Although "The Wire in the Blood" is the second of McDermid's novels featuring Dr. Tony Hill, you'll be happy to know that it's just as good as a stand-alone novel as it is as part of a series. Widely respected, McDermid has an amazing talent of producing crime fiction that, unlike a lot of ... Read review
Young girls are disappearing around the country, and there is nothing to connect them to ... more
one another. Nobody gets inside the messy heads of serial killers like Dr Tony Hill... This thriller features psychological profiler Dr Tony Hill, hero of the successful television series "The Wire in the Blood".
Advantages: Gripping, and difficult to put down Disadvantages: Over too quickly!
Although "The Wire in the Blood" is the second of McDermid's novels featuring Dr. Tony Hill, you'll be happy to know that it's just as good as a stand-alone novel as it is as part of a series. Widely respected, McDermid has an amazing talent of producing crime fiction that, unlike a lot of crime fiction, you'll be happy to read over and over again.
Dr. Tony Hill, having recently become head of a new National Profiling Task ... ...of their training. The new recruits are given details of teenagers that have gone missing over the past decade or so, and their task is to try and discover any links between the disappearances. All of these cases have been dropped long ago, but one officer, Shaz Bowman, believes she sees a link. Despite huge amounts of research undergone to produce a concrete theory with which to wow the rest of her group, her ideas are ridiculed. But Shaz can't ... more
Although "The Wire in the Blood" is the second of McDermid's novels featuring Dr. Tony Hill, you'll be happy to know that it's just as good as a stand-alone novel as it is as part of a series. Widely respected, McDermid has an amazing talent of producing crime fiction that, unlike a lot of crime fiction, you'll be happy to read over and over again.
Dr. Tony Hill, having recently become head of a new National Profiling Task Force, sets his eager young trainees an exercise as part of their training. The new recruits are given details of teenagers that have gone missing over the past decade or so, and their task is to try and discover any links between the disappearances. All of these cases have been dropped long ago, but one officer, Shaz Bowman, believes she sees a link. Despite huge amounts of research undergone to produce a concrete theory with which to wow the rest of her group, her ideas are ridiculed. But Shaz can't get this sinister belief out of her mind, and the rest of the team slowly begin to believe her as one of their members is brutally killed and mutilated. Is it too late to stop the killer from claiming his next victim?
As can be seen from the plot, the setting of the novel is slightly different from the majority of crime fiction: most works are narrated from the point of view of the detective or, as is increasingly more common today, the forensic pathologist. This, however, is a very psychological book - the team dealing with the case, as previously mentioned, is the "National Profiling Task Force" - a group of trained psychological profilers who work together to solve complex crimes. This psychological viewpoint appealed very much to me: we see how this team puts together a profile of the criminals featured in the novel by using what little information they know (how the crimes are committed, any common features between individual crimes) to ascertain what type of person he or she may be.
This psychological profiling was frustrating for me, probably due to the fact that, also unlike many crime fiction novels, the reader knows right from the beginning who the killer of these young girls is. It's very frustrating to be sitting and reading while the team are getting ever closer to a near-perfect profile of the killer, while still not knowing for sure whom it is!
This, however, is of no detriment to the novel: because of the way it is written, it would have been very easy for McDermid to rush too quickly into the discovery by the whole team of the killer's identity and the subsequent evidence finding, but, masterful as always, she has prolonged this inevitability to concentrate not only on further details of this particular series of crimes, but also other crimes that the team are working on, namely a series of fires, suspected to be arson. The pace of this novel is about right: it's not so fast that it's over too quickly and you're left with a sense of being cheated, but it's not so drawn out that you get bored and overly impatient.
This is the beauty of McDermid's novels: she really does know how to create a (dare I say) perfect thriller. The plot and the pace are faultless, and the characterisation just adds to the firm ground that she has already established.
The character I found myself the most drawn to was Shaz Bowman herself. She struck me as being incredibly determined and eager to please her boss, this determination coming across not only in her actions, but also in McDermid's physical description of the woman: "the one with the eyes that blazed cold fire". The unrelenting determination of Shaz is central to the plot of the novel: she is desperate to succeed and desperate to convince the others that her theory is correct, and each fragment of characterisation by McDermid highlights these facts.
The other two characters who I found the most interesting were Tony Hill and his colleague Carol Jordan. This pair first met in McDermid's previous book, ""The Mermaids Singing", and had a relationship that finally came to a halt, the two going their own separate ways. Now in this novel they meet again, and McDermid captures beautifully the fact that, despite seeming to be a good working team, there is still some tension of some sort between the two.
"He half-turned with a tentative smile, and a spasm ran across Carol's stomach."
The redeveloping of the friendship between Hill and Jordan is one that continues throughout the novel, and adds more depth to the novel than it would have it were simply a story of catching criminals.
Descriptions, however, may put people off in places - some of the death and near-death scenes can be a little gory, and I did actually find myself feeling physically sick at some of the descriptions McDermid has to offer. She manages not only to get into the mind of a deranged criminal very well, but the reality with which she portrays the brutality featured in the novel is amazing, if not alarming.
Despite the paperback version being a hefty 496 pages of reading, "The Wire in the Blood" is an easy book to read. There is a lot of information conveyed in every page, but McDermid's style means that it is done in such a way that you almost don't notice how much information you are taking in.
The book is divided into chapters, but the majority of these chapters are fairly long, and (a fact which irritates me slightly) not numbered. This makes it far too easy to lose your place! Something which may take getting used to is the fact that in one chapter, McDermid will skip between different situations involving different people, sometimes up to ten times. A little confusing at first, but easy to get used to - and a brilliant way of showing how much is actually going on at the point in time in which the novel is set.
So, my overall opinion? A fantastic book with a lot to offer: the storyline is a fantastic one, McDermid's style is practically faultless, and the two times I have read this have been "start to finish without putting the book down" jobs. THAT'S how good it is. Very highly recommended.
Paperback version. published by HarperCollins, available for £5.59 from Amazon.
Advantages: Extremely gripping, fantastic plot, great read! Disadvantages: I got to the end of the book :(
...are not aware, "Wire in the Blood" is Val McDermid's second novel in the series with Dr. Tony Hill. However, if you have not already read the first book, "The Mermaids Singing", do not let that put you off reading this book ahead of time. "Wire in the Blood" is a fantastic book which can be read as a stand-alone. Even though I found it useful reading the books in chronological order, there is enough background information in "Wire in the Blood" to ... ...Carol Jordan).
"Wire in the Blood" is based on a new profiling task force that is in the process of being set up to work in conjunction with the police in major investigations. At the start of the book, Dr. Tony Hill has acquired some 'members' of the police whom he has to train up to work along side himself in this profiling task force. As a way to train the students up, Dr. Tony Hill gave the students details of 14 and 15 year old girls who have ...
jennyflower85 09.08.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Wire in the Blood - Val McDermid
...I was well impressed.
The plot was believable and unlike most thriller books that gripped your attention by not revealing the perpetrator until the last possible moment, you were told who the sicko was very early on. And if you think that gives you the relief you sought by turning that page one after another (forgetting dinner for you partner or your turn to walk the dog....conveniently, as my partner said!) - then you can forget it because knowing ... ...the page even faster dying (pardon the pun) to know how they get him.
The main characters in this book are a profiler called Tony Hill and a DCI Carol Jordan who apparently have met in a previous case known as the Bradfield Case. That is another book called The Mermaids Singing, one that I'm planning to read soon. I'm being awkward, I know :)
At the start of the book the two of them had lost touch for awhile after solving the last case as they ...
babyenne 04.02.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Wire in the Blood - Val McDermid
Advantages: A gripping and intriguing story line, difficult to put the book down Disadvantages: A little hard to get into at first with so much going on but it doesn't take long for it all to make sense.
...Val McDermid. After finishing the book I'd taken on holiday I still wanted something to read by the pool and at the beach, and 'The Wire in the Blood' had been left amongst other books in the apartment we were staying in by the owners. My main reason for deciding to read this particular book is that I'd read another of Val McDermid's books, 'Blue Genes', some time ago and remembered it being quite gripping... The Plot **************** The plot of ... ...so much going on in the first part of the book and you feel as though there are so many stories and characters that you'll never make sense of them all! They soon all link together though... although the overview below is fairly detailed, it doesn't give enough away to spoil the book for you! Dr Tony Hill is a psychologist, and has recently been able to set up a national offender profiling team within the Police force - he's taken on four keen and ...
angeelu 27.08.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Wire in the Blood - Val McDermid
This is the book which came before the TV series featuring Dr Tony Hill and Carol Jordan (although prior to this book was The Mermaids Singing), Dy Hill is a psycologist who after a traumatic experience has been asked to head up the new National Profiling Task Force. As someone who has never seen the TV series I came to this book with no preconceived ideas, but despite it being the second book featuring Tony and Carol I didnt feel that I needed to ... ...standalone book also.
The candidates training to be part of the Task Force come from all over the country and tying them together as a team is clearly a difficult challenge as it teaching them the methods to go about psycological profiling in a very short space of time. As they have such a short time span to learn, Dr Hill sets the candidates a homework task to draw together a profile of a possible serial abductor from a set of random missing persons ...
scuba_angel 01.06.2007
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Wire in the Blood - Val McDermid
Advantages: It has to come to an end Disadvantages: You need it to come to an end!!!!!
Following on from The Mermaids Singing and the hero (!) Dr Tony Hill who is now the head of the National Profiling Task Force comes another page turner from Val McD. The usual twists and turns are all contained in this excellent novel but as usual with some that you are not expecting. A death in the team makes you wonder if the author has made a mistake in killing off what appears to be a crucial character but actually adds to the - "For Gods sake ...
bren 12.07.2000
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Wire in the Blood - Val McDermid
Would you read it again?
Story
Characters
Readability
How does it compare to ...
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "The Wire in the Blood - Val McDermid"
Advantages: Gripping Storyline Disadvantages: Climax falls a bit flat
I honestly wish I'd been the one to think of writing a novel about a serial killer targetting authors of crime novels! The characters were all believable (although I thought that Fiona came across a bit passionless, even when remembering her dead sister -- I would have liked to have seen her get really angry) and realistic, and the settings were plausible, but when it came down to the climax of the book, it ended a bit abruptly and I felt a little cheated. I would have liked to read a bit more about the struggle between Fiona and the serial killer after her partner. However, in balance, this was a great book and I highly recommend it. It's not quite as good as The Wirein the Blood, which I thought that, of the ValMcDermid novels I've read so far was her best, it is still one that I've kept in my personal library instead of selling ...
Advantages: A thriller as a thriller should be - thrilling!!! Disadvantages: Some sadistic sexualnature in the book, but it is fitting with the story
THE TORMENT OF OTHERS
VAL Mcdermid
For those of you who don't know, ValMcDermid is the creator of the popular TV series called 'Wirein the Blood 'with actor Robson Green.
This book is one of her Tony Hill books; he is a criminal psychologist and profiler who constantly finds himself helping the police to solve monstrous, heartless and often sexually motivated killings.
The 'Torment of Others' isn't the first of the Tony Hill novels, and it clearly follows some major events for the characters, so maybe it would be best to read the series in order if possible. Having said that this is the first of the books that I have read and it proved that it certainly can be read on its own as it doesn't take long to work out the relationships between the characters.
The story takes place in the fictional City ...
Advantages: A gripping, terrifying, can?t put down serial killer murder mystery. Disadvantages: It?s been a wait for the sequel
not disclose at the time.
Befriended by detectives Thomas Moore and Jane Rizzoli, they try to protect Doctor Cordell as the assassin closes in on her with ever increasingly devious taunts and attacks. They are also in a race against time to unravel the mystery ? who is the killer? What is the motive? What is the link with Catherine?s dead killer?
This is a terrifying, grim, fast paced murder mystery written by an accomplished author of fiction. The murders come thick and fast in torrid, graphic detail. There are multiple twists and turns, sudden shocks and red herrings to keep you guessing until the final denouement. Once started you won?t want to put this book down.
There has been a spate of lurid serial murder novels recently including Boris Starling (Messiah) and ValMcDermid (WireIn The Blood). This novel is equally tense ...
Young girls are disappearing around the country, but everyone assumes they are teenage runaways heading for the big city and bright lights. There is nothing to connect them to each other, let alone to successful TV personality Jacko Vance - a popular figure, with an unsuspected warped, sick mind.
Compare The Wire in the Blood - Val McDermid to other similar Thriller Books »
Similar products and search queries by other users »
The Val, The Wire Val, The in Val, The the Val, The Blood Val, The Wire in Val, The Wire the Val, The Wire Blood Val, The in the Val, The in Blood Val, The the Blood Val, The Wire in the Val, The Wire in Blood Val, The Wire the Blood Val, The in the Blood Val
Are you the manufacturer / provider of The Wire in the Blood - Val McDermid? Click here
