Past lying by Val McDermid

This is book seven in a series featuring DCI Karen Pirie and her investigative team, however it can be read as a standalone. As we have come to expect from Val McDermid, this is a book that will not leave your hands until it is finished.

We meet Karen in 2020 and COVID-19 has begun to bite. Without dwelling on the trauma unleashed by the pandemic, Val McDermid paints a clear and compelling picture of the challenges and opportunities for policing at that time, along with the personal impact of staying in your bubble.

DCI Pirie and her team (DS Daisy Mortimer and DC Jason Murray) are drawn in to the quest to determine whether an incomplete manuscript is the recipe for the perfect murder and the resolution to the mysterious disappearance of a young woman. The worlds of authors and the people who will pay to hear them talk about their books are laid bare and scrutinised.

The depth of this book is executed with finesse through the inclusion of complex backstories that divulge the personal relationships of the team. Karen is struggling with a romantic relationship that is revealing itself to be coercive. Karen also takes action on behalf of a Syrian refugee, Rafiq. Will this have unforeseen outcomes? Jason has a complicated family life and his mother has contracted COVID-19. How will this affect his standing in the police force? Daisy is embarking on a new romance at the beginning of lockdown. Can an online romance last the distance?

Val McDermid is a master at writing crime that is loaded with twists, turns and misdirection. In this book we also see the nods to other crime writers and the writer's tricks that can be played. Can you guess who the authors are?

This book is impossible to put down and will have you thinking about what it takes to commit the perfect crime and just how far people will go to have what they want.

Themes: Relationships (family, friends, romance), Trust, COVID-19, Writers, Crime.

Linda Guthrie