Noticed by chance at the library yesterday ..dipped my nose in last night. Couldn't put down today. Finished in time for tea ....Scrumptious (and not uncomfortably graphic) Val McDermid writes so well and so vividly that her word pictures can be too rich for me at times. But this was a real treat.
Good reads describes the story thus...
"When a teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car and ends up in a coma, a routine DNA test reveals a connection to an unsolved murder from twenty-two years before. Finding the answer to the cold case should be straightforward. But it’s as twisted as the DNA helix itself.
Meanwhile, Karen finds herself irresistibly drawn to another mystery that she has no business investigating, a mystery that has its roots in a terrorist bombing two decades ago. And again, she finds that nothing is as it seems.
An enthralling, twisty read, Out of Bounds reaffirms Val McDermid’s place as one of the most dependable professionals in the mystery and thriller business."
see full text here
This is the second "Karen Pirie" story I have read and is fourth in the series ..I've also read the third ...another chance library find. So now I'm off in search of the first two.
#1 is "A Distant Echo"
#2 is "A Darker Domain"
#3 is "The Skelton Road"
#4 is "Out of Bounds"
Thanks for the recommendation. Don't know why I've never read any of Val McDermid's novels as I'm a big fan of crime fiction. Another crime writer, Mari Hannah, told me recently that she always thinks 'I wish I'd written that' after reading Val's work. And there's nothing better than stumbling across a new series of books. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteGosh I think you are in for a treat!
DeleteI keep seeing Val McDermid on the TV on various things and thinks she's wonderful. But I haven't read any of her books. I don't know why, it's ridiculous. I'll have to do a random grab at the library sometime and see what I end up with... which can be quite exciting. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHope the family are all feeling better.
Watched a bonkers programme on TV last called Railroad Alaska (think that was the title). One of those very blokey shows with big strong chaps fixing trains in the snow. ;-) I couldn't resist as I was hopeful of good snowy scenery and it delivered in spades. Fab views of mountains and passes and snow and so on. Brill.
They could make a series titled "Bonkers Alaska" We do have more than the normal amount of Eccentrics and just plain Nutcases! A Train would definitely be the way to see some of the snow ..especially when it's so darn cold..the tracks are not made for speed so the train doesn't go fast through town (or out of town actually) so you can interact with the drivers ..when the girls were small and waved at the train from the park the driver (much to their delight)would wave back! Val McDermid writes really well...sometimes she is uncomfortably good at sadistic and gruesome but her characters are so well written I persist. I've only once found a dud and that was a great story that the ending was just too abrupt! but that's my only disappointment.
DeleteHow intriguing. Not surprised you selected it. I've not heard of her before, but then again, I don't read so much crime. Will have to look out for it.
ReplyDeleteI have the first 2 of the series now (collected from the library yesterday)so I'll check them out...hopefully they'll be just as good!
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