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Dec 03, 2007

Laughinglioness rated it:

This story was very well crafted and I couldn't put it down...

But it is, by its very nature, extremely freaky. The descriptions of the crimes that take place are far too graphic for most I suspect. And the nature of the crimes (sexual homicide) are far outside what most folks would want to read about.

However, I fell in love with McDermid's writing style with The Grave Tattoo so it was a foregone conclusion that I would read another. I'm not exactly sorry that I picked More...

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Sep 04, 2007

Jessica rated it:

Val McDermid's novels featuring psychologist-profiler Tony Hill are always excruciatingly gory portrayals of serial killers, sadists, and tormentors of small children, and this one manages to include all three. Adding to the pain is the presence of McDermid's detective, Carol Jordan, who has survived an undercover operation gone terribly wrong, only to find herself subjecting another officer to the same risk.

Elevating this above the run-of-the-mill exploitation thriller, however, is More...

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Mar 15, 2011

Ellen rated it:

This is the second time I've read this book. I've recently gotten on a Val McDermid kick and didn't realize that I'd read this particular book in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series a while ago as a stand-alone novel. I feel that a book is a good one if you can read it twice and still enjoy it the second time even if you're pretty sure you remember the outcome. That's the experience when I read it this time. Of course, it probably helped that this time I read it in the context of the relationship More...

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Nov 11, 2009

X5-494 rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Oct 12, 2009

Ariel rated it:

I started reading Val McDermid because I was watching Wire in the Blood on Netflix streaming on demand. So anyone who says that the television and internet rot people's brains and cause them to stop reading, I call bulls**t. Anyway, I didn't have particularly high expectations of the book, of course it had to be good enough that they made an entire television series out of it, but then again, they've made movies out of Disney rides, right (no, I am not knocking PotC, but come on, the Haunted M More...

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Nov 06, 2010

Kelsey rated it:

Interesting read. I have not read any other books in this series so I do not know much of the back story of Carol and Tony.

Carol Jordan having survived an undercover operation gone wrong is now in charge of her own team and needs to solve two cases. One is a serial killer and the other is a pedophile case. This is her first step in overcoming her insecurities. Dr. Tony Hill is brought in to help with the profile on the serial killer case. Unfortunately to catch the serial killer, Carol More...

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Feb 27, 2010

Bill rated it:

I've been on a real horror kick lately. I guess I've never shaken
that desire to be scared ever since the occasionally grim (or should I
say Grimm?) Magic Realm of Fairy Tales was read to me by my Mom,
oh, about 45 years ago.
This helps to explain why, on my excursions to my favorite used book
stores, the list I'm armed with is still half-full of horror novels. The
rest are assorted science fiction, fantasy, fiction, mystery, etc, etc.
The last time I stepped o More...

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Sep 22, 2009

Ingrid rated it:

A friend lent me this after we were talking about "Wire in The Blood", an intense UK TV series that I watch and enjoy. I didn't realise it had been based on a set of books. This is the 4th book apparently and was an adult read, about a serial killer attacking female prostitutes in the North of England. The relationship between the female Detective Chief Inspector and the psychologist profiler is interesting, the books are written from their perspectives. The crimes are horrible and ye More...

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Jul 28, 2008

Sierra rated it:

Detective novel part of a series of novels about a character Tony Hill, A Psychologist and profiler and a police officer (Constable as it takes place in England). Good interesting book. I will be reading more by this author in the future. Kept my interst, kept me guessing. Didn't figure out who done it until close to the end.

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Jan 01, 2009

Laura rated it:

I'm thinking this is the most recent of the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, and I enjoyed it very much. Honestly didn't see the identity of the perp coming this time. Highly enjoy the relationship between Tony & Carol and I hope it really evolves in the next book.

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Feb 14, 2009

Emma rated it:

Carol Jordan goes undercover. It's, of course, dangerous and makes the book even more a page-turner than usually. One of my faves by McDermid.

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Jun 02, 2007

Peggy rated it:

A bit more gruesome than I usually read, but the main charcters were interesting and the writing was good. this is the second book by this author that I've read. The other was not in this series, and not as gruesome. I my actually try another.

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Jan 31, 2010

Sam rated it:

This is actually the fourth book in Val McDermid's Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, but the first one which I have read.
I tend to choose library books at random, so it's fortunate that each of the books has a stand-alone story.
This series was also the basis for television's Wire in the Blood, although only four of McDermid's books became episodes in the TV programme.

Tony Hill has returned to profiling having spent some time as an academic, while DCI Carol Jordan has just re More...

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Dec 31, 2008

Pam rated it:

Read this one a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I like Val McDermid's writing. Her characters are richly drawn and her plots engagingly complex and quite satisfying.

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Jan 12, 2009

Susan rated it:

Grusome with some embarrassingly obvious stereotypical characters but when Carol and Tony get together they generate sparks and great good fun.

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Aug 06, 2011

Sharon rated it:

This is the only "Tony Hill" book I've read though I've seen several episodes of the TV series "Blood on the Wire" based on the series. The plot was engaging, the characters mostly believable. The identify of the killer took me by surprise but when I reviewed there were many clues woven into the story I should have picked up on. The reason I gave the book 3 vs. 4 stars is because the co-plot seemed out of place, almost distracting rather than a good co-plot. Both serial k More...

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Jun 30, 2007

Sharon rated it:

Although still very good, this fourth novel in the Hill/Jordan series seemed a bit formulaic.

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Dec 28, 2007

Yvette rated it:

This book is creepy and scary and I just loved it. Crime , drama and not at all sappy

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May 26, 2010

Mark rated it:

Am so happy to have discovered Val McDermid! Her clean, uncluttered writing style makes all the characters and action jump off the page at you and keeps you deeply ensconsed in the action. Her plotting is masterful. The ever changing group dynamic is terrific in shifting your alliances and raising the stakes. No one is safe here. And even when the killer is revealed 40 pages before the end, the story doesn't stop until the last paragaph. Great detective fiction, whodunnit, suspense, cop dra More...

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May 23, 2010

Natlyn rated it:

Tony and Carol are back in England with some of the supporting cast from previous books. I enjoyed this book more than The Last Temptation because of the supporting cast and the tracking of the killer storyline wasn't as horrific here.

As I said before, I read these books for the Tony/Carol relationship. There are significant angsty low points here. While both of their actions are understandable, they do lead one to wonder if these two crazy kids should try to have a relationship. Al More...

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Feb 10, 2011

Bernadette rated it:

The fourth book in Val McDermid’s successful series featuring psychologist and profiler Tony Jordan and DCI Carol Jordan opens with Jordan on extended leave following the events that took place in the previous book. She is approached to head up a new squad based at her old station in Bradfield which will focus on high profile cases and, when there aren’t any of those, will look at cold cases. Just as they receive a break in a recent cold case involving two missing boys a new murder requires the More...

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Aug 13, 2011

Amanda rated it:

"Val McDermid has become our leading pathologist of everyday evil.” Guardian
I agree. Val McDermid is one of the best authors of the police procedural / thriller. Psychologist (Profiler) Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan have to solve a horrifying series of murders. Carol is back in Bradfield after the horror of being raped in Berlin. She is surprised to find that Tony has followed her there. He has taken up a post in the local mental hospital.
A local prostitute is murdered in a ri More...

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Jan 29, 2012

_inbetween_ rated it:

Very good, but as one reviewer said, this is not a good starting point for newbies - funny how this seems to have a tad lower rating on goodreads, when it seems at times better than the others. Funny, too, that around page 420 (of about 550) I always cave in to type something. This time it's not upset though - although I actually just forgot - just that McD's got so many balls up in the air right now that the pace is breathless, with another 120 pages to go and dozens of people in difficulty of More...

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Sep 12, 2007

John rated it:

The book is placed in London and therefor is written in England English. Listening to it on tape is nice since the actor reading it does so in an english accent and you can visualize the scenes well. The storyline is good, but it is apparent that there were prior stories that might help understand some of the relationships as well as history of the characters. At times the story is difficult to follow since the actor moves from one storyline to another without a transition - making me think More...

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Mar 01, 2011

Kathleen rated it:

Love, love, love McDermid's protagonists in these novels--Tony Hill and Carol Jordan (in spite of a few super hero-esque strengths) are so achingly human in their perfectly drawn imperfections.

There is something delicately graceful and utterly gripping in the manner McDermid has traced the development of these two characters throughout her books, and they are what draw me back to this series in spite of the often too-graphic crime scene descriptions, occasionally too-abrupt endings, More...

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Jul 16, 2010

Vivisection rated it:

I admit it's been nearly 10 years since I last read a Tony Hill novel. Having watched Robson Green as Tony Hill, I have a hard time recalling how I pictured him prior to the BBC series. I still whisper "Hi Kevin" just like Green every time I read the constable's name, and the monologues where Tony gets into the killer's head are now in Green's voice.

McDermid, however, still writes a brilliant psychological novel and the characters have been evolving even if I haven't ke More...

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Aug 11, 2009

Margie rated it:

My second stab (so to speak) at Val McDermid.

Well-written and engaging, but once again I knew who the killer was with several hundred pages left to go. I much prefer to be in suspense (especially if that seems to be the author's intent - I don't think McDermid meant for it to be so obvious). The sexual violence, while not as explicit/gory as it could have been, was still quite repellent, and left me feeling . . . icky.

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Jul 31, 2011

Katherine rated it:

Back to almost normal, thank god, after that last 'undercover' piece of crap. It's just unfortunate that this book needed to keep referring back to the piece of crap. The main detective in the series is still behaving a bit stupid because of it but I'm going to try one more in the hope that her stupidity will pass. And Dr. Tony Hill and his white knight to the rescue scenario is really getting on my nerves.

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Dec 18, 2010

Edward rated it:

A solid addition to the series. Excellent writing and good job getting inside the characters' heads. I enjoyed it and would read the next one for sure. I do think that the series is getting close to becoming too repetitive, though. This is always the danger with a series, and with characters as intense as these, it's an extra danger. I'll be curious to see what McDermid comes up with to keep it fresh.

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Jan 27, 2011

Nancy rated it:

Why is mediocre writing somehow considered standard in the thriller/police procedural genre? McDermid is the perfect example of a writer with a really excellent series--cleverly plotted, with complex main characters and even well-fleshed out secondary ones. But the prose is so plodding and cliche-ridden that it detracts from the fast-paced narrative.

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