The Mermaids Singing

[1] The first featuring her recurring protagonist, Dr. Tony Hill,[2] it was adapted into the pilot episode of ITV1's television series based on McDermid's work, Wire in the Blood, starring Robson Green and Hermione Norris.

In the fictional English city of Bradfield, men are being abducted and tortured to death using brutal medieval techniques.

Dr. Tony Hill has problems of his own, including a mysterious woman named Angelica who frequently calls him for phone sex.

"[7] In addition to feminist themes, The Mermaids Singing also engages in exploration of psychological profiling as a police method.

[8] Isabel Santaulària criticizes the novel for, in so doing, "ultimately endors[ing] the status quo and the state apparatuses that regulate it and guarantee its preservation.