The Mermaids Singing

By: Val McDermid

Narrated by: Graham Roberts

Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

The bodies of four men have been discovered in the town of Bradfield. Enlisted to investigate is criminal psychologist Tony Hill. Even for a seasoned professional, the series of mutilation sex murders is unlike anything he's encountered before. But profiling the psychopath is not beyond him. Hill's own past has made him the perfect man to comprehend the killer's motives. It's also made him the perfect victim. A game has begun for the hunter and the hunted. But as Hill confronts his own hidden demons, he must also come face-to-face with an evil so profound he may not have the courage - or the power - to stop it....

©1995 Val McDermid (P)1996 ISIS Publishing Ltd.

Critic reviews

"Complex...powerful...psychologically terrifying...impossible to put down." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Exciting, rapid-fire...a satisfying descent into the territory of a twisted mind." ( Booklist )

"Compelling and shocking…." (Minette Walters)

No room for improvement

If you could sum up The Mermaids Singing in three words, what would they be?

Fascinatingly imperfect protagonists.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The characters are all so very *human* ... the reader is left to wonder whether the next page will mean triumph or failure for the players involved (as there are plenty of opportunities for both)!

Which scene was your favorite?

Any scene where Tom "Popeye" Cross gets shut down! I HATE that guy!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed AND cried! And very few books have the powerful kind of magic required to get an emotional response from me. This is definitely one of those few

Any additional comments?

I was very skeptical about this one after reading some of the more negative reviews. Frankly, I believe anyone who finds this title too graphic must be merely too sensitive for the genre.This wasn't ripe with unnecessary gore, as some reviews seem to suggest. The historical accounts of ancient torture methods are fascinating in the context of the story; the author's research is extensive and impressive. While the story DOES depict pain and punishment, the actual narrative of the carnage is limited. Anyone who loves the tale of a psychological profiler (like an episode of "Criminal Minds") will not be bothered by this presentation.

Crime, mystery, serial killer! Oh my!

Fun listen, so much that I’m going to keep going in the series. Good characters and serial killer mystery.

Excellent Thriller

If you could sum up The Mermaids Singing in three words, what would they be?

Classy, intelligent, thriller.

What did you like best about this story?

Story was suspenseful - a real page turner.

Have you listened to any of Graham Roberts’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

He was the perfect choice for narrator.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Looking forward to reading other novels in the series. Val Macdermid is an excellent writer.

Any additional comments?

I purchased the next book in the series, the Wire in the Blood and it is great too.

Not for the faint of heart!!

I am a huge fan of psychological thrillers. seeing things from the killers point of view. this is a brutal and sometimes rather uncomfortable listen, but a great story. Excellently performed.
I love Carol & Tony.
this was my 2nd time through the book and even though I knew what was coming I still felt the anticipation of what would happen next.

Wonderfully creepy. Gruesomely graphic.

This is an excellent story, the narration is superb. Parts of it were actually really hard to take it was so graphic.

Excellent book by the Queen

Gripping the whole way through. A little gruesome in places, so beware if you are squeamish. Can't wait to buy the next in the series.

Much better than what I was expecting

I'd watched the series based on McDermid's work, and thought that a reading of it would also be interesting; I was right. There's so much more to Hill and Jordan than is shown in the series, Dr. Hill's relationship with woman on the telephone for one, and Jordan's complex internal romantic sense conflicts with her desire to be a good copper for another.
One thing that I'm sure was an accident, was the performance. Very occasionally, I'd hear the rustle of pages behind Roberts' voice; I'm not sure about other narrators, but I felt as though this sound, domestic and ordinary, complimented the experience. I'd never considered when listening to audiobooks that I was being read to by another person, but that little sound somehow immediately connected me more to story. I considered, for the first, that the reader was reading and thinking about the story just as I was. More a shared experience than a lone one.
I know that's rather off-topic, but it really separated this book from all the others I'd listened to on the site.
Overall great read, the insights into every character were stunning and vividly real as though you were meeting these people yourself.
Would recommend.

very gruesome

I just couldn't continue. Beautiful language, wonderful performance, but the story was more than I could stomach.

overpowering

terrifyingly mesmerising. graphically unreal yet spiked with what might lay on the other side of that closed door. will hear another.

Chilling - Insightful

I love this book. It’s gruesome, chilling, unhinged even. However, McDermid has a unique insight into criminal psychology and draws fascinating parallels between the most heinous of crimes and the misunderstanding one has about oneself, as well as the macro-effects of institutional biases on the catching of a killer.
I recommend this book to anymore who loves an exciting crime thriller and isn’t easily turned away by detailed description of sexual crimes.
Trigger Warning:
animal cruelty (not extensive, and reserved to a small section in the early part of the book)
sexual torture (detailed descriptions of repugnant crimes involving sexual torture)