The Torment of Others: A Tony Hill Novel

Written by Helene Wecker

Narrated by Gerard Doyle

Dr. Tony Hill and Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan return in the award-winning series that is the basis for the ITV television show Wire in the Blood.

In a small grim room, the body of a woman is discovered, panic and pain etched in her face. The scene matches in every detail a series of murders two years ago-murders that ended when irrefutable forensic evidence secured the conviction of a deeply disturbed young man named Derek Tyler.

But there's no way Tyler could have killed the latest victim. He's been locked up in a mental institution since his trial, barely speaking a word. So is there a copycat?

All his years of experience tell top criminal psychologist Dr. Tony Hill that there isn't-but that would make the murders literally impossible. While Hill tries to crack Tyler, DCI Carol Jordan and her team must mount a desperate undercover operation to trap the murderer-a decision that will have terrible consequences.

In The Torment of Others, Val McDermid keeps the tension mounting, as 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: May 1, 2005
• ISBN: 9781593977115

Helene Wecker

Helene Wecker grew up near Chicago, and received her MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in New York. Her work has been published in the online magazine Joyland, and she has read from her stories at the KGB Bar in New York and the Barbershop Reading Series in San Francisco. After a dozen years of moving around between both coasts and the Midwest, she now lives near San Francisco with her husband and daughter. The Golem and the Djinni is her first novel.

Reviews for The Torment of Others

[Liz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Please note that this is the abridged version of the audiobook.

[dawnbirduk_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan, 4th book in seriesThe series Wire in the Blood is based on these booksA great book full of twists and turns

[kmajort · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tony Hill back in action - still the sexual tension, inconvenient-yet-reciprocated attraction between him and DCI Jordon (who is beginning to re-find herself after the traumas from book #4). I had trouble putting this down, losing sleep, staying up far too late to see how Tony & Carol would pull this off yet again.... one of the most enjoyable series, I think.

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the kind of mystery that is my absolute favourite. It's a police procedural with a psychological underpinning. Carol Jordan has been brought back to Bradfield to head up a major crimes unit in the police. The last job she had involved an undercover assignment that went bad and she was raped which has affected her confidence and judgment. Tony Hill, a psychologist and profiler, has also returned to Bradfield. The two are close but have never had a sexual relationship but now they are sharing a house and working together. The story involves two major crimes. One is a cold case in which two young boys were abducted and never found. The other is a series of gruesome murders for which someone was charged two years ago but the exact same method has now been used to murder two prostitutes. Against her better judgment Carol puts one of her officers on the street to try to lure the killer and trap him. But the undercover operation goes terribly wrong and the officer is abducted. At the same time, the cold case has caught a break and the bodies of the two boys have been found. The perpetrator is one of a few people but, although he was in police custody, he is mistakenly released. The suspense builds until the very end.

Carol and Tony and all of the major characters are well-developed with human frailties. The writing is crisp and the conclusion is believable.

Do Carol and Tony finally get together? Read the book to find out.

[xirxe · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Normalerweise ereignen sich in Krimis Verbrechen, die von mehr oder weniger tollen HeldInnen aufgeklärt werden - nicht so jedoch in diesen beiden Kurzkrimis von Val McDermid.
In der ersten Geschichte nimmt man teil an den Planungen und Überlegungen eines Schriftstellers, ohne allerdings zu wissen was er damit bezweckt. Er baut eine virtuelle Beziehung auf die in jede Richtung eine derartige Intensität gewinnt, dass die Lust auf das reale Gegenüber so groß wird, dass sie nicht mehr zurückzudrängen ist. Die Virtualität wird verlassen - und die ZuhörerIn ahnt was kommt. Dennoch bleibt es bis zum Schluss spannend.
Der zweite Krimi (wenn man es überhaupt so nennen mag) ist von gänzlich anderem Charakter. Hier erzählt ein Berufsverbrecher auf ausgesprochen charmante Art und Weise von seinem Werdegang und seinem Versuch, einen Job zu finden und ein anständiges Leben zu führen. Man erfährt, dass Diebe und Einbrecher ein Berufsethos haben, ebenso wie ihnen Würde und Familie wichtig sind. Letzlich wünschen auch sie sich nichts anderes als der normale Durchschnittsbürger. All dies wie sein erfolgreiches Bemühen auf unkonventionelle Art und Weise wieder zurück auf den Pfad der Tugend zu kommen, ist amüsant erzählt wie auch vorgelesen.
Schöne Unterhaltung für zwischendurch.

[dspoon_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dr. Tony Hill and Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan return in the award-winning series that is the basis for the hit show on BBC America.

In a small grim room, the body of a woman is discovered, panic and pain etched in her face. The scene matches in every detail a series of murders two years ago-murders that ended when irrefutable forensic evidence secured the conviction of a deeply disturbed young man named Derek Tyler.

But there's no way Tyler could have killed the latest victim. He's been locked up in a mental institution since his trial, barely speaking a word. So is there a copycat?

All his years of experience tell top criminal psychologist Dr. Tony Hill that there isn't-but that would make the murders literally impossible. While Hill tries to crack Tyler, DCI Carol Jordan and her team must mount a desperate undercover operation to trap the murderer-a decision that will have terrible consequences.

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.

[cmwilson101 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is one of a series of books by Val McDermid about the neurotic, socially inept but brilliant criminal profiler, Tony Hill, and assertive, maverick detective Carol Jordan, and the odd, dependent relationship that develops between them as they solve crimes together.

This story (the fourth in the series), has Carol and Tony trying to track down a killer whose murders have the signature of a killer who is behind bars.

There is a good cast of supporting characters, all of whom are realistically multi-faceted and interesting.

[ardwick_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not a feelgood book. Continues the relationship of carol jordan and tony hill as they regroup from their previous case. Carol Jordan takes over a major incident team investigating the disappearance of two boys and the surprise recurrence sexual murders with the same mo of a killer in a secure hospital.