Val McDermid is a crime writer whose books are always worth reading. The Mermaids Singing is the first in her series featuring detective Carol Jordan and profiler Tony Hill. It was written over twenty years ago when profilers were a rarer breed, in real life and in fiction, than they are now.
The book is set in an industrial town in the North of England. Men are being murdered in quite horrible ways – this book is gorier than many but not the worst I have read. The police connect the murderers to the gay community and seek the culprit there – they appear closed to any other explanation. When Carol Jordan arrives to take over the case she sees things differently and wants to bring in a profiler, despite opposition within her team. Tony Hill is an academic and a profiler with little practical experience. He has his own issues, including the fact that he is impotent, and feels that he cannot have a meaningful relationship. The book follows the investigators, and also the killer, with alternating narratives. Eventually the killer becomes too interested in the investigators and Tony Hill is targeted.
This is a fast-paced novel with lots of action and plenty of twists and turns to keep you reading. It’s what I would describe as a “good read” in that it’s difficult to put down and you want to know what happens next. The two main characters find themselves drawn to one another but there are many barriers in the way which adds to the tension. No one comes out of this investigation unscathed – this is quite a dark book.
This is the first of a series of books with the same characters and, I believe, it was a TV series. It’s very readable indeed but it was written over twenty years ago and so it reflects the technology and views of the time.
Anne Is Reading 