Broken Ground

November 1, 2018

Alice Summerville and her husband travel to the Scottish Highlands in search of a legacy buried by her grandfather at the end of World War II and bequeathed to her just before his death. Aided by the property owner, they ascertain the exact location and dig into a peat bog, unearthing both the treasure and a corpse. When it's determined that the body was buried long after the end of the war, DCI Karen Pirie, head of the Historical Crimes Unit of the Edinburgh Police, is called in to catch a killer on the loose for nearly 20 years. While seeking justice for this murder, Karen must also deal with a superior with an ax to grind who has planted a mole in the unit, a cold case involving a serial rapist, and an overheard conversation that may lead to a fresh crime{amp}mdash;all while grieving the loss of her partner. VERDICT Prolific author McDermid (Out of Bounds) has crafted a tight police procedural with a strong female lead. While this is number five in the series, newcomers are brought up to speed. Fans of Tana French and Ian Rankin will be delighted. [See Prepub Alert, 6/10/18.]{amp}mdash;Susan Santa, Shelter Rock P. L., Albertson, NY

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October 1, 2018
The accidental discovery of a body is the starting point for the latest mystery featuring the Scottish cold-case detective Karen Pirie.Karen is still working in the historical crimes unit and recovering from the death of her lover. Her burden is made heavier because her boss, using Karen's tendency to flout the rules as an excuse, wants to get rid of her. To that end, she's made an addition to Karen's unit, an arrogant cop meant to function as a snitch. When a woman decides to unearth the two vintage American motorcycles her grandfather buried near the end of World War II, she gets a surprise when she finds a body (preserved by the surrounding peat bog) where the second bike should be. Karen's investigation predictably leads her to trouble when clues point to a well-regarded property developer out to benefit those on the lower economic rung. The novel is laced with details about the difficulties--and the price--of life in Edinburgh, and this feeds nicely into the part of the plot that deals with the developer who becomes a suspect. A subplot about domestic violence, though it involves settings introduced earlier in the series, takes over the book just as the plot about the body buried in the bog is gearing up. One of the best things about this series is the details of Karen's working life, the obstacles as well as the satisfactions, and the small pleasures of her off hours.The mystery itself has a stop-start rhythm, but as a novel about the too-consuming work life many of us lead, it's timely and recognizable.

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October 8, 2018
In McDermind’s fine fourth novel featuring Edinburgh Det. Chief Insp. Karen Pirie (after 2016’s Out of Bounds), Alice and Will Somerville, a married couple, set out on a treasure hunt in the Scottish Highlands. They have a map to guide them to the spot where Alice’s grandfather buried two American motorcycles in protective boxes in 1944 when he was serving in the British army. To their surprise, they discover a body along with the motorcycles in the peat. When Pirie is called to the scene—a rarity for a cold case detective, getting to see the body in situ—she realizes the peat’s preservation properties have worked in her favor. A forensic anthropologist identifies the victim as a professional athlete, who disappeared around 1995, based on his shoes. But even with a name, reconstructing a decades-old murder is tricky, and this time there’s a lot of pressure from above to solve it. Meanwhile, Pirie becomes embroiled in a contemporary crime involving domestic violence. As always, McDermid’s story lines are as richly
layered as her protagonist. Agent: Jane Gregory, David Higham Assoc. (U.K.)

Starred review from October 15, 2018
What is left to be said in praise of Val McDermid? After 32 novels, she is a master of her craft and has earned her place in the exclusive group of crime writers who have been awarded the UK's Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement. Her style has been described as muscular, her characters as brawny, and her dialect beefy. These qualities abound in this fourth entry in the DI Karen Pirie series (after Out of Bounds, 2016). Pirie, who heads the cold-cases unit in urban Fife, Scotland, finds plenty of use for the wellies and cagoule (raincoat) that she keeps in the boot of her car when she ends up on a Highland peat bog, where a body wearing 1995 Nikes has been unearthed by treasure hunters looking for WWII loot. While fending off her superior's attempts to sabotage her work, she is also investigating a series of vicious rapes that occurred in the late eighties and has been drawn into a peculiar domestic stabbing. McDermid moves the reader deftly back and forth in time as her dab hand allows the indomitable Pirie to bring the dead home. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)