BookRank

Reading order

Tony Hill & Carol Jordan reading order

Val McDermid

  1. The Mermaids Singing1995
  2. The Wire in the Blood1997
  3. The Last Temptation2002
  4. The Torment of Others2004
  5. Beneath the Bleeding2007
  6. Fever of the Bone2009
  7. The Retribution2011
  8. Cross and Burn2013
  9. Splinter the Silence2015
  10. Insidious Intent2017
  11. How the Dead Speak2019
7.67.6 / 10
56 ratings
Score
11 volumes
Volumes
1995–2019
Published
about 90 h
Reading time
Completed
Status
Crime & mystery
Genre

Quick answer

The Mermaids Singing
Start withThe Mermaids Singing1995 · Volume 1 of 11
Open the volume →Buy the first volumeListen to the audiobook

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Publication order

11 volumes1995–2019Completed

  • Val McDermid’s long-running crime series about Tony Hill, a brilliant and awkward clinical psychologist who profiles serial killers, and Carol Jordan, the detective he works with and cannot quite admit he loves.
  • The Mermaids Singing, the first and the one with enough ratings, won the Gold Dagger: a killer is torturing men to death in the northern English city of Bradfield.
  • Graphic and psychologically sharp; it became the TV series Wire in the Blood.
  • Read in order for the relationship.

A plan for the whole series

11 volumes, 4,925 pages, about 90 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 4 months.

Stages

6 stages, with 5 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around March 19, 2027, 20 days later than in one go.

  1. Stage 116 habout 3 weeksby November 20, 2026
  2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 24, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
  3. Stage 29 h13 daysby December 6, 2026
    • 3. The Last Temptation2002 · 513 pages · 9 h
  4. Short breakThe Emperor's Soul · Brandon Sanderson · 96 pp. · score 8.82 h, by December 10, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
  5. Stage 317 habout 3 weeksby January 1, 2027
    • 4. The Torment of Others2004 · 465 pages · 9 h
    • 5. Beneath the Bleeding2007 · 458 pages · 8 h
  6. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by January 5, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
  7. Stage 416 habout 3 weeksby January 26, 2027
    • 6. Fever of the Bone2009 · 448 pages · 8 h
    • 7. The Retribution2011 · 414 pages · 8 h
  8. Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by January 31, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
  9. Stage 516 habout 3 weeksby February 21, 2027
    • 8. Cross and Burn2013 · 464 pages · 9 h
    • 9. Splinter the Silence2015 · 416 pages · 8 h
  10. Short breakTo Be Taught, If Fortunate · Becky Chambers · 153 pp. · score 8.33 h, by February 26, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
  11. Stage 616 h21 daysby March 19, 2027
    • 10. Insidious Intent2017 · 428 pages · 8 h
    • 11. How the Dead Speak2019 · 424 pages · 8 h
  12. The end of the series
    March 19, 2027
In one goFebruary 26, 2027about 4 months
In stages, with breaksMarch 19, 2027about 5 months · +11 h of other books

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

How this plan is calculated

The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →

Every volume in order

Read: 0 of 11
  1. The Mermaids Singing
    The Mermaids Singing1995 · 56 ratingsStart here
    7.67.6 / 10
  2. The Wire in the Blood
    The Wire in the Blood1997 · Not ranked yetBuy
    –Not ranked yet
  3. The Last Temptation
    The Last Temptation2002 · 16 ratings · Not ranked yetBuy
    –Not ranked yet
  4. The Torment of Others
    The Torment of Others2004 · Not ranked yetBuy
    –Not ranked yet
  5. Beneath the Bleeding
    Beneath the Bleeding2007 · 16 ratings · Not ranked yetBuy
    –Not ranked yet
  6. Fever of the Bone
    Fever of the Bone2009 · 14 ratings · Not ranked yetBuy
    –Not ranked yet
  7. The Retribution
    The Retribution2011 · 15 ratings · Not ranked yetBuy
    –Not ranked yet
  8. Cross and Burn
    Cross and Burn2013 · Not ranked yetBuy
    –Not ranked yet
  9. Splinter the Silence
    Splinter the Silence2015 · Not ranked yetBuy
    –Not ranked yet
  10. Insidious Intent
    Insidious Intent2017 · 13 ratings · Not ranked yetBuy
    –Not ranked yet
  11. How the Dead Speak
    How the Dead Speak2019 · Not ranked yetBuy
    –Not ranked yet

Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026

Frequently asked questions

Which Tony Hill & Carol Jordan book is the longest?

“The Last Temptation” is the longest at 513 pages; the shortest is “The Mermaids Singing” with 400 pages.