"[A] psychologically chilling and multifaceted thriller....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." Publishers Weekly

"McDermid's third thriller featuring psychological profiler Tony Hill is packed with white-knuckle suspense, hot action, and graphic chills....Despite some plot holes and one inexplicably brainless move by the heroine, McDermid's latest is sure to be a hit with thriller fans." Emily Melton, Booklist

"In the past decade or so British crime fiction has been fiercely determined to throw off its pervasive image (in this country at least) as the genre that specializes in tales of cozy little villages hiding dark secrets....The members of this new generation of British mystery authors...function as reporters as much as novelists, mapping the structures and failures of Britain's social institutions and the people who try to keep them working. The best writer, the most exciting and compassionate, to emerge from this school of British writing is the Scottish novelist Val McDermid." Charles Taylor, Salon.com

"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." Library Journal

"A successor to The Mermaids Singing (1996) so densely packed that the poor serial killer almost gets dropped between the cracks." Kirkus Reviews

"McDermid masterfully controls her cast as Tony and Carol work against time to bring their cases to a conclusion. The settings in Berlin are vividly evoked....This is a hugely ambitious novel, involving three police forces, of which the British seem to be the most Machiavellian..." Maggie Douglas, The Express

"Val McDermid is one of the few crime authors who can be convincing when it comes to 'writing tough' yet retain a powerful emotional insight....McDermid is doing something quite extraordinary with the crime fiction suspense thriller." Jane Jakeman, Scotland on Sunday

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.