The Mermaids Singing cover art

The Mermaids Singing

Tony Hill and Carol Jordan Series, Book 1

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The Mermaids Singing

By: Val McDermid
Narrated by: Saul Reichlin
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About this listen

The first stunning thriller in the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series, from best-selling author Val McDermid.

Up until now, the only serial killers Tony Hill had encountered were safely behind bars. This one’s different – this one’s on the loose.

Four men have been found mutilated and tortured. As fear grips the city, the police turn to clinical psychologist Tony Hill for a profile of the killer. But soon Tony becomes the unsuspecting target in a battle of wits and wills where he has to use every ounce of his professional nerve to survive.

A tense, beautifully written psychological thriller, The Mermaids Singing explores the tormented mind of a serial killer unlike any the world of fiction has ever seen.

©1995 Val McDermid (P)2015 W F Howes Ltd Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Crime Scary Murder

Critic Reviews

"Gripping, intelligent stuff." (The Times)

"A superb psychological thriller." (Cosmopolitan)
All stars
Most relevant  
I love the TV Series "Wire In The Blood" starring Robson Green based on Val's books in this series. Neither versions disappoint ...far from it but this book is a masterpiece read brilliantly by a great narrator. Highly recommended.

Fantastic

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Almost gave up on this book. Found the narration could have been better and let the storyline down. I almost returned it . Persevered to the end but not a book I will listen to again.

Mixed emotions with this one<br /><br />

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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, I cannot recommend it - the detective work, the interaction between the police and the profiler were really interesting - but the graphic descriptions of the torture were so awful that we had to stop listening. If we could have the police and detective work without the torture it would have been an excellent book.

Has Mermaids Singing put you off other books in this genre?

We listened to another book by Val McDermid some time ago and enjoyed it. This one was just too awful that we had to stop, so sadly we won't buy another of her books

Have you listened to any of Saul Reichlin’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Have not listened to him before but he did read this book well

Did Mermaids Singing inspire you to do anything?

Yes - it inspired me to write a review as we disliked the book so much. A warning to others

Too disturbing

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The original novel was published in 1995, so this story is quite dated, especially as far as technology goes. I enjoyed the gist of the story, but the narrspoilt it for me greatly. He was far too old to narrate this story
I was surprised to find out half way through that Tony Hill was only 34. The narrator made him sound 50. The intimate scenes were cringe worthy with the narrator's voice. Would like to listen to the others in the series depending on who the narrator is.

Dated

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A Tony Hill very gruesome story, as they all are. Well written, good characterisation, but ruined by the narration, particularly that of the principal female character, a breathy grandmother she is not.

Ruined by the narration

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I really enjoyed this book having read (listened) many many crime thrillers before not expecting anything extraordinary. I was pleasantly surprised - the story hooked me right from the start, the characters were well developed and the "who's done it" was complemented with a great explanation why. I will definitely download more books in these series.

All the ingredients for a great crime thriller!

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I found myself endlessly frustrated by Carol. The twist was excellent. Tony, and the male character generally, are well fleshed-out. Easily digestible though.

Female detective not strong enough

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Sorry, did not like the narrator one bit. monotonous! Fell asleep within minutes of listening.

Narrator

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Found the storyline different to others by this author .Narration as good as always an ok listen

another good one

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another great turn across story narration except for the some of the female voices which were a bit dodgy he has been shown as being many different types of people during movies etc but well worth a listen and good value at the money

another great Tony cross story narration wa excep.

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