The Mermaids Singing UK publication: 1995 Publisher: HarperCollins US publication: 1997 Publisher: HarperCollins Winner of the CWA/The Macallan 1995 Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year

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The Mermaids Singing

You always remember the first time. Isn't that what they say about sex? How much more true it is of murder...

Synopsis:
Up till now, the only serial killers Tony Hill had encountered were safely behind bars. This one's different - this one's on the loose. In the northern town of Bradfield four men have been found mutilated and tortured. Fear grips the city; no man feels safe. Clinical psychologist Tony Hill is brought in to profile the killer. A man with more than enough sexual problems of his own, Tony himself becomes the unsuspecting target in a battle of wits and wills where he has to use every ounce of his professional skill and personal nerve to survive.

Reviews:

Minette Walters
'Compelling and shocking'

Mail on Sunday, Frances Fyfield
'Terrifying but stylish, cruel and compassionate. Truly, horribly good.',

The Times
'Gripping, intelligent stuff.' Marcel Berlins,

Cosmopolitan
'A superb psychological thriller.'

Company
'Think of psychological profiling and TV's Cracker springs to mind, but McDermid's latest thriller goes one better -- a must for all crime fiction lovers.'

New York Times
'A deliciously gruesome serial killer thriller. Ms McDermid finds new ways to shock and revolt us.'

San Francisco Chronicle
'Turns the serial killer subgenre upside down with compelling but gruesome results. McDermid has many startling surprises in store and brilliantly pulls the rug out from under our feet, exploding the psychological cliches commonly found in more one-dimensional portraits of the twisted criminal mind.'

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