The Mermaids Singing

First edition (publ. HarperCollins)

The Mermaids Singing (1995) is a crime novel by Scottish author Val McDermid.[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.

The title is part of the fifth line from the poem Song by John Donne, that was referenced in a poem by T. S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.

  1. ^ Christiana Gregoriou (29 February 2012). Constructing Crime: Discourse and Cultural Representations of Crime and 'Deviance'. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 194–. ISBN 978-0-230-39208-3.
  2. ^ Hughes, Sarah (7 February 2020). "Val McDermid: 'Giving a seven-figure advance to a debut is a terrible thing to do to a writer'". inews.co.uk. dmg media. Retrieved 10 April 2023.