it was ok - i got engrossed although I took a few breaks listening. I was quite annoyed with the unnecessary graphic description of sexual and physica..Show More »l torture. I am not squeamish but I found it did not add to the storyline at all. In fact, come to think of it, except for the graphic descriptions there wasn't much of a storyline to hold the interest.I much prefer other Val McDermid books I listened to.

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I purchased The Mermaids Singing partially because of the reviews I read on Audible, but probably more because Val McDermid seemed to be the favorite ..Show More »mystery author of Mikael Blomqvist in The Millenium Trilogy (The Girl With .....). Now that I have read all of the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan books to date (a new one is due later this year), I felt it was time to write a review of the first book.

McDermid writes wonderful prose that makes her characters come alive -- all of them, not just the two major characters. I won't try to tell you about the plot, since many other reviews do that. But the development of the plot, along with the minutiae of each character's life and personality, make for excellent reading. McDermid creates a tight, incredibly tense story that keeps you reading, sometimes even when you don't want to.

If you are averse to graphic depictions of violence and perversion, you may want to skip this series. But if that's not a problem, I highly recommend these books. In Tony Hill, McDermid has created a flawed and damaged character who still manages to live in the world and work for the forces of good as a Profiler, expert at his work because of his scarred past. The relationship of Tony and Carol Jordan, police inspector, is so tentative and slow moving that you sometimes could scream, but you keep waiting for it to progress. The pair pursues serial killers in plots that will keep you on the edge of your seat with your jaw clenched.

It is important that you read the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan books in the order in which they were published, since these are not stand alone novels. The characters and their relationships and pasts are developed over the course of the series, and reading out of order makes it more difficult to follow some developments.

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As of this review I am sure I've read over a hundred novels about serial killers. What makes this one stand out is the focus is on a newly formed team..Show More » of profilers. They are experienced cops, but entirely new to profiling. They are led, however, by a very prominent physcologist who specializes in criminal profiling, Tony Hill.

The integrity of this group is immediately challenged by a police force unimpressed with any use of physcology and this prejudice is continually exacerbated by an extremely manipulative killer. I learned a lot more about profiling than most any other book I've read.

The suspense kept me engrossed throughout the novel.



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Another wonderful entry in McDermid's series about psychological profiler Tony Hill, who is hospitalized throughout much of the book after being hit w..Show More »ith an ax by a patient, and detective chief inspector Carol Jordan, who is faced with the case of a star soccer player being poisoned and evidence suggesting there might be a terrorism angle. This one isn't as gruesome as some of the other books because it's not about a sexual sociopath. But if the plot sounds boring — and it does to me — it's interesting in its look at terrorism security, poisonous plants and soccer fandom. It does discuss the endings of the first and fourth books but not so explicitly that it would ruin reading them after this, but the characters will resonate more if you start earlier. Bechdel test: A+.

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A serial killer is targeting teenagers, and clinical psychologist Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan are on the cases, which initially don’t appear relate..Show More »d. Good backstory on Tony’s mother. You probably need to already love the characters to love this, but I do, enough so that I immediately started the next in the series as soon as I finished. Bechdel test: Pass.

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The Retribution is the 7th book in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, and to my mind is one of the best. Other reviewers have lamented the "reha..Show More »shed plot," bringing back Jacko Vance, a truly diabolical killer from "Wire in the Blood," the second book in the series. If you have not yet read "Wire In the Blood," I suggest you do so before reading this book. It's not that you can't follow the plot or enjoy The Retribution without knowing Wire In the Blood. It's just that you will more fully experience the horror, tension and suspense if you have already read the first book with Jacko Vance as villain.

As can be expected, Jacko's revenge on the people "responsible" for ruining his life by putting him in jail or for other perceived wrongs is cruel and often indirect, inflicted on the people closest to the people at whom his revenge is aimed. As a result of that indirect revenge, and the means used to accomplish it, I found this book to be intense, full of suspense, often frightening, and very emotional.

The vengeance wreaked by Vance creates situations which damage the Hill/Jordan relationship even further than before, and other suffer needlessly. Some people have found the ending quite sad. However, given the fact that another book in this series is scheduled to come out this fall, I believe that the ending is not nearly as permanent as it seems.

I look forward to reading more of this series.

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In the last book (no spoiler), everything went FUBAR. I couldn't imagine how McDermid would resurrect the characters, but she did. This is another exc..Show More »ellent serial killer book, in this case delving into sexism and gender roles but not in an obvious way. I simply loved every page, but if you haven't read the other books, don’t start the series here. Bechdel test: Passed (almost all main characters are female). Grade: A-

Narration: Doyle is excellent. He perfectly captures Tony Hill, Carol Jordan and friends. I hope the publisher never picks another narrator.

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This book gripped me from the first sentence and didn't let go until the very very end! This is classic Tony Hill/Carol Jordan, not to mention Val Mc..Show More »Dermid, the genius behind this series. I have felt that the last two Tony Hill books were kind of tired, and left me underwhelmed. But McDermid has put Humpty back together again and the results are sublime!

Carol is facing an enormous personal crisis, Tony is the only one who can help, Stacy finally has what she wants and has to face the reality of that, and Paula's character continues to develop as she becomes even more integrated into the personal and professional lives of these characters. All the while, we have a dastardly criminal who seems to be a ghost stirring up mayhem for the team to wrestle with. All the bells and whistles are here, Tony and Carole leading their crew, driving them to solve this, and to solve it yesterday.

It's been a long LONG time since I've read a book like this in one sitting, but McDermid is such a gifted writer, these characters are so dimensional and authentic, and the story is so tightly woven I just could not stop listening. If you've been waiting for Tony to get his groove back...wait no longer. He's back with bells on!

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