DCI Karen Pirie, who works Historic cases, has two tricky ones on her hands- a skeletonized body of a woman in a camper van inside a garage and a man who has been fished out of the water. Luckily, she also has Jason (aka the Mint) and now Daisy as able assistants as she looks for answers across the UK and into Europe. When it turns out that the man is the brother of a missing Scottish politician, who has himself been in the wind for years, it opens up a case that trails backward and into the....wait for it..art world. No spoilers from me but this case is complex and you won't see the answers coming. Art also figures in the case of the woman, as does identity. As always with a McDermid novel, I learned a bit about UK and EU law and got a great tour of Scotland (note that the Malmaisson does feature drinks with gin, rhubarb, and so on). This is wonderfully paced, the characters are terrific (including all the supporting case), and the mysteries so twisty. Then there's Hamish, Karen's love interest. One of Karen's colleagues gives her an early warning to stock up on a wipes and hand gel in advance of the pandemic. Let's hope she, and her colleagues, all survive and live on to solve more cases- I know I'm looking forward to seeing how Daisy develops. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. McDermid fans will be happy with this one and new readers- this is fine as a standalone and you will have discovered a terrific author who writes a deeply satisfying read filled with love for Scotland and humanity.

A lobster fisherman pulls up his creel, and discovers he's caught a dead body. DCI Charlie Todd calls his deputy DS Daisy and tells her to meet him at the mortuary. Jenny, the pathologist says he's in decent shape for his age (49). Then she tells them his French passport and driver's license were in his jeans pocket. Interestingly, they were issued to Paul Allard on the same date. However, Paul may not be a real Frenchman, and who killed him.

Meanwhile, DCI Karen Pirie in the Historic Cases Unit is assigned a case where a skeleton has been found in the back of a van in Stella's garage by her sister Susan. Stella had been killed on a bicycle in a road accident and Susan had gone to her home to clean it out. The van was messy and there were maggots all over the skeleton, whereas the garage the van was in was spotless. They believe the skeleton was murdered, because there was a fracture across the back of the skull. However, it is difficult to figure out who the skeleton is and who killed her.

Soon, Karen is also assigned the Paul Allard case, along with DS Daisy to help. It appears the dead man was the brother of a missing person cold case Karen had reviewed two years previously. The cases end up involving art forgeries and supposedly dead people as well as someone who appears to be alive, but might be a skeleton. This book has a very good plot involving the untangling of two cases with missing persons and a lot of excitement.

Val McDermid is in the top tier of Scotland's stellar crime writers. She creates characters so complex, intelligent and quirky that it seems they are alive and could cross my path at any moment -- and I wish it could be so.

In this series, Karen Pirie is a detective in Police Scotland's historic cases unit. She solves cold cases, and she manages to maintain matchless loyalty among her team members. All the characters -- heroes and villains, recurring names and one-offs -- are drawn fully and individually (as always with McDermid.)

In this installment, Pirie must juggle two cases: one that occurred in the more recent past, and one that has a fresh murder tied to a cold case from decade ago. The latter has thorny political implications, which of course bothers Pirie's boss much more than the detective herself.

Nothing in any McDermid book has every brought this picky reader disappointment, and Still Life fit the mold. Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance readers copy.

DCI Karen deals with cold cases. A recent death reveals an old van with a decayed body. Karen and her DC Jason investigate the van's history, DNA left in the van - trying to piece together the crime and circumstances.
DS Daisy with a local police station finds herself immersed in a homicide. A man's body is pulled up on a boat collecting lobster traps. The body is identified as the brother of a higher up civil servant who disappeared ten years earlier. Karen is called in to assist by Senior Administration. Together, Daisy and Karen become immersed in the art world, searching for answers in Paris.

I enjoyed the plot as well as the characters. Cold cases are intriguing - some slow sections but overall great job developing the information, movement of the cases. The disappearance of Iain Auld was pretty easy to figure out - Iain's plans, reasons and impacts. Also the motive and identity of Jamie's killer were not challenging.

The camaraderie and working relationships were well developed, humorous as well as realistic. The conclusion mentions the impending COVID impact worldwide. Karen clearly cares deeply for her staff - which I love to see in a book.

When I started this book with the prologue dated February 2020, I thought ‘well this will be interesting!’ But the storyline was pacy and with events unfolding quickly that, despite it being largely about a close case unit, everything was nicely wrapped up before our worlds changed in mid March. I’m sure the author had some tough decisions to make in the writing of this book, include the global pandemic that has touched all of our lives or allow the reader escape into a world that might have been. Coronavirus references aside this was a great read, two mysteries in one, with humour, likeable characters and even a bit of twisted romance. Many thanks to netgalley for the advance copy of this novel, I look forward to seeing what the characters did during lockdown!

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre,  however I wanted to take the opportunity to read something from outside my norm. And I am glad I did!! Thank you for  opening up my mind to something totally different. Characters were so well developed that I felt as though I knew them. I love when a book draws you into the story and it feels like you are living it with them.

Still Life is Book 6 in Val McDermid's Inspector Karen Pirie's series. McDermid is a strong writer with vivid complexities that readers have come to appreciate when reading her books. Each character has their own strong sense of individuality and the world building has many layers, I have been McDermid's bookfan for many years and I have yet to find a book that left me wanting. This is indeed another strong addition to this successful series.

Val Mcdermid has a complex imagination and I'm very grateful for it! Still Life is the latest book to feature DCI Karen Pirie of the Historical Cases Unit in Edinburgh. Karen's latest case has her investigating the discovery of a skeleton in a camper van. It's obvious this skeleton has been there for some time and the owner of the camper van is now deceased herself. As if that wasn't complex enough Superintendent Markie wants results on a second case she insists that Karen investigate. The body of David Auld turns up in the sea near Fife. Karen previously investigated the disappearance of Iain Auld, the brother of the deceased. David Auld was the chief suspect in his brother's disappearance but he went off the grid himself until his body was found 12 years later. Iain Auld was a high ranking civil servant and if there's any scandal involved in his disappearance then Markie wants Karen to bear the brunt of it. The animosity between Markie and Pirie is always a highlight of these books! I loved it. Thank you NetGalley for my advance copy.

I loved this police procedural set in Scotland, which seamless brings in questions of Brexit, modern art and the ability to disappear with hardly a trace. The language is lovely, sprinkled with the occasional Scottish term for local color. The characters are all well-developed from the most important -- DCI Karen Pirie, who takes control of two cold cases at once -- to the most minor. Police and citizens alike get their due, and the plot, which twists and turns like a rural farm road, is ultimately satisfying.

When a dead body ilpulled from the sea by a fisherman turns out to be that of a prime suspect in a ten year old murder, it ends up on the desk of cold case detective Karen Pirie. In this newest entry in one of Val McDermid's popular series, all the elements of her superbly crafted mysteries are present in abundance; complex, multidimensional characters, an interesting plot involving art forgery, a high-ranking civil servant, and am illicit homosexual love affair, and the best-selling author's lucent prose, which never fails to yield a satisfying read
rilliant descriptive passages

I was so thrilled to be given the opportunity to review this latest instalment by Val McDermid. As with her previous books this did not disappoint.
I thoroughly enjoyed the setting in Scotland along with the ongoing storyline of Karen and her team.
This had me hooked from the outset and I devoured this in just two days.
4.5 stars

An enjoyable read with a few twists and turns. I had a hard time getting into the story, but I believe it’s mainly because the whole artists and their eccentric lifestyle scene does not appeal to me. Once I got to know the detectives a bit better I started to like the story. I especially liked the character called Mint. Definitely a character I would like to read more about. I’m sure there are many layers to him.

The book could have been a bit shorter. I felt like it was not moving forward at times. The last third was great since I didn’t find it lagging. I enjoyed the settings and the banter in the book. The most contemporary of things, like Covid-19 and Brexit, also made it into the book, which is nice in a way that future readers will easily know and understand the time and the mood of those days.

Many, many years ago, when I was still a teenager, I read a book by Val McDermid and decided that I absolutely must read another. But, as it happens in life, it hasn't come to that until now. And I was right many years ago to keep this author on my TBR pile because she's worth it.

This is a very good book with interesting characters and a satisfyingly complicated storyline. I haven't read the other books in this series, but that wasn't a problem. I also think that I liked these characters so much that I will read other books in this series.

As I mentioned, the plot is quite complicated, but in a very good sense. The main character, DCI Karen Pirie, has two cases that have not been solved in the past. Both are equally interesting and the solution of both is equally fascinating. I also like how certain themes are repeated in both cases, making them somehow strangely match. And although I foresaw some solutions quite quickly, it did not take away the joy of reading the whole story and discovering other small nuances. The elaborated scam is very interesting, yet still believable, and for sure highly entertaining.

Pirie is an intelligent and inquisitive heroine. She has her flaws, but they only make her an interesting character, not an annoying one. Her relationship with Hamish is also an interesting addition.

This is a very ‘European’ novel. I don't know how to describe it otherwise. I think it's been a long time since I read a book so solidly set in the realities of conducting an investigation in Europe in the era of the European Union. The author has knowledge on the solutions adopted in Europe that enable the prosecution of criminals between the borders of the EU and associated countries. There are also subtle but remarkably interesting threads of Brexit and its impact on the investigation. I have a degree in European Studies, so such details were especially valuable to me. This also distinguishes this book from other thrillers, especially American ones.

Overall, it's a very good and interesting story. This author definitely stays on my TBR pile.

Couldn’t put this book down, the twists and turns will keep the pages turning until the last word. ValMcDermott at her best

Fast paced thriller set across the UK, France and Ireland. This had me gripped from the start right up to the climatic ending. 5 stars.

Still Life by Val Mc Dermid
I loved this book, although it took me a little while to get into it. But once hooked, it really did zip along. The book is the latest in a series featuring Karen Pirie, the head of Scotland’s Historic Crime Unit , and introduces her new sidekick Daisy. The main plot deals with art and the forgery of works of art by important Scottish painters, but also deals with the way in which the lead characters deceive others as they reinvent themselves.
There was lots of Mc Dermid’s trademark humour, often gallows humour, and her detailed scrutiny of police and legal procedures. There are also the most lavish and loving descriptions of food, frequently junk food, crumbly sausage rolls and even a white pudding supper. Daisy will really need to watch her diet at some point. McDermid is also brilliant at nicknames – Dog Biscuit, The Mint, The Ginger Ninja – I will leave you to discover these for yourself.
The author is also great at depicting the complex relationships that develop between work colleagues. My favourite aspect of the book is the way that the action chases between Paris and Caen, Edinburgh to Dublin to Donegal.
The novel is fresh and contemporary, the threat of Covid 19 becoming more and more compelling, and the novel closes on 22nd March just as Karen’s world is about to go into lockdown.
Highly recommended.

Still Life – Another McDermid Masterclass

Still Life is another Val McDermid masterclass of crime writing. Currently there is no better crime fiction writer than McDermid, and she never rests on her laurels, always looking to improve. There are those literary snobs that look down on Val McDermid, they are only jealous because the pap they put out is overrated trash and does not connect with the reader.

DCI Karen Pirie has been sent to a cold case out in Fife which does not seem to hard to solve at first look, a skeleton in the back of a VW campervan. Little does she realise that in the process of solving this crime her able assistant Jason will be injured in Stockport of all places in pursuit of the truth.

When the Assistant Chief Constable summons Karen to headquarters and tells her, she is to take over a live murder case that is linked to a cold case, little does she realise where this will take her. One thing she does know that ACC ‘dog biscuit’ will love it if she fails to close the case.

Karen uncovers a case about murder, missing people, stolen art, and plenty of the case has taken place outside of Police Scotland’s jurisdiction. Investigating this crime leads Karen and her team to Paris and Caen, with stop offs in Glasgow and London, before heading to the Republic of Ireland. Before calling on the Police Service of Northern Ireland, who are generous with their help.

Once again before putting words on paper, Val McDermid does the research, as well as a bit of literary licence, to create believable plots and a story that grips you. I like reading Val McDermid thrillers as they draw you in, and before you realise you need to eat and drink you are well into the book and it feels like a crime to put it down.

Val McDermid has delivered a masterclass of crime writing proving why she is an award winner.

I am relatively new to Val McDermid novels and am happy to join the five star reviewers for Still Life. Beginning with the mysterious body found in the back of a camper, McDermid had me hooked. I enjoyed the Scottish setting and enjoyed watching the author reveal her plot. The characters were interesting as well, beginning with the star, Karen Pirie. The backup cast of police also make the story interesting. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

DCI Karen Pirie handles historic crimes (AKA cold cases) in Scotland. She's been notified that there's a camper in someone's garage with a skeleton in it. Her unit is investigating the identity of the deceased. Meanwhile, there is the case of a man who has been found dead; his documents say he is French, but apparently he s a Scot who vanished years ago after the disappearance of his brother. What could this jazz musician have to do with some mysterious art forgeries? I enjoyed the Scottish setting and strong female characters in this well plotted mystery. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

A new DCI Karen Pirie crime thriller.
The story opens with a body found by fishermen and moves on to include a skeleton in a garage, disappearance of a senior civil servant , art forgery and the french foreign legion - somehow Val McDermid weaves all these strands into an engaging and enjoyable read.
I particularly love her descriptions of the characters in the story and how she brings them to life.
I read this book in one sitting.
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this ahead of publication in return for a fair review.
Another great Val McDermid book.
4.5 Stars.