The Torment of Others

Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, Book 4

By: Val McDermid

Narrated by: Saul Reichlin

A dead girl lies on a blood-soaked mattress, her limbs spread in a parody of ecstasy. The scene matches a series of murders which ended with the conviction of Derek Tyler. But Tyler's been locked up in a mental institution for two years, barely speaking a word. Criminal psychologist Dr Tony Hill thinks this is not a copycat murder but something much stranger. Hill heads towards a terrifying face-off with one of the most perverse killers he has ever encountered….

©2002 Val McDermid (P)2015 W F Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"No one compares to McDermid when it comes to the deviant side of human nature." ( Guardian)

"One of McDermid's finest, which is saying a lot." ( The Times)

Why such brutal and devious attacks on women?

I am getting annoyed that there seems to be a race between crime fiction writers on who can come up with the most devious and revolting human behaviour. Generally, the violence is focused on women or children. Why? For me the engagement with a story comes from an interesting story line not through the most heinous crimes. Here we combine both prostitutes are killed in an upsetting way and we also hear about awful crimes against children. I nearly stopped right at the beginning - but kept listening reluctantly more because of inertia than any great hope that the story would develop into something worth listening. Disappointed with Val McDermid and last book by her I’ll listen to.