Silent Bones

When a landslide reveals a skeleton buried under a major road the Historic Cases Unit is called in to investigate. Eleven years previously, investigative journalist Sam Nimmo had disappeared shortly after the murdered body of his fiancee had been discovered. Sam had been the prime suspect but now it appears that he was a victim, not a killer. Meanwhile the brother of person who died in another cold case visits the HCU with possible new evidence to his brother's death. 

Karen Pirie and her team work tirelessly to understand what really happened to cause these deaths plus another death which had initially been considered an accident. As the investigations continue it becomes obvious who was behind the crimes. But, although HCU might be able to establish what happened, collecting enough evidence to convict the suspects is another challenge, especially when the suspects are part of Scotland's rich and powerful elite.

Silent Bones is the third book in Karen Pirie series of crime books written by Val McDermid. 

Queen MacBeth

William Shakespeare wrote many 'historical dramas' which used the name of a famous person but usually completely distorted the facts of events when he wrote the plot. No problem except that some people believe that the story in the play must be true - for example the events portrayed by Shakespeare in the play Richard III [written for a Tudor audience], and his description of Richard, were believed to be the truth for centuries.

In the novella Queen Macbeth, Val McDermid sets out to portray the story of Gruoch ingen Boite who married Macbethad mac Findlaích (Macbeth). The story is told in alternate sections - one section is the story of Gruoch's early life and how she met Macbethad while the other section is an account of current events in her life. Much information about Macbeth and his family has disappeared over time but Val McDermid has attempted to include some of the known facts in this work of historical fiction.

A major scene in Shakespeare's play is the death of an elderly Duncan when he visited the castle and was killed by the Macbeths, however Duncan (1001 - 1040) was killed in a battle against Macbeth's men. A number of other well known names - Malcolm and MacDuff - appear in the book though once again events and time frames vary from history.

Queen Macbeth is part of Darkland Tales where a series of Scottish authors rewrite stories from Scotland's history, myths and legends.

Past Lying

April 2020 in Edinburgh during lockdown. DCI Karen Pirie is working from home reviewing a series of cases that have been transferred to the Historic Crimes Unit which she runs. Then a phone call from Jason, one of her colleagues, presents Karen and her team with a new case. A staff member at the National Library had been sorting through new items deposited in the archive collection when she discovered a document that could be related to the murder of Lara Hardie twelve months earlier. Karen decides that her team should investigate the case.

Carrying out a police investigation during lockdown presents additional challenges for Karen and her team as they attempt to unravel the true meaning of the short story that has been discovered. Life during COVID-19 in Edinburgh features strongly in this novel and having experienced a series of COVID lockdowns in Victoria during 2020 and 2021 this background to the story resonated strongly. The strategies of chess also feature in the novel as Karen and her team work to unravel the true meaning of the story found in the archives of a well-known author.  

Past Lying by Val McDermid is no. 7 in the Karen Pierie series. As with the other books in the series the challenges faced by the characters in the book are an important feature of the novel.

1989

Ten years on and Allie Burns is working in Manchester as the northern news editor of the Sunday Globe, a newspaper in a chain of publications owned by Ace Lockhart. Her partner, Rona, is working as a freelance journalist. Meanwhile Allie investigates many of the main stories occuring in 1989 including the memorial service for those killed in the Lockerbie bombing, the Hillsborough Disaster and the search for a cure for HIV and AIDS in England and Scotland. The imminent break-up of the Soviet block into independent states is also a theme of the book.

When Allie investigates a story concerning a clinical trial with AIDS patients conducted by a drug company initially in England but then in East Germany, she heads off to Germany to find the full story and danger. Later, Ace Lockhart is found dead at his island retreat. Allie uncovers a story about Lockhart's past that leads to her learning about how and why he died and she must decide how much of the story should be revealed.

1989 by Val McDermid is a novel about corruption on a number of fronts. It also reminds us of major historical events that occurred in that year and still impact our lives today.

1979

1979 is the first book in a new series by Val McDermid featuring journalist, Allie Burns. Set in Glasgow, Allie has recently started working at the Daily Clarion and is trying to be accepted in this male dominated world. Allie is one of three female journalists at the paper and the only one working in the general news room. If she finds a lead to a good story it is passed on to one of her male colleagues and she is usually presented with a fluff piece to write instead.

Returning to Glasgow on the train after visiting her family she finds herself in the same carriage as fellow journalist, Danny Sullivan. As the train is stranded in a snow drift for some time, the two journalists have time to talk. Danny is also looking for a big scoop and is investigating a story involving major fraud that also has implications for his brother. Allie agrees to help him and the resulting story and court case help raise Allie's profile slightly in the office.

Meanwhile Allie has been attending meetings of fringe groups relating to the forthcoming Scottish Devolution Referendum and, when she discovers a possible terrorist threat, Danny becomes involved in the initial investigation before they take the story to the editor and to the police. Little do they realise the dangerous world they are entering.

 As an aside, in 1965 my father arranged for me to have an interview with a sub-editor of a major newspaper about working in newspapers. This gentleman made it quite clear that he was only talking to me because he respected my father's writing. He also assumed that, if I became a journalist, I would work on the womens pages of a newspaper. He was not impressed when I said that I would want to work on general news stories. Needless to say I made a different career choice.  

Anyway I look forward to the next to the next installment in this series as Allie strives to be accepted as a professional journalist.

Still Life

 In Still Life, the 6th book in the Karen Pierie series by Val McDermid, Karen and her team investigate two cold cases.

When a body is discovered by fishermen in their nets, solving the crime appears to be a normal police investigation until the connections to the deceased are made to two men who disappeared ten years previously. The investigation uncovers crimes relating to fraud and forgery as well as murder.

In the second case, Karen is asked to investigate when the sister of a woman killed in an accident finds a campervan containing a skeleton in the garage when she is sorting her sister's possessions. Who is the body and how did she end up in the garage?

In both these cases it soon becomes obvious that the perpetrators of the crimes have taken on new identities in order to live new lives undetected.

Karen also has her own issues to deal with when she discovers that the man who killed Phil is about to be released from gaol. She is also still sorting out her feelings for Hamish.

Still Life is another excellent addition to the Karen Pirie series by Val McDermid.

Broken Ground

In Broken Ground by Val McDermid, Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie of the Historic Cases Unit in Police Scotland has to contend with a new Assistant Chief Constable, Ann Markie. Markie has appointed a new member to Karen's team, specifically to report any information to her that might allow her to get rid of Karen. Regardless, Karen decides to ignore the new regime and do what she does best - solve cold cases.

When a body is discovered buried in a peat bog, Karen Pierie and Jason Murray investigate. It appears that the body was buried possibly in 1995 and was never reported missing. Found with the body is a new 1940s motor bike. A similar bike is located in the bog nearby. Chapters of the book therefore deal with events occurring in 2018, or 1944 or 1995. 

Discovering the name of the murdered man, who killed him and why is only one of the cases being investigated. Karen is also trying to discover the perpetrator of a series of rapes in the 1980s and also help a friend solve a recent murder.

Broken Ground is another absorbing crime novel by Val McDermid - well worth reading.

Out of Bounds

Grieving after the death of her partner, Chief Inspector Karen Pirie throws herself into her work - solving cold cases.

When Ross Garvie crashes the car he was driving and killing three of his mates, the resulting blood test shows a DNA connection to the main suspect of the unsolved murder of Tina McDonald twenty years previously. 

While Karen is investigating this link she is informed of the suicide or murder of a young man, Gabriel Abbott, on a bench by Loch Leven. This case had nothing to do with her work until it was revealed that Gabriel's mother had died in a small plane crash twenty years previously and the cause of the crash was never completely resolved. Her interest is further spiked when it is revealed that Gabriel had been investigating his family tree. 

Complications arise in resolving both of these cases as arguments about the legality of releasing information about a person's DNA ensure. It is also argued that families may have rights to the privacy regarding possible crimes of family members in the distant past. Karen's argument that a victim's family has a right to closure, knowing how a loved one died, is not shared by all parties.

Interest from senior police in the cases only occurrs when attempts are made on Karen's life by one of the suspects and it is no longer possible to avoid investigating further.

Out of Bounds by Val Mcdermid is the fourth book in the Karen Pirie series and is another dramatic and thought provoking book to read.

The Skeleton Road

Skeleton Road is the third book in the Karen Pirie series by Val McDermid. Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie is in charge of the Historic Cases Squad in Edinburgh which deals with cold cases. When  a skeleton is discovered in a tower about to be demolished, Karen takes charge of the case. Who was the person in the tower? When did they die? Who killed them and why? These are just some of the questions that need to be answered. 

As Karen investigates the case, it soon becomes obvious that this is not just a local crime but is connected to events that occurred during the Balkan War in the 1990s. A number of parallel stories, including accounts of events that occurred during the war and the lasting effect of war on individuals and relationships, are provided throughout the novel until the truth is finally uncovered.

A Darker Domain

Since we last met her, Karen Pirie is now the Detective Chief Inspector in the CCRT- the department dealing with cold cases. In A Darker Domain, Karen and Detective Sergeant Phil Parhatka are trying to solve two cold cases - one unofficially.

When Misha walks into the police station to report a missing person, she is transferred to Karen's department as the 'missing person' disappeared twenty-two years previously during the Miners' Strike of 1984. It was believed by his family and the local community that he had deliberately disappeared to Nottingham with five of the local workers. Consequently no one wanted anything to do with him. Misha needs him found as her son has a rare blood disease and her father's blood may be able to save him. When Karen decides to investigate the disappearance of Mick Prentice she discovers more than she anticipated.

Meanwhile Sir Broderick Maclennan Grant has demanded that DCI Pirie should further investigate the murder of his daughter, Catriona, and the disappearance of his grandson, Adam, also twenty- two years previously. The case has been re-opened as a journalist on holiday in Italy recognised a poster associated with the original crime in a deserted house. She also noticed recent blood stains on the floor of the house.

The sections describing the two two cases are interwoven, as are the time frames of events in 1984 and 2007. Descriptions of events during the 1984 Miners' Strike feature in the novel as Karen and Phil work to discover the truth.

The Distant Echo

It was December 1978 in St Andrews, Scotland when four university students, after a night on the town, discovered the body of a woman lying in the snow at the Pictish cemetery on Hallow Hill. Alex (Gilly), Davey (Mondo), Sigmund (Ziggy) and Tom (Weird) Had first met at secondary school in Kirkcaldy and referred to themselves as the Laddies fi' Kirkcaldy. Finding the body of Rosie Duff, a local barmaid, in the snow changed their lives, especially when the police (and the town) treated the four men as suspects, not witneses. However, after a prolonged investigation, the police were not able to establish Rosie's killer.

Twenty-five years later it was decided to reopen the investigation into a number of cold cases, including Rosie's murder. ACC James Lawson is in charge of the cold case squad and DC Karen Pirie is responsible for reviewing the evidence for the Rosie Duff Case. With new methods of investigation, including DNA, it was hoped that new information could be uncovered leading to a conviction. However the boxes of evidence relating to Rosie's murder have disappeared. Then two of the four main suspects die in suspicious circumstances and it is feared that the other two will meet the same fate.

Over the years I have seen a number of recommendations for Val McDermid novels and I am glad that I have finally read one. As well as dealing with the procedures for solving of case the author, in The Distant Echo, also allows the reader to get to know the suspects who are under investigation. This book introduces Karen Pirie who goes on to feature in a series of novels. I look forward to reading other books by Val McDermid.