The sophistication and talent that a writer needs to maintain two
plot lines and ferry seven characters through a full-length novel,
may be a challenge to author Val McDermid, but she does it with
style, believability and panache in THE LAST TEMPTATION.

A serial killer is targeting psychologists in Germany and Holland.
When an old friend is murdered, former British profiler Tony Hill
reluctantly gets back into the game. His job is to outsmart the
killer and prevent any more brutal "mutilation" deaths.

At the same time, Carol Jordan, a very ambitious DCI and the love
of Hill's life, is offered any position she wants if she does her
superiors a "favor" --- seduce Tadeusz Radecki into a sting that
will expose his drug, arms and people smuggling businesses. This
seems to be an offer she can't refuse. But, by the time she finds
out that she's been set up, it's too late to back out. She feels
betrayed and used when she discovers that she is the "twin" image
of Katerina Basler, Tadisck's lover who was killed in a mysterious
hit and run accident.

Hill's murder investigation eventually brings him to Berlin. And,
although he must travel to several European cities, he takes a
small apartment in the same building as Jordan. Both of them work
with local cops, Jordan with Petra Becker in Germany, and Hill with
Brigadier Marijke van Hasselt from Holland.

THE LAST TEMPTATION is an aggregate of pristine prose, complicated
plot twists, roller coaster pacing, intelligent characters, and
very interesting subject matter. McDermid writes with finesse and
her extraordinary storytelling prowess sets her new book apart from
the ordinary. Wow! This book is a sure fire winner.