This weeks book was borrowed from my friend Annemie’s collection. It is the Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid and I wasn’t sure the whole way through if I’d recommend this one or not. The storyline is very well done, totally absorbing as it explores the tormented mind of a serial killer, even when you think you have it figured out there are additional twists and turns right though to the end which I enjoy in a book. It is an international best seller and winner of the Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger Award for fiction so others also think it is a great book, my reservations are that the torture in the storyline is graphic, much more so than most of the books I read and it sort of stays with you when you aren’t reading and I’m a bit squeemish. If it was a movie I’d close my eyes through those bits but with a book that doesn’t really work so well, pretty much wrecks the story line when you skip bits. On balance if you enjoy the crime/thriller genre you will enjoy McDermids style – if you prefer a bambi book skip this one.

The Mail on Sunday review on the cover sums it up well, terrifying but stylish, cruel and compassionate, truly horribly good.