Still Life: The heart-pounding number one bestseller from the Queen of Crime

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McDermid has been writing as a full time author since the success of her initial novels and she spends equal amounts of time in her homes in Edinburgh and Cheshire. She hails from the Kirkcaldy town of Fife in Scotland and completed her college studies from the St. Hilda’s College in Oxford. All these bubble along convincingly below the surface as Pirie races to try and solve the twin mysteries of the skeleton in the van and the body pulled from the sea. At one point, Pirie - who's busy with her other case - sends Jason on a solo mission, which turns out to be a dangerous undertaking. LONDON — On the morning of Oct. 16, five judges will meet in a secret location here to decide the winner of the Man Booker Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious literary awards.

In her search for the truth, Karen uncovers a network of lies that has gone unchallenged for years. This is the atmospheric, heart-pounding first novel in a gripping new series by the Queen of Crime Val McDermid… 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. Val McDermid is a very consistent writer. She provides much detail of the legal and police procedures that are important in her series and stand alone novels. Here, in “Still Life,” we find Karen Pirie again in her historical crimes unit. This time she is involved after the discovery of skeletonized remains in an old camper van in the garage of a woman who recently died in an accident. Strange case demanding a multi-pronged approach. Here is the combination of modern policing with old fashioned leg work.Still Life is the sixth book in the mesmerising DCI Karen Pirie series, set in Edinburgh. Unlike her Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, these are not gory, dark or violent - nothing wrong with that when you’re in the mood for it, but these are absorbing character driven cold-case mysteries and it often surprises me that they’re by the same author - which goes to show how talented she is.

In her search for the truth, Karen uncovers a network of lies that has gone unchallenged for years. But lies and secrets can turn deadly when someone is determined to keep them hidden for good . . . Val McDermid talks about the novels that have influenced her in the Guardian bookshop challenge, 7 June 2010. McDermid knows how to tell a story, how to take all the different threads and weave them into one glorious picture that never could be imagined from the outset. Cross and Burn by Val McDermid: Undiscovered Scotland Book Review". www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk . Retrieved 16 April 2022. Totaro, Paulo (21 August 2010). "Death becomes her". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 29 May 2019.There is also a side story on Karen’s relationship with the man she met in the last book in the series and her difficulty in moving on from her lost love. The second case involves a skeleton found in a small camper in a dead woman's garage. Pirie must find out who the skeleton is and what happened. This turns out to be an interesting search that leads her staff into danger. The story that unfolds is so interesting that it's hard to put the book down. Another case is the disappearance ten years ago of Iain Auld, a civil servant with the Scottish government. Since the whole business has political implications, Assistant Chief Constable Ann Markie (aka The Dog Biscuit) is pressing Pirie to resolve the case fast. Raith Rovers ladies' first match since breakaway". BBC News. 6 February 2022 . Retrieved 28 June 2022.