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The Torment of Others
by: Val McDermid

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Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780007142903
ISBN: 0007142900
Label: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: March 07, 2005
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Studio: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Sales Rank: 5815

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.co.uk Review:
The Torment of Others is a salutary reminder what an asset to British crime fiction Val McDermid is. Her first books with journalist Lindsay Gordon as heroine gave hints of the talent that was to mature so impressively--and the subsequent series with the resourceful private eye Kate Brannigan demonstrated a sharper eye for the harder edges of society. But the best was just around the corner. McDermid's third sequence with clinical psychologist profiler Tony Hill was something of a quantum leap: as well as forging one of the most memorable figures in contemporary crime fiction with mildly eccentric Hill, McDermid added a degree of psychological acuity that made the earlier books seem like warm-ups for the main event.

The latest outing for Hill, The Torment of Others, also features McDermid's other richly realised creation, DCI Carol Jordan, and the author carries her familiar protagonists into truly unsettling new areas. This time, Hill is coping with a return to practical clinical profiling after a frustrating spell as an academic. And there's another major complication for him: his ex-partner Carol Jordan is no longer sure she wishes to be in charge of a team after the brutal sexual assault she suffered during undercover work. But she is persuaded to do so--and realises that one of her main tasks will be to create a cohesive unit.

A dead woman discovered in a sexual position on a bloody mattress, appears to be the victim of a killer the team knows all about: the monstrous Derek Tyler, who had carried out similarly bloody work two years before. However, forensics have landed Tyler in a mental institution--does this mean that Hill and Jordan are searching for a murderer who is copying the techniques of the psychotic Tyler?

While this may not be the best starting point for those new to McDermid, enthusiasts will find all the key elements are firmly and satisfyingly in place. --Barry Forshaw

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Worth reading even if you've seen the TV series
Whilst Carol Jordan is still trying to recover from her experiences when an undercover operation went badly wrong for her, a young woman is found murdered.
The killing is almost identical in MO to those committed by Derek Tyler, who is incarcerated in a mental institution and has become an elective mute. The discovery of this body and then a further victim appears to cast doubt over Tyler's conviction and the original enquiry and profiler Tony Hill is asked to consult on the case.
The new investigation leads the team to take the risky decision of setting up another undercover operation, but there are doubts that Carol will be able to cope after her recent traumatic experience.

This novel really shows Val McDermid at ... Read More:

Rating:

- Good but let down on a couple of points
It was a really good read and kept me interested but you felt the ending was too quickly wrapped up. The serial killer who thought of everything didn't have a paasword on the home computer that contained incriminating evidence.
Also the fact that the hookers seem to know who the creeper was but wouldn't say anything. That part of the story didn't ring through very well. Other than that it was well worth a read and I will track down her other novels.

Rating:

- Different type of crime thriller
Her characters are very harsh but you know that underneath their brave fronts they are usually vulnerable and that seems to draw them more sympathy from the reader.
What makes the Tony Hill books different from other crime thrillers is that having a psychologist involved in the story but not working directly as a cop gives the author the freedom to theorise about the murders, so providing a good contrast between this and the usual police procedural progress.
I was a bit disapppointed that there were two cases which were given prominence but turned out not to be linked and I felt that the child killer case was given a fairly swift windup at the end of the book.
Other than that a very good book. I've read several Val McDermid ... Read More:

Rating:

- A high tensioned thriller
This is the fourth book in the series featuring Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan.
Two crimes to solve..... a past case involving two missing children and a murderer who is brutally killing women in a fashion which is identical to previous murders but with the killer already convicted and locked up.
This is one of the best books in the series, a high tensioned thriller with twists and turns along the way.

Rating:

- Very Good
A murderer is killing prostitutes, in a very gruesome manner. The method of the murders, is identical to a series of murders committed a few years earlier. However, that killer, Derek Tyler, has been put away, and could not have been involved, with the new cases.

I found this book a rivetting read. I felt the characters, DCI Carol Jordan and Tony Hill, along with the rest of the crime investigating team, seemed quite believable, and that the dialogue between them was realistic, as well.

The storyline never got dull, and there are a few twists in it, too. It kept me interested throughout.

Books : The Torment of Others