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The Torment of Others

Winner of the 2006 Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year

Shortlisted for the 2004 CWA Gold Dagger and for the Mystery & Thriller Book Club People's Choice Award

HarperCollins 2004
In the US May 2005, St Martin's Press

Synopsis:
Clinical psychologist Dr Tony Hill and Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan face the toughest challenge of their careers when they are confronted with an 'impossible' series of murders. Back in Bradfield after her traumatic experiences in Berlin, Carol is surprised to find Tony has followed her there to take up a post in the local secure mental hospital. When a prostitute is murdered in a particularly grotesque and stomach-churning way, she turns to him for help. Bizarrely, this killing matches in every detail a series of murders that took place a couple of years previously. A series of murders for which Derek Tyler was tried, convicted and sentenced. There has never been any doubt about his guilt. But now the ghost of his crimes has risen again. A second prostitute murder soon follows and the team are struggling. While Tony tries to crack Tyler, the police decide to mount an undercover operation that goes horribly wrong.

From the Publisher:
Clinical psychologist Dr Tony Hill and Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan face the toughest challenge of their careers when they are confronted with an 'impossible' series of murders.

Back in Bradfield after her traumatic experiences in Berlin, Carol is surprised to find Tony has followed her there to take up a post in the local secure mental hospital. When a prostitute is murdered in a particularly grotesque and stomach-churning way, she turns to him for help. Bizarrely, this killing matches in every detail a series of murders that took place a couple of years previously. A series of murders for which Derek Tyler was tried, convicted and sentenced. There has never been any doubt about his guilt. But now the ghost of his crimes has risen again.

A second prostitute murder soon follows and the team are struggling. While Tony tries to crack Tyler, the police decide to mount an undercover operation that goes horribly wrong. The decoy is taken, presumably by the killer. As the tension mounts, a mixture of psychological insight and dogged detective work leads inexorably to a terrifying climax where Tony faces one of the most perverse killers he has ever encountered.


"Stunning new psychological thriller featuring Tony Hill, hero of The Wire in the Blood, from one of Britain’s bestselling novelists: ‘Val McDermid has become our leading pathologist of everyday evil… The subtle orchestration of terror is masterful’ Guardian

"The Torment of Others is the best book yet by one of the best authors writing crime novels."
"The plot in this superb novel is as complicated as any McDermid has ever constructed."
"There are twists in the plot that lead right to the end, but it's the complex characters and wonderful attention to detail that make this novel great."
"This is one series where you wait eagerly for the next instalment."
From a review that ran in the Globe and Mail (Canada) written by Margaret Cannon - October 2nd 2004

Read an extract of The Torment of Others