Hardback copy.

Bought because I 'had to' after reading The Wire in the Blood!!!

From the back cover;

A clinically efficient killer is murdering psychologists on the Continent. The victims are scattered around different countries, complicating any investigation, but detectives agree on two things – a single killer is at work and a professional should be brought in to profile the murderer. Psychological profiler Dr Tony Hill no longer wants to delve into the minds of serial killers – his wounds are still raw from his brutal encounter with Jacko Vance. But the European case is about to get personal: an old colleague of his is targeted by the murderer and Tony is unable to remain uninvolved. Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan is en route to Berlin too, on a covert operation to incriminate a millionaire traffiker in drugs and human beings. An already perilous job is made more dangerous when it appears Carol’s own masters are playing a deeper, nastier game than the one for which she was prepared. To trap their monsters, Tony Hill and Carol Jordan have to explore a past of Nazi atrocities and Stasi abuses, and a present-day world where cruelty is just as widespread but wears a different face – and for both of them their hunt will lead to terrible personal danger.

Just as addictive as the first two books in the Tony Hill/ Carol Jordan series!

But there was something about this one which meant I didn't enjoy it as much. (If 'enjoy' is the right word for a nitty-gritty thriller.) I guess I wasn't comfortable with Carol going undercover - even when I wasn't reading the book that 'unsettled' feeling lingered - definitely a tribute to how much McDermid drew me into her plot. And the reason for Carol's cover being blown made me cringe - so careless!

The references to Jacko Vance were enough to get 'closure' on the second book, thank goodness!

I'm sure I'll snap up the next one, The Torment of Others when I see it secondhand, but I don't feel as driven to get it as last time round!

This is back with me now... having lent to a friend who never journals!

Taking to the Chelmsford meet tonight to see if there's any interest.

Brought home from the Chelmsford Meet as there were no takers. Will either cycle it to Sudbury, Ipswich of Colchester.

RELEASE NOTES:

Restocking the shelf at Caffe Nero Sudbury as it's a bit bare!

Finally finished reading this one. I found it hard to get into at first because I haven't read any of the others in this series and there seemed to be lots of different threads of characters. Once I got into this, I enjoyed it very much especially all the psychological stuff. The ending seemed to fizzle out rather than flourish.