times where I had to put the book down just from the sheer anticipation of what was coming next. The interaction between Dr. Hill and Inspector Jordan is great...lots of room for growth individually and in their relationship. If you are a fan of dark, twisty thrillers, then this is a must for you! If you think that Karin Slaughter is too violent, then definitely steer clear.
January 25, 2018
5/85, 4 1/2 stars! ****.*
I can't believe it's taken me so long to discover Val McDermid's books, especially seeing as I was an avid fan of the Wire In The Blood tv series!!
This one was dark, twisted, fast-paced, complex, gruesome, a tad stereotypical at times (but then, it WAS written in the mid-90s), extremely well written, and a great combo of police procedure and psychological thriller. I KIND of guessed whodunnit about 3/4s of the way through, but didn't get it QUITE right! Nice twist ;)
The best thing of all, for me, is that there are another 9 books in this series!!! Bring it on!
I can't believe it's taken me so long to discover Val McDermid's books, especially seeing as I was an avid fan of the Wire In The Blood tv series!!
This one was dark, twisted, fast-paced, complex, gruesome, a tad stereotypical at times (but then, it WAS written in the mid-90s), extremely well written, and a great combo of police procedure and psychological thriller. I KIND of guessed whodunnit about 3/4s of the way through, but didn't get it QUITE right! Nice twist ;)
The best thing of all, for me, is that there are another 9 books in this series!!! Bring it on!
November 28, 2022
My 40th book of 2022 and a great plot and characters.
Written in 1995 the story holds well. A serial killer is stalking men in Bradfield who tortures them first and then murdering them. Tony Hill and Carol Jordan are good characters. Tony a profiler and psychologist with his own secrets and shortcomings. Carol an Inspector surviving in a police force with misogyny, homophobia and brutality never faraway.
It is odd that while Tony’s profile is accurate in many ways it misses a major clue. Although Carol suggests it he is too blinkered to include it in the profile. The torture scenes are gruesome and the ending superb. I can understand why this won the CWA gold dagger award. I will definitely read more in the series.
Spoilers ahead
The twist of a man becoming a woman by surgery is the serial killer is a great twist. The insane Angelica with Tony having to pretend to be attracted to her is horrible.
Written in 1995 the story holds well. A serial killer is stalking men in Bradfield who tortures them first and then murdering them. Tony Hill and Carol Jordan are good characters. Tony a profiler and psychologist with his own secrets and shortcomings. Carol an Inspector surviving in a police force with misogyny, homophobia and brutality never faraway.
It is odd that while Tony’s profile is accurate in many ways it misses a major clue. Although Carol suggests it he is too blinkered to include it in the profile. The torture scenes are gruesome and the ending superb. I can understand why this won the CWA gold dagger award. I will definitely read more in the series.
Spoilers ahead
The twist of a man becoming a woman by surgery is the serial killer is a great twist. The insane Angelica with Tony having to pretend to be attracted to her is horrible.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2009
The books on which Wire in the Blood is based. British clinical psychologist teams up with copper to profile serial killers. All expected elements present and accounted for – hostile police brass, sexual "tension," personal issues.
Yawn. And that's pretty impressive, considering books featuring a maladjusted trouble-magnet who does criminal profiling are a huge weakness of mine. But I don't think my emotional needle so much as quivered, except for occasional flickers of annoyed disgust at the violence, which has that smug, gloating feel you get with over-the-top torture scenes that serve no narrative end except to . . . be torture.
That, and I'm supposed to be interested in a criminal profiler who gives the unsubs personalizing nicknames, has deep emo pain about gazing into the abyss, and forgets to profile the unsub's race? I think not.
Yawn. And that's pretty impressive, considering books featuring a maladjusted trouble-magnet who does criminal profiling are a huge weakness of mine. But I don't think my emotional needle so much as quivered, except for occasional flickers of annoyed disgust at the violence, which has that smug, gloating feel you get with over-the-top torture scenes that serve no narrative end except to . . . be torture.
That, and I'm supposed to be interested in a criminal profiler who gives the unsubs personalizing nicknames, has deep emo pain about gazing into the abyss, and forgets to profile the unsub's race? I think not.
June 29, 2015
This one is over my gruesome quotient. You won't fall out of interest to what happens next, and the psychological analysis is not exactly "wrong"- but it is troublesome. This series is not for the faint of heart or cozy mystery readers.
December 26, 2015
After reading Beneath the Bleeding I knew I had to consume as many of these books as possible, so I continued onto The Mermaids Singing and finished it around 4 o' clock in the morning, having been so engrossed I completely lost all sense of time.
McDermid has a strong grasp of human psychology and her characters are realistic, down-to-earth and with all the gritty, dirty bits that make up a human life. Each and every character seems to breathe from the page, whether they're in the book for two pages or two hundred.
The relationship between her two main characters, Carol and Tony, is very believable. It's not romantic, but you find yourself desperately wanting them to work it out. Whether or not they ever will remains to be seen.
From the diary entries kept by the villain of the piece, termed 'The Queer Killer' by the police, the reader gains a real insight into the murderer's mind, something that I've often found lacking in crime and thriller novels. The mind of a killer may be an uncomfortable place to be, but the reader can easily imagine the kind of pain and suffering that led to that dark and twisted place.
The book is full of a mixture of human weakness and strength, darkness and light. The pages of this book are the grey areas of all human behaviour. There are no easy answers and although some may find these books unsettling and uncomfortable to read, for those willing and eager to delve into the dark places of the human mind, I highly recommend this book.
McDermid has a strong grasp of human psychology and her characters are realistic, down-to-earth and with all the gritty, dirty bits that make up a human life. Each and every character seems to breathe from the page, whether they're in the book for two pages or two hundred.
The relationship between her two main characters, Carol and Tony, is very believable. It's not romantic, but you find yourself desperately wanting them to work it out. Whether or not they ever will remains to be seen.
From the diary entries kept by the villain of the piece, termed 'The Queer Killer' by the police, the reader gains a real insight into the murderer's mind, something that I've often found lacking in crime and thriller novels. The mind of a killer may be an uncomfortable place to be, but the reader can easily imagine the kind of pain and suffering that led to that dark and twisted place.
The book is full of a mixture of human weakness and strength, darkness and light. The pages of this book are the grey areas of all human behaviour. There are no easy answers and although some may find these books unsettling and uncomfortable to read, for those willing and eager to delve into the dark places of the human mind, I highly recommend this book.
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