Book 2 is as graphically violent as book 1 (actually all the early books in the series are). You may want to skip ahead to, say, book 8 or 9 in order to determine whether it changes significantly for you. By that time a lot of things have happened in Tony & Carol's relationship and in Carol's career of course -- also, new characters get introduced over the course of time -- but McDermid always provides at least a summary of the necessary background from the previous book(s) and it may be worthwhile as a library checkout just to see whether it has changed sufficiently for you to want to continue.
Anyway, I agree on the graphic violence; that is the chief reason why I can't read any two books out of this series back to back (or at least, any two of the early books).
By way of change of approach, you may also want to give McDermid's Karen Pirie series a try. It's essentially a classic mystery series, set in Edinburgh, with more of an eye on the police as a career choice for women -- and, in connection with a major secondary character who is a forensic anthropologist (and with whom Karen becomes friends right in book 1), there's often a "past / present" angle to the cases as well. (It was this series, too, that caused McDermid to be associated with the forensic science department at the University of Dundee.) I rather like Karen as a MC ... and the series as a whole -- and I admit that to me it's also a plus that it's set in Edinburgh. :)
Do you mean the actual cases Karen is working on (e.g., the Yugoslavia tribunal in one of the recent books, or the cold case investigations in the very last one, "Out of Bounds")? That's what I was referring to by "past / present" -- past events being investigated because they're connected to a present case of Karen's, or vice versa.
I think I've only read the first one, where half the book took place in the past and the rest of it took place in the present but reviewed everything that happened in the past. Very repetitive.
True, that one isn't my favorite book in the series, either (and not just for that particular reason). Her approach in the later books is different, though. There are no flashbacks to the past anymore (or if any at all, they're very short, just a moment in time) -- the past is uncovered bit by bit through Pirie's investigation.
Thanks! I'll probably just wait awhile and then dive into book 2 since I already have it on hand. And I will definitely look into the Karen Pirie series.
Anyway, I agree on the graphic violence; that is the chief reason why I can't read any two books out of this series back to back (or at least, any two of the early books).
By way of change of approach, you may also want to give McDermid's Karen Pirie series a try. It's essentially a classic mystery series, set in Edinburgh, with more of an eye on the police as a career choice for women -- and, in connection with a major secondary character who is a forensic anthropologist (and with whom Karen becomes friends right in book 1), there's often a "past / present" angle to the cases as well. (It was this series, too, that caused McDermid to be associated with the forensic science department at the University of Dundee.) I rather like Karen as a MC ... and the series as a whole -- and I admit that to me it's also a plus that it's set in Edinburgh. :)