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A review by billymac1962
The Last Temptation by Val McDermid
4.0
I've heard that The Torment of Others is a very good novel, but it's
fourth in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, so if I want to get to that, I have to go through this one first.
The only trepidation came from some lukewarm reviews I'd read about
this one.
For the most part, I was pleasantly surprised. McDermid's pacing through this story is among the best I've come across. I could hardly wait to pick it up again. Not only that, but a couple of new characters were introduced who really appealed to me.
The story was great, but I have a couple of issues with the plot:
Firstly: If you're planning a covert operation with an undercover officer infiltrating a crime lord's domain, why on earth would you compromise the security of the operation (let alone risk lives) by allowing her partner/love interest (with whom she had famously caught a serial killer) to stay in the same building she's in? And, why, knowing full well she is probably being followed and watched, would she show up in his apartment, with no care that the drapes may be wide open? Which, of course, they were.
Boom, cover blown. Duh.
Secondly: I know Tony Hill is a master criminal profiler, but given the
crime scene evidence, quickly coming the conclusion that the killer's grandfather must have been a victim of psychological abuse is a tad of a stretch, I'd say.
Oh well, give that, this was still a fine read. Quite suspenseful, and
I'm still a fan of Val's.
fourth in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, so if I want to get to that, I have to go through this one first.
The only trepidation came from some lukewarm reviews I'd read about
this one.
For the most part, I was pleasantly surprised. McDermid's pacing through this story is among the best I've come across. I could hardly wait to pick it up again. Not only that, but a couple of new characters were introduced who really appealed to me.
The story was great, but I have a couple of issues with the plot:
Firstly: If you're planning a covert operation with an undercover officer infiltrating a crime lord's domain, why on earth would you compromise the security of the operation (let alone risk lives) by allowing her partner/love interest (with whom she had famously caught a serial killer) to stay in the same building she's in? And, why, knowing full well she is probably being followed and watched, would she show up in his apartment, with no care that the drapes may be wide open? Which, of course, they were.
Boom, cover blown. Duh.
Secondly: I know Tony Hill is a master criminal profiler, but given the
crime scene evidence, quickly coming the conclusion that the killer's grandfather must have been a victim of psychological abuse is a tad of a stretch, I'd say.
Oh well, give that, this was still a fine read. Quite suspenseful, and
I'm still a fan of Val's.