Karen Pirie Novels
Latest release: October 6, 2020
Series
4
Books
About this ebook series
An Edinburgh detective encounters skeletal remains that may be connected to the brutal Balkan Wars of the 1990s in this “tightly paced mystery” (Los Angeles Times).
In the center of historic Edinburgh, Scotland, builders are preparing to demolish a disused Victorian Gothic building. They are understandably surprised to find skeletal remains hidden in a high pinnacle that hasn’t been touched by maintenance for years. Who do the bones belong to, and how did they get there? Could the eccentric British pastime of free climbing the outside of buildings play a role? Enter cold case detective Karen Pirie, who gets to work trying to establish the corpse’s identity. And when it turns out the bones may be from as far away as former Yugoslavia, Karen will need to dig deeper than she ever imagined into the tragic history of the Balkans: to war crimes and their consequences, and ultimately to the notion of what justice is and who serves it.
“McDermid melds the political thriller with the police procedural for an intense novel.”—Associated Press
In the center of historic Edinburgh, Scotland, builders are preparing to demolish a disused Victorian Gothic building. They are understandably surprised to find skeletal remains hidden in a high pinnacle that hasn’t been touched by maintenance for years. Who do the bones belong to, and how did they get there? Could the eccentric British pastime of free climbing the outside of buildings play a role? Enter cold case detective Karen Pirie, who gets to work trying to establish the corpse’s identity. And when it turns out the bones may be from as far away as former Yugoslavia, Karen will need to dig deeper than she ever imagined into the tragic history of the Balkans: to war crimes and their consequences, and ultimately to the notion of what justice is and who serves it.
“McDermid melds the political thriller with the police procedural for an intense novel.”—Associated Press
The Skeleton Road
Book 3 · Dec 2014 ·
0.0star
An Edinburgh detective encounters skeletal remains that may be connected to the brutal Balkan Wars of the 1990s in this “tightly paced mystery” (Los Angeles Times).
In the center of historic Edinburgh, Scotland, builders are preparing to demolish a disused Victorian Gothic building. They are understandably surprised to find skeletal remains hidden in a high pinnacle that hasn’t been touched by maintenance for years. Who do the bones belong to, and how did they get there? Could the eccentric British pastime of free climbing the outside of buildings play a role? Enter cold case detective Karen Pirie, who gets to work trying to establish the corpse’s identity. And when it turns out the bones may be from as far away as former Yugoslavia, Karen will need to dig deeper than she ever imagined into the tragic history of the Balkans: to war crimes and their consequences, and ultimately to the notion of what justice is and who serves it.
“McDermid melds the political thriller with the police procedural for an intense novel.”—Associated Press
In the center of historic Edinburgh, Scotland, builders are preparing to demolish a disused Victorian Gothic building. They are understandably surprised to find skeletal remains hidden in a high pinnacle that hasn’t been touched by maintenance for years. Who do the bones belong to, and how did they get there? Could the eccentric British pastime of free climbing the outside of buildings play a role? Enter cold case detective Karen Pirie, who gets to work trying to establish the corpse’s identity. And when it turns out the bones may be from as far away as former Yugoslavia, Karen will need to dig deeper than she ever imagined into the tragic history of the Balkans: to war crimes and their consequences, and ultimately to the notion of what justice is and who serves it.
“McDermid melds the political thriller with the police procedural for an intense novel.”—Associated Press
Out of Bounds
Book 4 · Dec 2016 ·
5.0star
Forensic evidence leads to places a Scottish cop never expected in “a thriller as steely and superlative as its heroine” (O, The Oprah Magazine).
When a teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car and ends up in a coma, a routine DNA test reveals a connection to an unsolved murder from twenty-two years before. Finding the answer to the cold case should be straightforward. But it’s as twisted as the DNA helix itself.
Meanwhile, Inspector Karen Pirie finds herself irresistibly drawn to another mystery that she has no business investigating, a mystery that has its roots in a terrorist bombing two decades ago. And again, she finds that nothing is as it seems.
From a Diamond Dagger Award-winning author, Out of Bounds is a riveting cold case novel starring detective Karen Pirie, who’s been described by the Associated Press as “a formidable character worthy of her own series.”
“I would like to see a great deal more of DCI Pirie.” —Irish Times
When a teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car and ends up in a coma, a routine DNA test reveals a connection to an unsolved murder from twenty-two years before. Finding the answer to the cold case should be straightforward. But it’s as twisted as the DNA helix itself.
Meanwhile, Inspector Karen Pirie finds herself irresistibly drawn to another mystery that she has no business investigating, a mystery that has its roots in a terrorist bombing two decades ago. And again, she finds that nothing is as it seems.
From a Diamond Dagger Award-winning author, Out of Bounds is a riveting cold case novel starring detective Karen Pirie, who’s been described by the Associated Press as “a formidable character worthy of her own series.”
“I would like to see a great deal more of DCI Pirie.” —Irish Times
Broken Ground
Book 5 · Dec 2018 ·
3.8star
A woman digs up a buried treasure—and a buried body—in the Scottish Highlands: “There are few other crime writers in the same league.”—Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post
Six feet under in a Highland peat bog lies Alice Somerville’s inheritance, buried by her grandfather at the end of World War II. But when Alice finally uncovers it, she finds an unwanted surprise—a body with a bullet hole between the eyes. Meanwhile, DCI Karen Pirie is dealing not only with this cold case but with a domestic violence case, and as as she gets closer to the truth, it becomes clear that not everyone shares her desire for justice. Or even the idea of what justice is.
An engrossing, twisty thriller, Broken Ground is an outstanding entry in this Diamond Dagger-winning author’s “superior series” (The New York Times Book Review).
“As always, McDermid’s story lines are as richly layered as her protagonist.”—Publishers Weekly
“One of the best things about this series is the details of Karen's working life, the obstacles as well as the satisfactions, and the small pleasures of her off hours.”—Kirkus Reviews
Six feet under in a Highland peat bog lies Alice Somerville’s inheritance, buried by her grandfather at the end of World War II. But when Alice finally uncovers it, she finds an unwanted surprise—a body with a bullet hole between the eyes. Meanwhile, DCI Karen Pirie is dealing not only with this cold case but with a domestic violence case, and as as she gets closer to the truth, it becomes clear that not everyone shares her desire for justice. Or even the idea of what justice is.
An engrossing, twisty thriller, Broken Ground is an outstanding entry in this Diamond Dagger-winning author’s “superior series” (The New York Times Book Review).
“As always, McDermid’s story lines are as richly layered as her protagonist.”—Publishers Weekly
“One of the best things about this series is the details of Karen's working life, the obstacles as well as the satisfactions, and the small pleasures of her off hours.”—Kirkus Reviews
Still Life
Book 6 · Oct 2020 ·
5.0star
A Scottish police inspector deals with forgeries and false identities in a new murder mystery in the “superior series” (The New York Times).
When a lobster fisherman discovers a dead body in Scotland’s Firth of Forth, DCI Karen Pirie is called into investigate. She quickly discovers that the case will require untangling a complicated web—involving a long-ago disappearance, art forgery, and secret identities—that seems to surround a painter who can mimic anyone from Holbein to Hockney. Meanwhile, a traffic accident leads to the discovery of a skeleton in a suburban garage. Karen has a full plate, and it only gets more stressful as the man responsible for the death of the love of her life is scheduled for release from prison, reopening old wounds just as she was getting back on her feet.
From a Diamond Dagger Award winner and multiple Edgar Award finalist, Still Life is a tightly plotted mystery featuring an investigator “whose unwavering confidence is tempered by a strong dose of kindness and sense of justice” (Booklist).
“There are few other crime writers in the same league.”—Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post
When a lobster fisherman discovers a dead body in Scotland’s Firth of Forth, DCI Karen Pirie is called into investigate. She quickly discovers that the case will require untangling a complicated web—involving a long-ago disappearance, art forgery, and secret identities—that seems to surround a painter who can mimic anyone from Holbein to Hockney. Meanwhile, a traffic accident leads to the discovery of a skeleton in a suburban garage. Karen has a full plate, and it only gets more stressful as the man responsible for the death of the love of her life is scheduled for release from prison, reopening old wounds just as she was getting back on her feet.
From a Diamond Dagger Award winner and multiple Edgar Award finalist, Still Life is a tightly plotted mystery featuring an investigator “whose unwavering confidence is tempered by a strong dose of kindness and sense of justice” (Booklist).
“There are few other crime writers in the same league.”—Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post