Val McDermid’s DCI Karen Pirie of Scotland Police’s Historic Crime Unit (HCU) is back in this seventh episode of the series. It’s April 2020 and like most of the world, Edinburgh is in lockdown during the early days of the covid 19 pandemic. While Hamish, her boyfriend/partner/lover (she’s really not sure what to call him), is in the highlands looking after his croft, she’s holed up in his apartment with her sergeant, Daisy Mortimer, for company. This way they can still work on reviewing the backlog of historic crimes together without needing to go into the office. Although, now she’s wondering whether it was such a good idea to invite someone she didn’t know well to form a bubble with her, and is very glad she can still escape daily to walk the eerily deserted streets of Edinburgh.

When Karen’s team member, DC Jason Murray, receives a troubling call from his friend Meera, an archivist at the National Library, he passes on her concerns to his boss. Meera has been working on archiving the library’s latest acquisition of manuscripts from Jake Stein, a crime writer who died recently. She’s come across an unfinished manuscript outlining the framing of one crime writer by another for the murder of a young female university student. The problem is that the disappearance of the young woman sounds uncannily like that of female university student Lara Hardie who disappeared almost a year ago and was never found. The fictional writer and his chess-playing friend could easily be fictional versions of Jake himself and his writer friend and chess opponent, Ross McEwan.

Despite the problems of being in lockdown, Karen and her team throw themselves into investigating whether Jake Stein’s unpublished book is based on fact or is pure fiction. It’s a complex case with dates to check, lists of people who attended events to obtain and many re-interviews required (mostly by phone, facetime or zoom) but they all relish the chance to be busy during this strange period of lockdown. They also need to be discrete in keeping the investigation to themselves so that their boss, ACC Ann Markie doesn’t turn it over to the original investigative team.

McDermid is clearly in her element here, writing about crime writers, book events, publishers, the scandals and the gossip that circulate the publishing world. She brilliantly portrays the uncanny silence of the streets of Edinburgh during lockdown and, when Jason’s mother contracts covid, the anguish and heartbreak of those with loved ones dangerously ill in hospital who they cannot visit. As the investigation finds more and more similarities between fact and the manuscript, the suspense rises inexorably. It’s a clever and intriguing case with a gripping ending that is sure to please fans of crime fiction.

Val McDermid presents a story within a story. When an author’s papers are donated to the National Library, an archivist discovers a manuscript containing a character that closely resembles a young woman who went missing a year earlier. Karen Pirie, the head of the Historic Case Unit, reluctantly agrees to read the manuscript and look for any possible connection. Jake Stein’s characters are obviously based on himself, his wife and Ross, an author on his way up. As Ross comes to the public’s attention and develops a following, Stein is invoked in a scandal that destroys his career. His resentment of Ross grows as his marriage crumbles and he begins to plot Ross’ destruction with a blueprint for the perfect murder.

Past Lying is set at a time when the Covid death rate was rapidly rising. Pirie and her team must investigate while complying with the restrictions imposed by the lockdown. Her concern is for the victim’s family and she is willing to bend some of the rules to bring them answers while keeping her own team safe. The more parallels that she finds between the story and recorded events, the more she believes that they may have found an answer. McDermid introduces a number of twists that will have you questioning what really happened. Her stories never disappoint and this is an emotional ride as Covid touches a member of her team. I would like to thank. NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing this book for my review.

Love Val McDermid but this book had everything going against it for me: it was seventh in a series I hadn't read, and set during the pandemic. But I absolutely loved this story of rival mystery writers, one of whom might have just planned and committee dthe perfect murder to frame the other.

Loved the Edinburgh setting and the pandemic aspect didn't bother me much, but instead made me think about how challenging police work was during that time.

Could not read and review this because a kindle option was never made available. That's too bad because Im a big fan of McDermid.

This new Karen Pirie case placed in 2020 when the world had to live in a different way than usual because of the lockdown, kept me glued to my Kindle and forced me to come back to it as soon as I could just to continue reading. The aerie and vivid descriptions of the situation, people struggling with the pandemic, and solving the case in the middle of it were beautifully written by Val McDermid and I thoroughly enjoyed while reading. Can't wait to read the next installment of the series, and the other works by this acclaimed author. Thank you to NetGalley, Val McDermid, and Grove Atlantic for providing me with an ARC of this publication.

3.5 stars
It was great to spend time with Karen Pirie and the gang, even if it’s in the middle of the Covid pandemic lockdown. I liked how it handled trying to continue investigations with all of the obstacles in their way. When the blurb said that there were many twists and turns, it didn’t lie. I got confused a bit in the middle about all of the epistolary issues (books within books) but it all came together in the end!

“Past Lying,” by Val McDermid, Atlantic Monthly Press, Nov. 14, 2023.

It’s April 2020 and Edinburgh has been in lockdown for three weeks. Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie is staying in Hamish Mackenzie’s flat while he is on his working farm in the Highlands.

Meera Reddy from the National Archives calls Jason Murray, who is a member of Pirie’s historic cases team, more commonly called the cold case squad.

Meera was working on items belonging to crime novelist Jake Stein before the lockdown. Something has bothered her ever since she found documents in his belongings. Stein was writing a book “The Vanishing of Laurel Oliver” before his death. But what he wrote reminds Meera of the disappearance of Lara Hardie, an Edinburgh University student who vanished a year earlier. Now police aren’t sure if they are investigating a missing person or a murder.

This is a book within a book as the Stein work-in-progress is included. In Stein’s novel, new author Rob Thomas and successful author Jamie Cobain meet at a literary festival and bond over multiple games of chess. In real life, Stein played chess with fellow author Ross McEwen.

There’s a big twist near the end. The reason behind the crime is surprising. McDermid also recreates the fears of the Covid pandemic and the heartbreak of the loss of loved ones. This excellent novel is the seventh in the DCI Karen Pirie series.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

A gripping police procedural which takes place during the Covid Pandemic. A great addition to this series.
Many thanks to Grove Atlantic and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Accidentally added a review for the wrong book under this title. WIll update this review once I have finished Past Lying.

This seventh installment in the series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie of Police Scotland is set in the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown--April, 2020. Scotland seems to have had even harsher rules for isolation than I remember.

It's an intriguing plot: Meera Reddy, an archivist at the National Library, contacts DC Jason Murray, one of Pirie's Historical Cases Unit team members, after something in the donated papers of a deceased mystery crime writer named Jake Stein sets off alarm bells for her--it's an unfinished novel titled 'The Vanishing of Laurel Oliver' which sounds like the real-life disappearance a young college student named Lara Hardie a year ago. The novel is about committing the perfect murder.

Jason contacts Karen who goes through the motions of attaining a copy of this novel from the archives and after reading it, she agrees it's worth looking into. After all, there's not much else going on at the moment!

I enjoyed this police procedural that has the added wrinkle of dealing with lockdown restrictions and its effects on interpersonal relationships. Interviews have to be done by Zoom or FaceTime or out of doors, keeping the required distance. Karen is staying in her lover Hamish's flat while he's away north at his working croft. He's allowed her to share the place with her team member, Detective Sergeant Daisy Mortimer, which means they can continue to work together as they are considered to be 'in a bubble.' Jason has a ne'er-do-well brother who nearly causes him his job.

Are you ready yet to revisit the days of the pandemic? If so, I think you will enjoy this cleverly-plotted mystery.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new novel via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

I always feel like I can count on Val McDermid for a solid police procedural. This one did not disappoint me. It happens during the Covid lockdown (though she vows she had to wait until it was over to write it into a novel.) I thought at first that Covid might be a wet blanket, but it definitely was not. Despite not personally wanting to revisit the lockdown, in my mind McDermid uses the situation well to present a picture of how police work had to change during that time.

I confess I haven't read every one of Val’s DCI Karen Pirie novels, but among those I've read this one is unique in having a book within the book. The premise is that Pirie and her cohorts are investigating whether a disappearance follows the plotline of a novel just a little too closely.

Karen is chief of the Historic Cases Unit, what we'd call “cold cases” in the States. But this isn't really a cold case, so much as one that has simply run out of leads to pursue, until a dodgy manuscript shows up in a dead author’s papers, which have been donated to the library in Edinburgh.

Bottom line, this is Val MacDermid at her best! It very definitely made me want to read more of the DCI crime novels. And, I can't wait until the next one comes out! Val makes you feel like you've made some new friends. Just forget they are imaginary. They are very believably real.

I enjoy almost everything by Val McDermid. This was interesting being set during covid lockdown. It is amazing something not that long ago feels so far away. Karen Prie manages to get linked into a historic case that she and her team investigate while trying to follow lock down guidelines. There is an interesting plot with a book being part of the mystery. While I cant say the culprit was a surprise I can say it was a fun ride getting there.

I was given a copy by NetGalley. Feedback is my own,

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Val McDermid, and Grove Atlantic for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

There is something about Val McDermid and her crime thrillers that always gets my pulse up. This was no exception, as I waded through a police procedural set in the middle of COVID. McDermid produces a great novel, with some eerie twists, as well as some great ‘what if’ moments. When a popular crime writer dies and his estate is sent to the National Library of Scotland, the early draft of an unpublished novel piques an archivist’s interest. One of the characters mirrors a recently missing young woman, whose name was in headlines before the pandemic. Could the author have committed the crime and framed someone, as is seen in the draft? DCI Karen Pirie and her Historic Cases Unit investigate in this gripping piece.

Edinburgh is on lockdown during the COVID pandemic in April 2020. While crime has cooled down, a call from the National Library of Scotland heats things up quite a bit An archivist has been cataloguing the work of a popular crime writer who has recently passed on. The premise of his unpublished manuscript sounds a great deal like a perfect murder. What’s even more concerning is that the victim resembles a recently missing young university student with the same unique medical condition. A call to DCI Karen Pirie evokes some interest, as the Historic Cases Unit begins their informal investigation.

With the pandemic, DCI Pirie is shackled as to what she can do, but will work things off the radar and use protocols to keep her team safe. While looking into the case, it appears as though the unpublished manuscript speaks of not only grooming a young author, but also killing her, before trying to push the murder on a best friend by utilising some ‘perfect murder’ techniques. DCI Pirie cannot help but want to know more, determined to see if this is the case.

While some on her team have been struggling with the COVID limits, DCI Pirie is happy to keep working the case, if only to bring closure to a family who has no answers about their daughter. It will take a great deal of dedication and sleuthing, but if anyone can do it, the HCU is the team. As they run into many roadblocks, DCI Pirie will stop at nothing to get answers and provide a family some solace. A great story that McDermid perfects with her strong writing style.

I have long enjoyed the work of Val McDermid, never one to shy away from unconventional methods. The narrative is strong from the outset and proves clear with some complex aspects. A ‘narrative within the narrative’ occurs, as the HCU must read a draft copy of an unpublished manuscript. The reader can easy see the different writing styles, authenticating the larger story. Things slow with ease, but are also weighed down with intentional struggle as the pandemic bleeds into all aspects of the story. McDermid does well to elucidate on all this.

Character development is important, especially since it has been a number of years since the last novel in the series. McDermott builds DCI Karen Pirie back up with her gritty style, while showing a compassionate side throughout. I have always enjoyed Pirie as a member of the police community, as I am never left feeling less than fully enthralled. Secondary characters, in both the larger narrative and ‘manuscript’ develop well and offer some flavouring to help guide the story as a whole.

Plot twists develop as the story progresses. Using both an historic case and the COVID pandemic, McDermid keeps the reader guessing what is coming. While things appear linear at times, there are many twists to keep things on edge. Val McDermid impressed once more with this piece and I am eager to see what she has to come.

Kudos, Madam McDermid, for keeping the reader on edge as they make their way through this well-paced novel with COVID strains.

Past Lying is the upcoming crime novel by the veteran Scottish crime novelist Val McDermid, her seventh one featuring DCI Karen Pirie, a DCI who handles cold cases for the Edinburgh Police. The book is set during the first COVID lockdown period in Edinburgh, with several severe restrictions in place. It is also interesting to note that the writer, being a crime novelist herself, has opted to base the novel in the cutthroat (?) world of crime novelists and publishers.

I loved this book by Val McDermid and the chance to delve back into the world of Karen Pirie. Set in the midst of Covid lockdowns I was surprised how emotional it made me to recall the feelings of those times. The story has lots of twists and turns. I couldn't put it down and I loved every bit of it. I highly recommend.

Wow! I had suspicions about what would happen, but didn't know until the last few pages. This is an incredible mystery. It adds to the story to see how Karen Pirie and her Historic Crime Unit handle an investigation during a COVID shutdown. The mystery centers around a first draft of a crime mystery by a deceased author brought to their attention. They need to determine what is true and what is fiction in the story of a young woman who disappeared a year ago. I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher through Netgalley. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. I have became a recent fan of Val McDermid. This mystery is so engrossing that I only put in down to sleep. I also love that there is not only a riveting mystery to solve but interesting and three dimensional characters. It's interesting to see how the lockdown affects not only their professional lives but their personal ones too. The path of solving this mystery is not predicable and it will keep you guessing until the end. I highly recommend this book and series.

PAST LYING is the seventh book of the Karen Pirie series by Val McDermid. She has said that she needed some time and distance from the early days of Covid before she could include it in a book. Her decision paid off and Past Lying is a terrific book.

Past Lying is set in Edinburgh in April 2020. At that point in time, there was still much to learn about Covid. Val’s writing evokes those feelings of insecurity about the future and conveys the eeriness of being the only person walking down a normally busy street.

Karen Pirie and Daisy Mortimer are working from Hamish’s flat while he is taking care of his croft and producing hand sanitizer. They have been reviewing old files to see if there is a case that needs the attention of the Historic Cases Unit. Karen is finding the work tedious.

Fortunately, another team member, Jason Murray gets a lead from a contact at the National Library. While sorting through archive documents from author Jake Stein, his contact found part of an unpublished manuscript the seems to echo the disappearance of Lara Hardie, a student.

Early in the investigation, they are able to determine that Jake was frenemies with another author, Ross McEwan. Both men were interested in playing chess and Jake’s wife. Is it possible that the manuscript is part of a revenge plot?

There are multiple stories within stories in Past Lying. Each of the team members has a personal sub-plot. The sub-plots give depth to these credible characters and highlight the challenges of life in a pandemic. In Val’s deft hands, the multiple story lines fit together smoothly.

You may find yourself smiling as Val name drops fellow bandmates from the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers along with members of the Scottish crime fiction community into the book. Mixing recognizable names into a plot about crime writers gives it an air of authenticity. It is a fab book.

The latest in the Karen Pirie series, and further proof of Val McDermid's excellence as a writer of genre fiction. What sets this twisty thriller apart is not only its plot upheavals, but such an accurate depiction of life under the pandemic and the difficulty of being an essential worker, in this case, a polis (as they refer to themselves in Scotland), trying to do a job, conduct an investigation, yet still stay within the strictures of Covid rules. Well done.

My thanks to Net Galley and Atlantic Press for this EXCELLENT arc.

I've never read a Karen Pirie novel but this was a great introduction and will definitely watch the series on Brit Box now.

One of Karen's acquaintance notifies her of a manuscript that was found in the historic archives that mimics a prior murder case . A story within a story. Karen and her team attempt to re open the case. A problem though. This is during covid where restrictions need to be put in place.

Past Lying: A Karen Pirie Novel
Posted on October 16, 2023 by Jack

I’ve been fan of Val McDermit for several years now https://www.jackreidy.com/blog/tag/val-mcdermid/ .

Past Lying: A Karen Pirie Novel is her latest. DCI Karen Pirie heads Police Scotland’s Historic Case Unit (HCU). We Americans would call it cold cases. The Scots prefer the “Historic” designation for reasons given in this book.

I eagerly requested an Advance Reader’s Copy (ARC) when I saw one was available for her latest novel. I thank both Netgalley https://www.netgalley.com and Grove Atlantic for the chance to read this before publication. The book will be published on November 14.

Past Lying is a return to the Karen Pirie series after a 2 year break to begin another series featuring journalist Allie Burns. I enjoy both series but it was good to return. I was pleased to see that DS Daisy Mortimer who was assigned to Karen’s unit a previous book returns here.

The story takes place during the COVID pandemic so depending on your experience there could influence your decision on reading this story. The story is complicated and there are many twists and turns. Investigating is made even more complicated by the COVID restrictions.

Val McDermid has been called the “Queen of Crime” by the Scotsman. In my experience each of her books that I have read has been great.

Once again, I highly recommend this book.