it's a good detective story. I only wish the hipsters had more of a comeuppance/embarrassment. The senior office politics are intriguing.

I can't believe I have never read anything by Val McDermid before. After reading this police procedural featuring a highly competent, no-nonsense woman detective, I'm impressed with the story itself and with the characters. All the supporting characters are well developed, making the world feel real. It's also an opportunity to learn some new Scottish words; be sure to read this one with a dictionary handy. The best thing about discovering an author with a long list of previously published books is that you can look forward to so much more high quality detective fiction without having to wait another year for the next novel.

One of the storylines in Broken Ground is that DCI Karen Pirie’s scheming boss is trying to get rid of her. On this showing, my sympathies are with the boss.

This is what Pirie does in a single week: interfere in a case in which she is a witness, be rude and aggressive to a witness in her own investigation, socialise with a potential suspect, take on a case before getting official clearance and assault another police officer. (There’s more but I’d have to give spoilers.)

There’s nothing wrong with having a dodgy cop as your protagonist, but we are constantly told how brilliant Pirie is and that she has a fantastic clear-up rate. The trouble is, in this book we don’t see her doing anything impressive. All she seems to do all day is eat and moan about the traffic (we also get exhaustive details about the parking arrangements at the various locations she visits).

I’m all for local colour, I used to live in Edinburgh so it’s nice to revisit landmarks, but there are so many namechecks for cafes and restaurants (and even a particular supermarket’s wine) that I was sure McDermid must have a product placement deal. Among all this we are told that Pirie has lost weight, which is about as convincing as the claims of her brilliance.

The case itself is quite interesting, revolving round buried World War 2 loot in the Highlands and a body in a peat bog. However the team establish who their suspect is quite early on, and elements of the story are told in flashback which often repeat what we already know. The end is more grandstanding than dramatic climax and a number of subplots are left dangling.

McDermid is often praised for the accuracy of her use of forensics and has even written a non-fiction book on the subject. But it seems that the commitment to realism does not extend to the rest of her work. Are we really expected to believe that a DCI spends her day looking up birth certificates online, or travelling hundreds of miles on a routine enquiry for elimination purposes? Without even ringing ahead to check if the person she intends to speak to is in?

Broken Ground also introduces a new team member who is childishly rude and insubordinate to Pirie from the start. I found this unconvincing. The police have a strict hierarchy and expectations about behaviour. Of course officers find ways to disrespect and undermine their superiors, but it would be both more realistic and more interesting to see him do it with subtlety. Similarly, Pirie’s boss is a caricature and her motivation for her attacks on Pirie is thin.

Despite everything, the pages keep turning. To use a food analogy (which seems particularly appropriate in this case) it’s like a takeaway that doesn’t taste great and you know won’t do you any good, but it has just the right confection of salt, fat and sugar to make you go on eating.

What frustrates me is the fact that McDermid, like her creation, is capable of so much more. The early Jordan and Hill books, in particular, combined complex characterisation with dramatic storylines and an emotional resonance that stayed with me long after I’d forgotten the plots. Maybe it’s easy for her to turn out a book that’s good enough. But I wish she’d go deep and write something great.

Couldn't put it down. I enjoyed this book so much, I immediately ordered more by the author. The protagonist is a realistic, believable detective facing the challenges of the modern day police force. I enjoyed the author's blending of past and present-day plot points. WWII history buffs, fans of police procedurals, and mystery readers will enjoy it.

I have never read a book by Val McDermid I didn't like, and this was no exception. Set in Scotland, Detective Constable Inspector Karen Pirie is constantly butting heads with her superior officer who seems to have a personal vendetta against her. Although DCI Pirie is assigned to the cold case squad, her newest case turns out to have present day connections as well as WWII historical interest. Somewhat of a maverick, DCI Pirie decides to find out who was responsible for several murders, one current and one past, despite being warned off by her superior officer. A little touch of romance for DCI Pirie does the story no harm at all.

Not all books suit every reader. Unfortunately, that was the case with this novel. I do appreciate being given the opportunity to read this book, but was not able to finish. In fairness, since I didn't read the complete book, I will not post any negative feedback of this publication on Goodreads, Amazon, Facebook, or other social media.

DCI Karen Pirie has her work cut out for her in Broken Ground. She's involved in solving three different crimes, one in the present and two in the past. Her main case involves the discovery of a body in a bog. It soon transpires that it's a recent enough murder for the Historical Crimes Unit to solve but clues are far and few between. Unlike most police procedurals Val McDermid takes the reader on a more detailed type of investigation. Every lead has to be followed up and every witness questioned. Therefore, I think it's a more realistic thriller. Very enjoyable. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy.

DCI Karen Pirie is head of the Cold Case unit and now has a new boss. Ann Markie is out to get her for some reason Karen can’t quite fathom. To this end she puts a new detective to work with Karen and Jason who is basically her spy. Luckily Karen still has her close friends and colleagues on her side and she needs them when she is tasked with finding out how a body unearthed from a peat bog got there while she is tracking down a serial rapist and helping a colleague with a “live case”. Despite Ann Markie trying her best to undermine her at every turn Karen is determined to get justice for the families no matter how long ago their loved ones died and no matter the cost to her or her job. I loved the interactions between Karen and Jason and Karen and Ann.
The story flowed and didn’t let up from the first to the last page. I couldn’t put it down.
Val McDermid certainly knows how to keep readers on their toes.
I am intrigued to know where the relationship between Hamish and Karen will go and I can’t wait for the next Karen Pirie book to find out.

It is, very hard to review a book and not give away all the nitty-gritty details that you have uncovered through reading, and while some people don't mind, provided there is a disclaimer, I will still try to avoid spoilers (partially because this will be shared to my Goodreads as well!) Firstly thanks to Net Galley for the free preview of this, in exchange for an honest review of course) - it's important to note, that as of this day, I have yet to find a novel here that disappoints.

Now, considering this is the 5th book in the Inspector Karen Pirie series, I found it very easy to read - normally, coming into a series late is a pain, and you find yourself HAVING to go back and read the others, or google small facts to understand whats occurring - I found this wasn't necessarily the case here (at least, not entirely).

McDermind manages to create an interesting narrative, where, through the protagonist, we find some clever plot-lines, and the deliverance of justice in a way that is satisfactory, and covers all questions that one could ask. I thought the character creation was brilliant, and what McDermind manages (which so many fail to give) is to create someone with a background, someone relate able, and leaves you eager to know more about them.

As with every novel, there were a few points which shocked me, or stood out - notably coming from reading mainly YA novels, the swearing was something different. As well one or two characters who I felt lacked, or I'd enjoy delving into more.

Other than those things I would definitely suggest this as a read to many people. (I may even go back and read the rest of the series, although I didn't have to)

Broken Ground is a standalone novel. This is the first book I have read by this author so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was a well written mystery/police procedural novel involving what ended up being a cold case. The characters and the story were well written and it was easy to follow and get engaged in what was happening. I definitely want to read more from this author.

Detective Karen Pirie’s passion is solving old cases. And she is very good at it. Now if only her higher ups would allow her to proceed, she would be able to focus better and get closure sooner. But politics is interfering and Karen must cope with her new female boss, who she had hoped would be an ally. Worst of all, a new addition to her tiny squad of two, may be incompetent and a spy for the boss.

One of Karen’s cases consists of a body unearthed in a peat bog. A young couple hoping to find an inheritance buried by grandpa made that grisly discovery. But the peat has enabled the body to be well preserved…so Karen and her Historical Crimes Unit go to work. But another case of grisly rapes, with just a description of a vehicle from many years past, also has their attention.

Trying to juggle the cases, office politics, her own sense of justice and a possible romantic interest, has Karen in unexpected territory this time. McDermid’s descriptions, characters and settings are always a pleasure. Highly recommended.

I very much enjoyed the main characters of the novel and was excited to learn that it was a series. I will be starting the rest of it from the beginning and will recommend the same to my friends who enjoy the genre. At times it got a bit bogged down, but I think if I would have come to it in order, I would have enjoyed it more.

Thanks for the copy of the novel. I will definitely seek out more of her novels.

An inheritance, buried, and when found is accompanied by a body. Intrigue to the max! I read in one sitting and was totally engrossed. Story line is riveting and wonderful written,

Another reviewer mentioned that she did not find Broken Ground memorable. That struck home because I finished this while on vacation last month and forgot to immediately review it. Now I remember liking the novel well enough, but I cannot recall much about it a month later. Sure, that's partly my fault, but some novels stick better than others. Not this one, sadly enough.

An engrossing, twisty thriller, This novel demonstrates Val McDermid’s place as one of the best crime writers writing today. The novel's tough characters and tight style work to create a fantastic novel whose heroine is original and engrossing. First rate fiction.

I always look forward to Val McDermid’s books - I save them up for a time when I know I can sit down and read for hours, without guilt. I delay starting, just so I can delay the feeling of loss when I finish. The new Karen Pirie novel is no exception and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Karen and Jason are becoming old friends and though the story moves along, the pace seems gentler than the ‘Tony and Carol’ books. Added to that, the fantastic descriptions of Edinburgh and,in this book, Sutherland whisk me off on travels I wish were real.
I recommend the book to all fans of Val and to others who enjoy series novels where you get to dip in and out of the lives of old familiar friends.

This is the fifth book in the DCI Karen Pirie series. I had not read any of the previous books but this works as a stand alone. It is a police procedural story set in Scotland. DCI Karen Pirie is in charge of the Historical Crimes Unit charged with solving cold cases. Despite the fact that she has a very strong solve rate, her boss has it in for her and seems to thwart her every chance she can gets, she even sends in a "spy" to work in HCU to see if he can dig up dirt on DCI Pirie procedures. They are working on solving a brutal rape case from the past when a body is found in a peat bog with some old Indian motocycles buried at the end of WWII. They slowly but surely dig up old leads that help them discover the perpetrators. I enjoyed this story finding clues little by little. I have a few gripes about the characters. Most of the main characters are not very likeable and it makes it difficult to believe when other characters go out of their way to help in the investigations. Also, being American, quite a bit of the Scottish vocabulary was foreign to me. I found many of the words I didn't know in the dictionary but a lot were not there and I could guess the meaning but it sometimes made for tedious reading. I also felt there was an overuse of the word "wee" and the Kindle formatting was not good. Hopefully that will be sorted out in the editing process. That being said, I really liked this book and would read more from this author. I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

DCI Pirie, reeling from grief, is still able to conduct business at the Historic Crimes Unit. When a body is found in a peat bog, Pirie and her team are called in by chance and get in on the investigation on the ground floor. The corpse isn't as ancient as some presumed, and that puts the crime squarely within the realm of Pirie's team. Spanning decades, the story unravels like a skien of tangles yarn.

Really enjoyable book with good characters and a twisty,unusual story line. Great description of Scotland's northern scenery. Looking forward to the next one.

Broken Ground is a classic British police procedural, with a main character, DCI Karen Pirie, that most will find sympathetic and engaging. This is the first of the series I've read, but if you are a fan of Agatha Christie or P.D. James you will likely enjoy author Val McDermid's plotting and style.

DCI Pirie is in charge of a unit of the Scottish Police that investigates old unsolved crimes. It is a small unit, but she has the mettle and stick-to-it-ness to deal with such cases. She has one young assistant who is loyal but somewhat inexperienced. Her boss is the typical bureaucratic climber that serious police investigators despise. You can imagine where that leads.

In addition to a case currently underway involving what appears to be a series of unsolved rapes of sex workers, Pirie finds herself called to the scene where a body has been discovered, not something typical for someone dealing with old cases. The body, however, has been buried for many years, and leads to the main plot line of the book. I enjoyed that the author also added yet another plot line involving a recent murder, where Pirie had an encounter with the victim. So with three plot lines moving along at the same time, one finds oneself thinking a lot about what comes next.

While the book seemed a bit slow at times, the excellent character development and unusual circumstances surrounding the plot lines makes up for this one fault. If you enjoy mysteries, particularly British ones, this book should appeal to you.