The Last Temptation: A Novel [Hardcover]

Val McDermid (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2002

Mapping the minds of murderers is what Dr. Tony Hill does better than anyone. So when a twisted killer starts targeting psychologists across Northern Europe, Hill is the obvious choice to track the executioner's mental and physical journey.

Except that Tony, still bearing the scars of past cases, doesn't want to do this anymore.

But the killer is about to strike uncomfortably close to home. The next victim is a friend and colleague. And Tony's former partner, Detective Carol Jordan, is directly in the murderer's path, working undercover in a world where human life means less than the smallest drug deal. She needs Tony's help as much as the beleaguered European police officials do.

Now the danger is closing in. Confronting the worst of modern crime and struggling to unravel roots that lie deep in the tormented past of Nazi atrocities and Stasi abuses, Tony and Carol are forced to battle for survival against overwhelming odds. In this morass of double-cross and double-dealing, they have no one to trust but each other. Deftly merging the dark terrain of forensic psychology with the brooding, crime-streaked world of post-Cold War Europe, McDermid's latest is an unrivaled tour de force that takes Tony Hill further into the mind of a killer than he's ever dared to go before.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British author McDermid brings back DCI Carol Jordan and psychological profiler Dr. Tony Hill from The Mermaids Singing (1995) and The Wire in the Blood (1997) and thrusts them into a psychologically chilling and multifaceted thriller. Jordan goes undercover in Germany as part of a dangerous operation to capture Tadeusz Radecki, an international smuggler of drugs and illegal aliens. Meanwhile, her contact in Berlin, Criminal Intelligence Officer Petra Becker, is helping her Internet lover, Dutch Brigadier Marijke van Hasselt, on a grisly case whose victims, psychological researchers, are sexually tortured and murdered. Jordan suggests that Dr. Hill work with them in Berlin. The suspense builds as scenes alternate among the two English crime fighters, Becker, van Hasselt, Radecki and his henchman, Darko Krasic, and the anonymous serial killer, whose grisly tactics echo Nazi psychological experiments. McDermid gives depth and individuality to all seven characters and each city. With consummate skill and pacing, she braids together the complex story lines through surprising revelations, heartstopping suspense and cruel double-crosses. The two major plots don't mesh, but they crisscross, creating even more tension. McDermid's writing and her understanding of the criminal mind get better with each novel. With its European locales, depiction of Nazi mind experiments and hints at another Jordan/Hill novel, this may well be her breakout book. She certainly deserves it.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In the third book of McDermid's popular series (after The Wire in the Blood and The Mermaids), Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan and psychologist Tony Hill return. Carol has agreed to go undercover in Berlin in a sting operation against the handsome and charming but ruthless trafficker in illegal immigrants, Tadeusz Radecki. Meanwhile, intelligence officer Petra Becker, the German liaison in Carol's undercover operation, has begun an online relationship with Marijke van Hasselt, a policewoman from the Netherlands. When Marijke mentions a grizzly murder that she is investigating in Leiden, Petra remembers reading of a similar murder in Germany. Carol persuades Tony to come to Berlin to help Petra and Marijke find the killer who is targeting experimental psychologists. This well-executed novel has it all: a complex, suspenseful plot, a full cast of interesting characters, and two budding romances. Tony's persistent angst becomes rather tiresome, but even he grows more tolerable as the novel progresses. Recommended for most mystery collections. Jane la Plante, Minot State Univ. Lib., ND
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (September 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312290896
• ISBN-13: 978-0312290894
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Resonance Of Evil, September 19, 2002

By 

taking a rest - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Last Temptation: A Novel (Hardcover)

This is the third novel I have read by Val McDermid. The first was, "A Place Of Execution", and it remains my favorite of the three. This newest offering, "Last Temptation", is a very good tale, but is definitely not for those readers who prefer to avoid the grisly details of murders, in this case those of a serial killer. There is also brutal violence with both men and women as victims, so read and be prepared. I don't find her descriptions to be gratuitous, just very graphic. He portrayals are probably much more accurate than generic description of violence that have become so prevalent and cliché that they are barely noticed. This author illustrates for the reader just how vile murder and violence are.

This author uses atrocities committed by a group in the 20th century that I generally have tired of reading, as they have become the crutch for any form of evil. It is a tribute to this lady's talent that she has found a more obscure practice of the Germany of the Nazi's to play a very valid role in this novel. She also represents the evil of this group through the effects they have had on generations that were not even alive when they practiced their atrocities. Their twisted science echoes through the victims to their descendents, and this adds an entirely new dimension to the resonance of evil.

The only aspect of the story I found troubling was the placement of the two main characters so close together while they were working on different operations. It makes the story work, but from the moment the situation is set, you know this is the Achilles heal that will bring the protagonists to the edge, or possibly over, to their detriment.

I don't read many books in this type of genre, but Val McDermid seems as though her work should have a much greater following than it does. If this type of work appeals to you, pick this lady's work up; you will be happy you did.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars McDermid's latest suspense novel is a sure fire winner!, November 16, 2002

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Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Temptation: A Novel (Hardcover)

The sophistication and talent that a writer needs to maintain two plot lines and ferry seven characters through a full-length novel, may be a challenge to author Val McDermid, but she does it with style, believability and panache in THE LAST TEMPTATION.

A serial killer is targeting psychologists in Germany and Holland. When an old friend is murdered, former British profiler Tony Hill reluctantly gets back into the game. His job is to outsmart the killer and prevent any more brutal "mutilation" deaths.

At the same time, Carol Jordan, a very ambitious DCI and the love of Hill's life, is offered any position she wants if she does her superiors a "favor" --- seduce Tadeusz Radecki into a sting that will expose his drug, arms and people smuggling businesses. This seems to be an offer she can't refuse. But, by the time she finds out that she's been set up, it's too late to back out. She feels betrayed and used when she discovers that she is the "twin" image of Katerina Basler, Tadisck's lover who was killed in a mysterious hit and run accident.

Hill's murder investigation eventually brings him to Berlin. And, although he must travel to several European cities, he takes a small apartment in the same building as Jordan. Both of them work with local cops, Jordan with Petra Becker in Germany, and Hill with Brigadier Marijke van Hasselt from Holland.

THE LAST TEMPTATION is an aggregate of pristine prose, complicated plot twists, roller coaster pacing, intelligent characters, and very interesting subject matter. McDermid writes with finesse and her extraordinary storytelling prowess sets her new book apart from the ordinary. Wow! This book is a sure fire winner.

--- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nail-biter that will have you reading into the night., October 6, 2002

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Last Temptation: A Novel (Hardcover)

Val McDermid's latest novel, "The Last Temptation," is an ambitious undertaking. The author crosses geographical boundaries; her plot lines involve police forces in England, Holland and Germany. This novel also has numerous characters and several storylines that at first seem unrelated, but which eventually intersect.

Carol Jordan is an ambitious Detective Chief Inspector who is well trained in criminal intelligence. Jordan has helped bring two serial killers to justice and she has paid her dues as a police officer. Now, she is aiming for a high-level job in British intelligence and analysis, and she is expecting a promotion to come through very soon. Much to her surprise, Jordan is not granted her promotion. Instead she is sent into deep undercover to bring down a notorious criminal named Tadeusz Radecki and his right hand man Darko Krasic, who are based in Germany.

A second protagonist in "The Last Temptation" is Dr. Tony Hill, a psychologist who has been deeply scarred by his job of profiling serial killers. He is now on the trail of a criminal who targets psychologists and murders them in a particularly gruesome manner. Hill and Jordan have collaborated professionally in the past. As they work these difficult cases, Jordan and Hill provide one another with much needed advice and emotional support.

McDermid handles her large cast of characters and a complex plot adroitly. Her dialogue is crisp and her descriptive writing is vivid yet understated. The author ratchets up the tension as the novel reaches its exciting denouement. Unfortunately, McDermid resorts to a pat ending, which strains believability. However, this quibble aside, I recommend "The Last Temptation." McDermid's skill as a writer of fast-paced and well-crafted thrillers makes this new novel a "must-read" for fans of this genre.