Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

Quantity: 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
13 used & new from £0.04

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Tell a Friend
The Mermaids Singing
 
See larger image
 
The Mermaids Singing [Audiobook] (Audio Cassette)
by Val McDermid (Author), Alan Cumming (Narrator)
4.1 out of 5 stars 35 customer reviews (35 customer reviews)
Price: £10.99 & eligible for Free UK delivery on orders over £15 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
Availability: In stock. Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon.

Want guaranteed delivery by 1pm Saturday, May 17? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

13 used & new available from £0.04
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 6 used & new from £30.51
Paperback (New Ed) £6.99 £4.99 53 used & new from £0.70
Mass Market Paperback 16 used & new from £0.01
Unknown Binding (Large Print Ed) 2 used & new from £7.47
 
   

Perfect Partner

Buy this book with The Last Temptation by Val McDermid today!

The Mermaids Singing The Last Temptation
Buy Together Today: £14.98

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Last Temptation

The Last Temptation by Val McDermid

3.6 out of 5 stars (18)  £3.99
The Wire in the Blood

The Wire in the Blood by Val McDermid

4.3 out of 5 stars (25)  £4.99
The Torment of Others

The Torment of Others by Val McDermid

4.4 out of 5 stars (18)  £4.99
A Place of Execution

A Place of Execution by Val McDermid

4.8 out of 5 stars (10)  £3.99
Beneath the Bleeding

Beneath the Bleeding by Val McDermid

3.5 out of 5 stars (16)  £4.12
Explore similar items : Books (40) DVD (4)

Product details

Product Description
Synopsis
The Bradfield police are desperately hunting a serial-killer. Sexually crazed, coldly methodical, he puts his victims to barbaric torture, but leaves no clues to his identity. Four men have already died. When will he strike again?

About the Author
Val McDermid grew up in a Scottish mining community then read English at Oxford. She was a journalist for sixteen years, spending the last three as Northern Bureau Chief of a national Sunday tabloid. She is now a full-time writer and lives in South Manchester --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed

The Wire in the Blood

The Wire in the Blood by Val McDermid

4.3 out of 5 stars (25)  £4.99
The Last Temptation

The Last Temptation by Val McDermid

3.6 out of 5 stars (18)  £3.99
The Torment of Others

The Torment of Others by Val McDermid

4.4 out of 5 stars (18)  £4.99
A Place of Execution

A Place of Execution by Val McDermid

4.8 out of 5 stars (10)  £3.99
Killing the Shadows

Killing the Shadows by Val McDermid

4.6 out of 5 stars (5)  £3.99
Explore similar items : Books (38)

 
Customer Reviews
35 Reviews
5 star: 45%  (16)
4 star: 31%  (11)
3 star: 11%  (4)
2 star: 11%  (4)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Write an online review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars More human than Cornwell and more thought than Patterson, 24 Jun 2000
By Mr. D. J. Carr "David Carr" (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Mermaids Singing (Paperback)
Val McDermid is one of the few writers which successfully merge the reality of a UK setting with the thrill of the chase.

Her background as a newspaper reporter seems to enable her to write developing stories in a style that makes you feel you are there. Her characters are more human than those found in Patricia Cornwell's police thrillers, and the characters have more depth than the typical James Patterson. She avoids the new realism which seems to demand more explicit torture scenes in short chapters, relying instead on a more thoughtful exposition of the motives involved and a true sense of time in the plotting.

Her development of the personality of Tony Hill is well-paced, and manages to blend the abstract analytical facet of his work with his human frailties and self-blindness.

This book encouraged me to read her back-catalogue works; the schoolgirl mystery stories of Lindsay Duncan and the Warshawski-like Brannigan series which although lighter in tone show the love of detail on which this more mature work depends for its success.

I unreservedly recommend it as a more human approach than Cornwell and created with rather more thought and insight than Patterson.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? YesNo (Report this)



 
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth staying an extra stop on the train for!, 5 April 2001
This review is from: The Mermaids Singing (Paperback)
I have read all of Val McDermid's books, but this one really had me sneaking a look at the book at work, walking down the street etc etc. McDermid involves you fully with the characters and the action and although you are horrified by the sickness of the crime, you are somehow allowed to understand the killer's mind. I wasn't sure whether to read quickly to get to the end or savour slowly so that I didn't finish it too soon.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? YesNo (Report this)



 
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Grippingly Superb!, 4 Sep 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: The Mermaids Singing (Paperback)
What a great book! I was hooked from the minute I began to read. The characters became so real and the plot so nerve-tinglingly tense, that I could not put this book down! By the time I got to the last few chapters, I found myself reading faster and faster just so that I could find out what would happen next - would Batman arrive in time?!!! Seriously though, the detailed descriptions of the killer's methods (to me) were necessary for the heightening of the tension. Without such detail, the killer would not have seemed half as scary or crazy. If you love a good read and have a very strong stomach, read and enjoy!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? YesNo (Report this)


Write an online review
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Graphic but gripping
As with all books by this author the descriptions of the killing methods are graphically detailed and only for those with a strong constitution. Read more
Published 18 days ago by barneysky

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading even if you've seen the TV series
The Mermaids Singing introduces us to Dr Tony Hill and DI Carol Jordan, as they attempt to find a killer who appears to be targeting young men and then dumping them in areas known... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Snapdragon

3.0 out of 5 stars average at best
I read this book as part of a book group.

No one was particularly impressed I am afraid.

It is a well written and an easy to read book. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Saied