The first stunning thriller in the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series, from No.1 Sunday Times bestseller Val McDermid.

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

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.

Four men have been found mutilated and tortured. As fear grips the city, the police turn to clinical psychologist Tony Hill for a profile of the killer. But soon Tony becomes the unsuspecting target in a battle of wits and wills where he has to use every ounce of his professional nerve to survive.

A tense, beautifully written psychological thriller, The Mermaids Singing explores the tormented mind of a serial killer unlike any the world of fiction has ever seen.

'Compelling and shocking', Minette Walters

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

'Gripping, intelligent stuff' The Times

'A superb psychological thriller' Cosmopolitan

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