- Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins (24 May 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007142897
- ISBN-13: 978-0007142897
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.4 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,359,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Torment of Others
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Product Description
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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
‘One of McDermid's finest, which is saying a lot' The Times
‘An especially taut and inventive thriller. This is McDermid on top form’ Daily Mail
'Serial killers are thankfully rare. It is a tribute to the power of Val McDermid's imagination that she made this one seem so believable' Daily Telegraph
'Complex, combative and nuanced' Express
‘No one compares to McDermid’ Guardian
'Val McDermid is an intelligent, supremely talented novelist and with this latest tale, she is writing at the height of her power. Utterly compelling' Glasgow Herald
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The Torment of Others is McDermid's fourth novel starring duo Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, who are, along with Stephen Booth's Ben Cooper and Diane Fry, the most interesting pairing in crime fiction. It is also, possibly, the very best. Not least because it's quite a bit shorter than many of her books - the result is a slightly slimmer, more tight, incredibly tense and suspenseful piece of work.
Two plots run parallel here: the disappearance of two young boys, which itself fades a little in importance when prostitutes begin turning up brutally murdered in grotty rooms. After her ordeal in Berlin, Carol Jordan has been off work in London, but is gradually tempted back to Bradfield by her boss John Brandon, to head a special team that will target particularly high-profile murder cases. Tony Hill, meanwhile, is also back in Bradfield, his stint as a lecturer at St Andrews University having come to an end. The job simply wasn't right for him. He much prefers to indulge in his work in the messy heads of the mentally ill. It is where he feels most at home, and is where he's most effective. He's taken a job at the local mental hospital.
The prostitute murders have particular resonance for the new murder squad, in that they mirror exactly a series of four murders from a few years ago. However, the culprit, Derek Tyler, is now incarcerated in the hospital where Tony now works. Tony's reluctant to accept the possibility of a copycat (they're sexual murders; each perpetrator has very differing needs and desires, thus the patterns of killing should very rarely, if ever, be the same), but what other explanation is there?
The general opinion seems to be that this is McDermid at her strongest, and I would probably agree. It may not be A Place of Execution, but that is a work that, as some reviewers say, "transcends the genre", so I am discounting it. In terms of the Hill/Jordan series, it is every bit as thrilling and inventive as the first, with the added bonus of having a veritable feast of the protagonists emotional turmoils to indulge in. The tension between the two is marvellous, their relationship is an absolute gem. All series detective novels, when taken as an entire unit, are essentially a love story (I think). In this regard, this series of McDermid's is the finest, all the better for that she doesn't fill books and books with it - just one every few years.
The Torment of Others is a very suspenseful, tense, thrilling read. The writing's excellent, very atmospheric, and the climax is exciting and shattering. Definitely so. Excellent work, Val; excellent.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
It's always a pleasure when I take a chance on a new novelist and it pays off as well as it did here. Val McDermid is, I now know, one of our best writers and I won't hesitate to buy any book in the future with her name on the cover. In The Torment of Others, you'll get everything you want from a thriller and more : intelligent characters, gripping imagery, a powerful plot, clever pacing and just entertainment all round. The lead characters Jordan and Hill are very much individuals whose personalities and concerns are so well described that we almost feel that we know them; the key point is that we can easily believe in them. The side-plot of their 'relationship' is actually intriguing, dealt with subtle aplomb by their creator and cleverly left unfinished within the context of this story so that we can carry on where they left off in the next one. The main story line of this book is quite daringly graphic in its description without being gory for its own sake. It just leaves you wondering "Jeez, what a way to go"...and I'm not a woman! This is a writer of high intellect, vivid imagination and the bringing together of those rare skills makes for very enjoyable reading. Call me a fan.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am young and new on the murder story scene and having only recently finished 'The da vinci code' I was not looking forward to searching for a book to match it. 'The torment of others',however, was recomended to me by a friend not long ago and this problem seems to be reoccurring! I find that many books suffer from an exciting and gripping first chapter only to be followed up by a really tedious 300/400 pages. Val's book isn't like this. A gripping first chapter, followed up by 552 pages of pure brilliance. Good murders, good plot, exciting twists.
As I said, I'm only young, but at only 15 I really can't recommend a more exciting, 'don't-speak-to-me-until-I'm-finished' thriller for all ages.
As I said, I'm only young, but at only 15 I really can't recommend a more exciting, 'don't-speak-to-me-until-I'm-finished' thriller for all ages.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fantastic read
Yet another great read from Val McDermid, really can't go wrong if you like a good thriller. Great plot and twists. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Helen
A quality read
I think this is the best in the Tony Hill series so far. It has a great story of two plots of a cold case of abducted and murdered kids and recent killings of sex workers in... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Clive
Expert storyteller but pulls no punches
The fourth in the Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan series; where quirky, criminal profiler Hill assists police detective Jordan in tracking down serial killers. Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2010 by Mr Creepy
Some Really Unsettling, Violent Material
"The Torment of Others" is the fourth in the electrifying "Wire in the Blood," Dr. Tony Hill/Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan series by Val McDermid, a quickly-emerging... Read more
Published on 9 Dec 2009 by Stephanie DePue
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. Read more
Published on 20 Nov 2008 by Sarah Durston
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. Read more
Published on 18 July 2008 by George O'reilly
Just Ok
This was my first audio CD /book by Val. A bit disappointed got a bit confused with some of the voices and the end was a bit predictable and boring.
Published on 17 Feb 2008 by mrs waters
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. Read more
Published on 13 Dec 2007 by Janie U
A high tensioned thriller
This is the fourth book in the series featuring Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan.
Two crimes to solve..... Read more
Two crimes to solve..... Read more
Published on 19 Oct 2007 by F. Luchetti
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. Read more
Published on 17 Sep 2007 by J.Flood
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