The Mermaids Singing

Rating:
Summary: difficult
Review: well, it is difficult to rate : I liked it, and didn't like it.
It is a good thriller, really, but the torture details are disgusting, and normally I am not so easily impressed.

Rating:
Summary: "Welcome to the big time."
Review: When a third horribly mutilated and tortured body of a young male is found dumped in the notorious gay cruising district of Temple Fields in Bradfield, criminal psychologist, Dr. Tony Hill is brought in to help the murder investigation. With the discovery of the third body, some members of the police force realise that they're on the trail of a vicious serial killer, and that it's just a matter of time before more bodies start showing up. Superintendent Tom Cross, however, thinks the notion of a serial killer is unlikely, and that the crimes are the random inevitable result and testament of the activities that occur in Temple Fields.

Dr. Tony Hill is brought into the investigation--partially as an experiment to measure the success of Criminal Profiling. Detective Inspector Carol Jordan is assigned to act as a liaison between Tony Hill and the mostly skeptical police department. She's ambitious and driven, and she also believes in Tony's work. Together they form an alliance and try to piece together the plans of a sadistic killer and the clues he leaves behind before he claims another victim.

Author Val McDermid maintains consistently brilliant and masterful control over the narrative. The novel flashes back and forth between the mind of the murderer and the police investigation, and McDermid tantalizes the reader by the very deliberate structuring of revealed information. While the police are always one step away from the killer, the reader is privy to the dastardly, meticulous plans. This structuring creates an immensely tense, gripping and addictive read. In addition to being remarkably well written, "The Mermaids Singing" contains depth and raises some interesting moral questions that continue to plague even after the novel is over. Complex issues such as journalistic responsibility, departmental politics, and rampant homophobia complicate and interfere with the investigation. But one of the most fascinating aspects of the novel is Criminal Profiler Dr. Tony Hill--who becomes "dangerously close to admiration for a mind so disturbingly complex", and there are moments when he feels almost mentally seduced by killer. Just what is the relationship between a sadistic killer and the man who hunts him down?--displacedhuman