Reviews

The Torment Of Others / The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid

raxxq's review against another edition

4.0

I started reading Val McDermid because I was watching Wire in the Blood on Netflix streaming on demand. So anyone who says that the television and internet rot people's brains and cause them to stop reading, I call bulls**t. Anyway, I didn't have particularly high expectations of the book, of course it had to be good enough that they made an entire television series out of it, but then again, they've made movies out of Disney rides, right (no, I am not knocking PotC, but come on, the Haunted Mansion?) But, just as the television show puts to shame its closest US counterpart, Criminal Minds, so did The Torment of Others put to shame other thriller mysteries that I have read. And that is having already watched the show, and knowing how the book will end.

This book gave me nightmares. And for the record, the last time that a book gave me a nightmare was in third grade when I read The Witches. Val McDermid writes Carol Jordan with a degree of depth that I find pretty astonishing. I wonder if she might not have had some of the experiences that she attributes to her female protagonist, so well conceived are her emotional and intellectual responses.

Anyway, this book falls just shy of five stars, because for five stars it has to be truly remarkable, life changing and challenging. Though this book is a great murder mystery, it is none of those things. An all around enjoyable read (aside from the nightmares).

kaityreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

caty_murray's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

eiencafe's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

Minor: Child abuse and Child death

syren1532's review against another edition

5.0

Carol Jordan is back in Broadfield following the ill-fated undercover operation in Berlin. Two boys have gone missing and weeks later there are still no clues to what's happened to them so Carol and her team are looking over the cases again. Then a prostitution is murdered in the same manner as four women two years earlier but their killer was caught and is in a mental hospital - was the right person convicted? A second woman is killed and then a police officer working undercover is abducted. Can Carol, Tony Hill and the team find their colleague and work out who the "Creeper" is and will the discover what happened to the two missing boys. Another excellent installment in the Hill and Jordan series by Val McDermid - they just get better and better.

vtlism's review against another edition

Didn't like the narrator 

picky_04's review against another edition

3.0

This wasn’t the edition I read but I can’t find it on here

ivy1302's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

It’s like being taken back to the first book. However carol and tony have changed. Both fight grief and trauma from the 3rd book (the last temptation). A really gripping and emotional piece.

gawronma's review against another edition

4.0

This was one of the very best Hill/Jordon stories. It truly had a compellng mystery and more development of the characters.

jparnie's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.5