The Last Temptation by Val McDermid
The Last Temptation is the third Tony Hill and Carol Jordan novel by Val McDermid, published in 2002. It is the sequel to The Wire in the Blood.
Particularly sadistic murders take place in Germany and The Netherlands, but nobody makes the connection, apart from two female detectives, Petra and Marijke, chatting online. How can they get the cases investigated together across jurisdictions and without revealing that they’ve breached confidentiality by discussing them?
Meanwhile, Carol Jordan is sent on a particularly dangerous undercover mission in Europe. It’s her first time going undercover and she needs all the help she can get, so she calls on psychologist Dr Tony Hill. Tony has been scarred by the harrowing cases of The Wire in the Blood and The Mermaids Singing and has stepped away from police work back into academia.
When Petra realises who is coming to work undercover on her patch, it seems like the best opportunity to discuss her potential serial killer. And Carol knows exactly who else they can ask for help… When the killer gets a bit too close to home, Tony is only too happy to put together a profile.
But how safe are Tony and Carol working in a strange country?
I’m not always great at spotting twists, despite my years of reading thrillers, but I did spot Carol’s silly mistake.
The Last Temptation is another brilliant page turner from Val McDermid. I’m so glad I discovered her work (thanks to a free ticket to Cheltenham Literature Festival with a friend last year). If you enjoy a detective novel, I would definitely recommend The Last Temptation.
But a word of warning – Val McDermid’s books are always pretty gruesome! And the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan books are the most gruesome of the lot. If you are fine with that, you will love The Last Temptation and the whole series.
I’m definitely going to keep reading the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan thrillers.
The premise sounds interesting, I particularly enjoy that it’s the two female detectives that talk to each other and notice there’s a pattern. I do appreciate the gruesomeness warning 🙂
It’s a really good read, but definitely a bit gruesome! Not everyone wants that from their reading.
I think I need to read some more Val Mc Dermid. I actually remember Wire in the Blood tv show. It was quite harrowing. I’m going to feature this in my October Bookworms.
Thanks very much! I would highly recommend Val McDermid. I’ve never watched The Wire in the Blood. I need to find it!