Val McDermid, The Torment of Others

Val McDermid, The Torment of Others is available in hardback from:

Amazon £12.59

Mystery & Thriller Club £10.99

Just Good Books £10.99

WH Smith £17.99

(not available in paperback)

Having not read the first three books in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, I thought it would take time to get into the story and to know the characters. I was helped though from watching the Wire in the Blood series on TV with Robson Greene and Hermoine Norris.

So to the story.

Two boys have been snatched and no-one can find any trace of them. Detective Don Merrick wishes Carol Jordan was running the case as she has a way of lateral thinking that might give them some leads. Carol unfortunately is on sick leave after being raped in Berlin whilst on an undercover job.

Carol is persuaded to come back to work to take over an elite squad to deal with high profile cases as and when they occur but to also look at cold cases. The team is made up of

Inspector Don Merrick

Detective Sergeant Kevin Matthews

Detective Constable Paula McIntyre

Detective Constable Sam Evans

Detective Constable Stacey Chen

They are later joined by Detective Sergeant Jan Shield from Vice.

The disappearance of the two boys is one of the cold cased they are given to look at, but then a prostitute is found murdered. The MO is the same as four previous murders two years previously, but unfortunately the murderer is locked up in Bradfield Moor mental institution. Irrefutable evidence had secured Derek Tyler's conviction, DNA and a confession, but there was no way he could have murdered the latest victim.

The team take on the investigation of both cases, although when another prostitute turns up killed in the same way it, this appears the most pressing case.

Tony Hill, a criminal psychologist, has moved to Bradfield to keep an eye on Carol Jordan. He feels guilty about her rape, as he had been unable to prevent it and now feels a duty to protect her. He is called in by Carol to give a psychological profile of the prostitute killers. He is convinced that they are not copycat killings, but what other explanation is there.

As time seems to be running out Carol is forced to take drastic action, putting on of her officers undercover, bringing back memories of her last case.

Well what's my opinion?

Go and read it now. I found I could not put this book down. It is definitely a page turner and I nearly missed my stop (I read mostly on buses & trains) as I kept thinking just one more page.

The build up of the characters and the relationship between them is magnificent. You feel as if you know each character and their faults. The chemistry between Hill and Jordan is electric. Will they? Won't they? Should they? You'll need to read it to find out.

Normally I can figure out who the killer is quite quickly, but this kept me guessing right up to the last couple of chapters. Then of course all the clues added up.

I will definitely be reading the first three in the series now and looking forward to the next.