Out of Bounds

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A supposed suicide of Gabriel, a Kinross man, also leads to Karen unofficially opening a cold case on a 1994 aircraft crash. The aircraft contained 4 people, the pilot was an MP and one of the passengers was Gabriel's mother. It was always believed that an incendiary device had caused the aircraft to crash and that the IRA were responsible. As Karen digs deeper, she finds more and more and comes to believe that the terrorists were far from responsible. [3] Internationally bestselling author Val McDermid is one of our finest crime writers, whose gripping, impeccably plotted novels have garnered millions of readers worldwide. In her latest, Out of Bounds, she delivers a riveting cold case novel featuring detective Karen Pirie.

This wayward and entertaining mystery has the grace of a heroine on the verge of coming into her own as a character whom readers will want to spend time with. 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.First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Val McDermid, Grove Atlantic, and Atlantic Monthly Press for providing me with a copy of this book, which allows me to provide you with this review. The DNA taken from a teenager involved in a fatal accident appears to match up with a cold case Karen has worked on and never forgotten. It matches the DNA evidence found under the nails of a murdered woman more than 20 years ago. Now Karen has to find a familial DNA match since that teenager wasn't alive at the time of the murder.

Scottish crime writer Val McDermid’s 30th novel, is a suspenseful thriller called Out of Bounds, with Little, Brown – AVAILABLE NOW!Meanwhile, Karen Pirie 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… McDermid comes from a working-class family in Fife. She studied English at St Hilda's College, Oxford, [1] where she was the first student to be admitted from a Scottish state school. [2]

In alternate chapters we meet Gabriel Abbott, a young man with mental health issues. He suffers from periodic episodes of paranoia & has always been a solitary guy. When he was a child his mother was killed in a plane crash that was unofficially blamed on the IRA. Now he lives alone in Kinross & carefully follows a daily routine until the morning he’s found dead on a park bench.

The Second Murder at the Vicarage in Marple, Twelve New Mysteries (2022) p.33-52, ( HarperCollins, New York, ISBN 978-0-06-313605-2)

When she and her colleague begin to delve beneath the surface,what they discover takes them on a diverging course that makes them privy to the fury and humiliation of fellow officers,the ire of their commanding officers,and the wilful determination of the person responsible for the deaths of innocent people. I loved McDermid's writing style.She doles out just enough information to keep you in the investigative loop but still mystified as to how all the pieces will fit together. Her Karen Pirie is a rough around the edges, loaded down with baggage insomniac. She’s also quite brilliant and not afraid to stand up to her superiors or bend the rules to obtain the information she needs to solve her case and ensure justice is achieved. I loved how the DNA angle ends up playing a role in the case she covertly investigates in parallel to the one to which she is assigned. I loved how Karen copes with a numpty of an assistant and how she comes to Jason’s aid when he puts their investigation in jeopardy and brings Karen’s superiors barking at her heels. I even liked the Syrian refugee subplot generated thanks to Pirie’s late night strolls through the streets of Edinburgh. Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.Val McDermid is a favourite author of mine. Not only do I love her books and the way they have been brought to life for TV, I actually really enjoy listening to her talk. She inspires me with the way she comes up with new ideas and story-lines although I will admit, it was not until I had watched my first episode of Wire in the Blood that I discovered her as an author. The Sinker - Generally I prefer to begin at the beginning of a series and probably would have put Out of Bounds off if I had realized this was number four for Karen Pirie. Oh, I don’t think I missed that much but felt like the third wheel while out with two friends who had known each other for years> Of course, we three know each other yet I’m not part of their shared memories. It can feel a bit awkward. McDermid, Val (5 April 2016). "Scotland is now a place where you can be glad to be gay". The Guardian. A massive thanks to Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for an ARC of this book! When I had put my request in to review, I was on tenterhooks waiting to see if it would be approved – when it was approved….well I think there may have been a *happy dance* …ok, there was! What superlatives are there left to describe the phenomenon that is the multi award-winning McDermid? . . . Told with McDermid’s legendary verve and eye for detail, it grabs the reader by the throat and never lets go.”— Daily Mail (UK)