This was an excellent story. Karen Pirie (a character I've come to like a lot) has got a new case - a woman clearing her sister's house shortly after the sister's accidental death finds a van in the garage. The van contains a skeleton, and this classifies it as a historic case. Karen and Jason are happily working away on the case when the supervisor, aka The Dog Biscuit, wants Karen to take on another case. A lobster boat near Fife was pulling up a trap and found a man's body tangled in the ropes. He turns out to be the brother of a man who had died ten years before, a case that Karen had examined but couldn't find any more clues to the man's death - his body was never recovered. Now Karen is sent to Paris to check out the drowned man's life there - he was a jazz musician with a French passport and a French name, as well as British ones. This was a complicated and involved case and solving it took several weeks but it ends satisfactorily. Karen is a star!

This book was written during COVID lockdown and this is mentioned in the Acknowledgements at the end.

I am grateful to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book, a great read.

*Many thanks to Val McDermid, Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
I have enjoyed Ms McDermid's writing for some years now, and this is my second book featuring DCI Karen Pirie.
This time two cases, years apart, are investigated by DCI Pirie and her small team and there is art in the background. The police procedural held my interest but it was not difficult to sense the mystery behind the two deaths, and there was not too much suspense. At times, I felt the book could do with some editing with regard to its length. A decent weekend read that will not stay long with me, I am afraid.

Val Mcdermid has been called one of the queens of crime fiction. Not sure why I haven't read more of her work, but after this book, that's going to change. This is the 6th book of the DCI Karen Pirie series. She's tasked with investigating a skeleton found in a van parked in a dead women's garage. Then, when a body was fished out of the waters, it was discovered that he's the brother of a missing Scottish civil servant. He's also the primary suspect in the disappearance 10 years ago. Karen is asked to investigate this disappearance, too.
Both cases are very interesting and both have their twists and turns. I enjoy Karen as a character. She is complex but not morose. Sure there's personal issues in her life but she's still out there trying to solve these mysteries. The result is a book that I find hard to put down.
Also, this book is set in the present day (2020) and we see the pandemic rearing its head near the end of the book. Very timely, indeed.
**Thank you to Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

I was late to the I Love Val McDermid party, but I'm all-in now! I love her writing style and her ability to weave an intriguing story, Still Life is the latest addition to her Karen Pirie series, which is probably my favorite. For those new to the series, no worries, this reads perfectly well as a stand-alone thanks to McDermid's intermittent character recaps.

In Still Life, Karen Pirie is working on two cases. The first is the case of an unidentified skeleton found in an RV in the garage of a woman who was recently killed in a car accident. She's working this case with her loyal lieutenant, the personable Jason Murray. This case is relatively straight-forward once they narrow down the identity of the skeleton to one of two women. The second case is far more complex. Instead of her usual cold cases, Pirie is tasked with a fresh homicide. The deceased is Paul Allard, aka James Auld. Auld happens to be a person of interest in a ten-year-old case which involves the disappearance and probably homicide of his brother Iain, who was a senior civil servant with the Scottish government. This case takes myriad twists and turns. My only frustration was that it took Pirie too long to figure out what I thought was pretty obvious early on. For this case, Pirie is working with a delightful new character, Daisy Mortimer.

The Auld case takes Pirie from Scotland to Paris to Caen to Ireland. It's a complicated case and great fun for the reader. And talk about being timely. The novel ends just as COVID-19 shuts down Europe and all the detectives have to figure out how to navigate mysteries from home! I enjoyed every page and highly recommend Still Life.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Monthly Press for providing me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Still Life is scheduled for publication in October 2020, and I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series.

Scotland in mid February 2020 was a cold grey place and being assigned to work two cases at once means DCI Karen Pirie and DC Jason Murray of the Historical Crimes Unit are busier than usual. A skeleton in a garage is definitely within their remit, and they hit the ground running to try to get an identity and cause of death. The body fished out of the Firth of Forth is not theirs until it is linked to a case from a decade earlier and they are charged with getting results in double quick time.

Once again Val Mcdermid has woven a tale as complex and compulsive as her readers have come to expect. There is, this time, less urgency in some parts of the story portraying instead a first class example of how the information required is gathered, interpreted and presented while in others the need for expediency in painfully clear. As Karen and Jason spend their working life trying to solve cases which have been left at the bottom of the pile a new detective, DS Daisy Mortimer, is introduced. Seconded from Fife she is an interesting addition to the dynamic within the HCU and I hope she reappears at a later date.

This is the second book I have read recently which has at least mentioned the Coronavirus. This time as a potential disruption and, as in the other book, by Ed James, adds a realism which somehow seems lost if the author writes in the relevant timeframe and ignores it. As either an aside or main plotline atm Covid works and it will be interesting to see how it works as a reminder in years to come how things were in 2020 but from a fictional standpoint.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys this author's work. It is of the exceptionally high standard we have come to expect and shows Ms Mcdermid is still at the top of her game. Long may it continue.

A good police procedural with Karen working two cases, one old and one new, though bringing her into the new one was a bit of a stretch. Once she starts with the new one the other takes a back seat. The characters are realistic with their ups and downs. The suspense aspect is not very difficult to guess. The border issues were new to me and I prefer books with no politics. These minor glitches aside I really enjoyed the story and I would definitely recommend it.

This is the first Karen Pirie book that I’ve read there are 5 previous ones. So I will enjoy catching up with those as I really enjoyed this book.
It is set in early 2020. Based in Scotland but visits other countries,
I love the quippy descriptions and the easy going writing style. It flows well and makes for easy entertaining reading. There are lots of convoluted threads which keeps it interesting.
DCI Piri struggling with her own problems from her recent past, as well as a historic crime for her to investigate there is also a new murder.
I don’t find Karen Piri a particularly likeable character. She seems defensive, a little arrogant and with a chip on her shoulder. This seemed more evident in Paris when it might have been a reaction to the chauvinistic french policeman. But she certainly gets to the bottom of things, and I had to admire her. I did soften to her a little by the end of the book.
The author had me checking the thesaurus a few times to check words, not enough to be distracting, and I know some people enjoy having their vocabulary challenged.
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this in advance of publication.
#netgalley #stilllife

If you enjoy visiting Scotland, or you like police procedurals - and you're not looking for a steady diet of thrills and cliffhangers, but like characters who are smart and dogged and willing to look after their less-experienced colleagues, Karen Pirie fits the bill. In this entry, she has two mysteries: a skeletonized body in a van parked in the garage of a recently-deceased woman and a body found in the Firth of Forth, which eventually leads to a long-ago art forgery, more missing persons, and side trips to France and to Ireland (both North and Republic of). It's a bit slow moving and the crimes aren't terrifically emotionally engaging from the start (though the detective treats cold cases with as much urgency as fresh ones, these don't particularly engage the reader's emotional investment), but the elements of a satisfying procedural are there, including some tricky business about borders made more complicated by Brexit.

Often police procedurals suffer from 2D lead characters and utilize tropes of the genre and plot twists to create suspense. However: when you read a McDermid novel, you get the best of a police procedural infused with the best of a psychological thriller. This novel is no exception. We get to enjoy two concurrent investigations surrounding compelling characters, visit several European venues, learn more about the detectives we've grown to love, all while enjoying McDermid's skill and Scottish wit. Every McDermid is a must-read.

This unbiased review was provided in exchange for an advanced reader's copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publishers for the opportunity to read this book and review it. It has been a while since I read one of Val McDermid's books and I'm so glad to read this. Not only is it such a delight to read, the reader is catapulted into the story from the get go and the sheer indulgence of McDermid's syntax and imagery ensure following the narrative simply adds to the reading enjoyment. The latest Karen Pirie book, this follows DCI Pirie and her cold case team across Scotland, England, Ireland, France and into Europe. There are plenty of crimes in this novel for the team to solve, but thankfully the murders are not as messy or as gruesome as McDermid has previously penned,

The characters are multidimensional and each have their little quirks which adds to the storyline and is supplemented by the interactions with other secondary characters. The storyline follows two distinct threads and it is interesting how the author sustains momentum and holds the readers' interest throughout. I enjoyed following the breadcrumbs of subtle clues, and the solving of the cases with Pirie's colleagues and reliable experts. There were also breadcrumbs left for future exploits and cases involving the Pirie team and I look forward to reading more, hopefully in the near future. 5*

Val McDermid is so talented. Her characters really come to life. I have read everything she has written and this is another great addition to the DCI Karen Pirie series. Part of what I love is that I spend so much time learning about Scotland when I read her novels. From the food to the government I find myself googling so many of her references. Being American, it is like icing on the cake. Also, like many have mentioned it alludes to the upcoming COVID-19 lockdown. That made me smile when at the end, they were talking about shutting down for a few weeks. If only!!

DCI Karen Pirie is still dealing with the death of her lover Phil and the new romance with Hamish. She is confronted with a skeleton in an old camper van after the death of the house’s owner. She and Jason begin to investigate and the relationship between Jason and Karen just makes me smile. You can just see her shaking her head indulgently.

Concurrently, a body is pulled from the river which is soon tied to another historic missing persons case. This case is sent over to Karen as well for HCU to investigate. On this case, she gains the help of Daisy, another nice addition to the group.

The cases are run separately and sometimes I did have to kind of slow down to keep it all straight but that is my shortfall as Ms McDermid does a great job of explaining everything clearly.

I would give this book a 4.5 stars with the only drawback, to me, was the lack of surprises. The book is more of an interesting police procedural. Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC for my review. And thanks to Ms McDermid for keeping us entertained as usual.

I’m still a huge Tony and Carol fan, but I must admit Karen Pirie and her team are slowly starting to grow on me and I’m liking them more and more each book. Val McDermid just has this amazing style of writing that makes you love the characters and want to finish her books in one sitting!

A little convoluted when sorting out the players but otherwise very smart. Karen Pirie is in charge of cold cases and when a body is found in the river she has a new case. The art world is explored and the depths of love. Very good entry in the series. Karen grapples with her personal life and influences her staff in positive ways.

Copy provided by publisher and NetGalley

I am grateful to net galley.com and Grove Atlantic for an advance review copy of this book which has in no way influenced the review. I was so excited to get this book, I periodically check net galley for my three favourite authors to see if they have released anything on it, Val McDermid, Peter Robinson and Ian Rankin, so you can imagine my delight when I searched and there up popped the new book by Val McDermid and double my excitement when I found it this book was a new Karen Pirie novel.

Given that hype you would say that the book would always struggle to live up to expectations and I am sorry to report that for me it did, it may sound strange to say it but for me there was far too much going on with about three or four different investigations on the go at any one time. Now for some people that might be a delight but for me it detracted from the book as a whole.

Why do I say that? Because invariably one plot line was given far more prominence than the other and in some senses it felt like the neglected storyline didn't add anything to the overall appeal of the novel, to me it felt like it took up space that could have developed the other storyline better. In another disappointing aspect I worked out what had happened about half way through the book, not because I was Sherlock Holmes but it just seemed obvious how things would pan out.

The book was also at various points scoring cheap political points be it the Tory Government, be it Brexit and the Irish border, be it the response to Coronavirus or some other point, I read novels to escape from this kind of stuff so that was also disappointing.

In saying all that it sounds as if I didn't enjoy the book, I sincerely did, it was in true McDermid style easy to read, the chapters are punchy and there is plenty going on to keep you interested but for me not the best Pirie novel ever written.

Solid police procedural set just before the Covid shutdowns changed our world.

There were two crimes that needed to be solved in Scotland. The first was who was the long-dead woman found in a motor home and who killed her? The second involved a man found in the Firth of Forth, killed by being hit by something or someone.

Like most British/Scottish/Irish police procedurals, the plot moves slow but steady.

There are a lot of Scottish terms or slang words that I was not familiar with and didn't find the definition through my iPad. But, they were not related to the plot, easy to get an idea of what they meant, and added interest to the book. Some, like white pudding, did show up on Wikipedia. I am glad to know what it is so I can avoid it on my next trip to Scotland.

Although I had no trouble putting this down, I was always happy to pick it up again. Solid read.

This is the 6th book in the Karen Pirie series by author Val McDermid.

DCI Karen Pirie is called on to revisit one of her old cases when a fishermen pulls a body from the sea. The dead man was the prime suspect in an old investigation, when a prominent civil servant disappeared without trace. DCI Karen Pirie was the last detective to review the file and is drawn into a sinister world of betrayal and dark secrets.

With Karen already struggling on another case where a skeleton has been discovered in an abandoned camper van the pressure is on. Everything is pointing to a killer who was never arrested and still on the loose. Karen encounters a network of lies and secrets that must be 

In her search for the truth, Karen uncovers a network of lies that has gone unchallenged for years. 

Of all the Val McDermid series this one is my favourite and loved this book from start to finish. The characters are so strong. plots well crafted and expertly paced and there is never a dull moment.

I would like to thank both Net Galley and Grove Atlantic for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the eARC.
What a great read (again!), I absolutely loved it.
DCI Karen Pirie is still mourning the loss of her love and needs something to take her mind off ... In this case it's not only the skeleton in a VW camper that leads into the murky world of art scams, but also the dead body found in the Firth of Forth. The man who murdered the man she loves is coming out of prison too, so she is more than busy. But with the help of Jason, who is as sweet as ever, and a new very appealing character, Daisy, and a lot of travelling, Karen puts it all together. Wow, what a great ending!
It's also the first book I've read that mentions the Covid pandemic, so it's very topical. I really wish I could stress enough how much I love and admire Val McDermid's books, she's an amazing author who has given me many hours of fabulous reading. Hopefully we won't have to wait too.long for the next Karen Pirie, it should be interesting to see how Daisy's character grows and how Covid will change the lives of the team. 5+++STARS

I love Val McDermid's books, and with this latest she does not disappoint! Not only are her plots tight and skillfully written, she actually has characters in them too (it's surprising to me how many mystery writers seem to forget about them.) Karen Pirie is an excellently flawed detective, and the more minor characters all have stories as well.

The Pirie books also highlight how important cold cases can be. Not only for those left behind, but for the illumination they shed on current cases, which is a big plot point in this book. Though not the only one, and I enjoy the way the various plots interwine and weave around each other. It's tough to do well, but McDermid does it well.

This is the first novel I have read which is partially set in a Covid19 world, and what a cracker it is! As usual, the great Val McDermid leads the way. The writing is superb, the descriptions vivid and the characters all nicely drawn. Karen Pirie is a tough cookie whose hard life has made her the polis she is, and her relationships with colleagues and lovers are endlessly fascinating. There is much that is personal in this story which grips tightly from the outset and never lets go. Wonderful!

This is a book I couldn't put down, but didn't want it to end...you know what I mean.
I love the characters, which includes some new police along with the previous cast. The plot is riveting, complex without losing me along the way.
There is so much to appreciate in this book, I will give a more detailed review when it is published.
In the meantime, if you want more entertainment from Val McDermid, watch her on YouTube "Cooking the Books" on the Jo Sharp channel.