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A review by qu33nofbookz
The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid
1.0
Pure and utter torture porn down to the last minute detail. Not for the squeamish. Abuse and death of a dog as well as gay bashing, since they are the targets for a change from women. All the characters as a**holes pretty much so you don't care about them. If you are good at puzzles/mysteries you find out who the killer is pretty quick but the details come at the end and might make you mad. Lots of detail of torture as a good portion of the book is spent in the killer's mind.
There have been four killings in the small area of an English town know to be a gay hot spot. The gay bashing, chauvinistic, uber-religious a**hole of a police chief has been trying to stop the announcement of the work of a serial killer. But Tony Hill, a profiler, steps in after a cop is killed and the hunt is on. He works with Carol Jordan, the only female investigator, to catch the torture porn killer before there is another body.
Flat characters (there are quite a few to keep track of you might want to write their names down so you don't forget or get confused at first) you hate and can't connect with, everyone is an a**hole in their own way. Tony had psychological problems of his own that almost rivaled the killers (which in this format of crime books makes them uniquely qualified to get into the mind of the killer but it also makes them the perfect victim, which is another plot point in all crime stories). Carol is a wishy washy character who can't decide what she wants and being the only female detective (thus hated and little respected) MUST fall for the psychologist (or whoever is helping the police) even though she claims she won't or keeps reminding herself not to. Her second in command is a backstabbing weasel who gives up all the inside info and gossip to the intrepid (not so much) reporter.
Besides all the torture porn (yes laid out just like porn for the sexual pleasure of sadists) there is a lot of repetitiveness here.
There have been four killings in the small area of an English town know to be a gay hot spot. The gay bashing, chauvinistic, uber-religious a**hole of a police chief has been trying to stop the announcement of the work of a serial killer. But Tony Hill, a profiler, steps in after a cop is killed and the hunt is on. He works with Carol Jordan, the only female investigator, to catch the torture porn killer before there is another body.
Flat characters (there are quite a few to keep track of you might want to write their names down so you don't forget or get confused at first) you hate and can't connect with, everyone is an a**hole in their own way. Tony had psychological problems of his own that almost rivaled the killers (which in this format of crime books makes them uniquely qualified to get into the mind of the killer but it also makes them the perfect victim, which is another plot point in all crime stories). Carol is a wishy washy character who can't decide what she wants and being the only female detective (thus hated and little respected) MUST fall for the psychologist (or whoever is helping the police) even though she claims she won't or keeps reminding herself not to. Her second in command is a backstabbing weasel who gives up all the inside info and gossip to the intrepid (not so much) reporter.
Besides all the torture porn (yes laid out just like porn for the sexual pleasure of sadists) there is a lot of repetitiveness here.