The Last Temptation (

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

) is a

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

by Scottish author Val McDermid, the third in her acclaimed

Dr. Tony Hill Dr Anthony ‘Tony’ Valentine Hill is a fictional character created by Scottish crime writer Val McDermid. He is portrayed by actor Robson Green in the ITV television series ''Wire in the Blood'' based on her Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series ...

series, which has been adapted into the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

television drama '' Wire in the Blood'', starring Robson Green. This particular novel served loosely as the basis for recent episode ''Falls the Shadow''.ValMcDermid.com
/ref>

Synopsis

Across

northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...

sadist Sadist refers to: * A person with sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term for individuals who derive pleasure from the suffering of others Sadist may also refer to: Sexual practices *BDSM, one who engages in the erotic (sexual) practices ...

ic serial killer has been gruesomely drowning experimental

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

s, and the case takes on a rare personal aspect for Tony Hill when one of his friends falls victim. Meanwhile Carol Jordan has gone undercover in Germany on the trail of some very dangerous crime kingpins. However Tony and Carol are caught together and the kingpin Tadeusz Radecki rapes Carol and tries to kill Tony. Afterwards Tony confronts Wilhelm Mann, the skipper of the barge Wilhelmina Rosen, who was killing psychologists because he was abused by his grandfather, who was experimented on by the Nazis. This culminates in Wilhelm being shot and killed.

References

2002 British novels Novels by Val McDermid Tony Hill series HarperCollins books {{2000s-crime-novel-stub