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)

Too much for me!

I love Val McDermid books and think she’s great, but this one was too grizzly and too sexually explicit for me. I’m not a prude and listen to lots of murder mysteries, but I can’t listen to torture. I found myself fast forwarding a lot! It’s a great story though and she had me fooled right up till the end. It’s well written and interesting. I really like listening to how he builds his profiles. Just too, too much for me as a listener.

mermaids screaming?

Where does The Mermaids Singing rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I love mysteries and this one was outstanding. A great beginning to the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series to which I am looking forward to reading more of the books.

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

The plot wasn't a complete surprise to me because I had watched the television series based on these books, Wire in the Blood starring Robson Greene. I purchased the book based on fond memories of the quality of the TV series. I only wish that I had read the book first.

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

No. Excellent narration. His use of regional accents is a nice touch.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes... and I did complete it in one very long day!

mind games

An excellent look at the minds of the characters and that knowledge (not a gun) is the key to the mystery's solution, but I'll have to listen, again since I missed how/where the title came from.
Hearing Roberts read gives McDermid's characters more form in my imagination.
Thanks

Ewww, ick! Couldn't finish it - too creepy

I'll admit I didn't listen to much of this book - the sexual serial killer who is the narrator was just too creepy and ugly for me to listen to for very long. If this wasn't a part of a 3-for-2 special, I'd return it as un-listenable for me. I'd heard very good things about this author and was trying to test out one of her books, and perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad if I was reading it rather than listening to it - with the tone of voice and inflections that brought it to life. I might try out another of her novels, another time, but this was was too much for me.

Awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What would have made The Mermaids Singing better?

Not publishing it.

Would you ever listen to anything by Val McDermid again?

No

Any additional comments?

I couldn't listen to this book. It was distasteful, graphic and perverted.

Another - Not So Much

What was most disappointing about Val McDermid’s story?

The story line disintegrated into a porno/sex thing. I'm not fond of British mysteries to begin with and this story just didn't work for me.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Narrator was good enough for the story.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Got to the "yuck" part and just quit listening.

Be aware, animal abuse

I don’t understand why this book is so highly rated. Maybe I’m aging out of the ‘inside the killer’s mind’ genre. I sped through the torture, the phone sex, and the dog abuse. The narrator sounds lecherous. I tried but did not make it to the end.

I made it through four hours

I do not consider myself squeamish. I absolutely loved "Gone Girl" and all of that author's books. I am watching "The Following" on TV (where at least one person dies a horrific and very graphic death in every show). Still, there was something very disturbing about this novel. When it got to a blow-by-blow (so to speak) description of a sex phone call (definitely you would not think that would/could have been as 'violent' as some things I've read, watched or listened to), I realized my entire body was cringing. I read for entertainment -- and I was not being entertained. I was being tortured. It almost felt as if the author was enjoying it as much as the 'bad' characters in the book. Too realistic? (Too sadistic?) Maybe. "Well" written, but not for me. Definitely not entertaining.

Little shop of tortures

The entire book is composed of graphically detailed modern day application of medieval torture instruments. It is a story of a sicko needing the most gruesome forms of torture in history to become sexually aroused. The author seems to have become consumed by the methods of the Inquisition and other heinous forms of desiccating a human. Yes, there is the search for the "gay murderer" by a sexually confused profiler; but it is less about the "mystery", and much, much, much more about the detailed descriptions of torture. Not a great substitute for character development and a good mystery. I am unlikely to wade through this author's work again.

Couldn't finish

Oh when will this end? I tried, but after many hours just had to end my own torture of listening to this book. The killer is definitely a sicko, but the story just rambled on and on. I couldn't figure out who was who and dreaded trying to finish.