This is my first book by this author . Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the ARC . My opinion is my own. I was happy to find this new author as I enjoy British and Scottish crime stories. This is set in Scotland. This is the 3rd in series and can be read as a stand alone. .

Pirie is the detectives and I like her nature of distrust and questioning motives. In this book she is working on three cases each very unique and with substantial clues. One of her problems is she does not get along with her boss and is at a crossroads working for him.

The charcters are intelligently written, the plot well crafted and interesting. I love the dialect and sense of humor . The author has written enjoyable descriptions of the area for her readers. I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to reading the prior books in the series. Very well done smart detective story,

Books in the Karen Pirie series are: The Distant Echo, A Darker Domain, The Skeleton Road, Out of Bounds and Broken Ground.

I do really like when a book in a series, is so good, it encourages you to go back and read the rest of the series. Such is the case in the book Broken Ground by Val McDermid.

Step into the world of Inspector Karen Pirie, head of the cold case unit in Scotland. Karen is a tough lady who has seen her share of tragedy having lost the man she loved fairly recently. She throws herself into her job and is constantly on guard against her new boss, Ann Markie, (aka Dog Biscuit), who herself holds nothing but contempt for Karen. She does everything she can the thwart Karen and is quite the adversary.

With this cold case Karen and her assistants are placed into the world of a years old discovery of a body buried in a bog along with two vintage World War 2 motor cycles. Discovering who shot this man is the gist of Karen's case. However, she is led along a complicated line of possibly complicit murderers in a story that bends and twists in many directions. Karen's fortitude and ability to ferret out details is what propels this story to its wonderful conclusion.

Along the way, we are introduced into the world of the Scottish Polis, and Karen, and her associates. Although a bit of a lengthy book, Ms Mc Dermid is able to maintain a forward momentum and keep the reader very involved in the happenings of this years' old murder. Although this is my first book by this author, it won't be my last. I am really looking forward to getting to know Karen Pirie and her adventures.

Thank you to Val McDermid, Grove Atlantic, and NetGalley for this exciting book. I will be back......for more.....

I had the great joy of reading OUT OF BOUNDS and BROKEN GROUNDS back-to-back. Both books are really good. I quite like that in this book Karen Pirie seems to be on the brink of happiness after the loss of Phil a year before. Also, the case is really interesting. A body is found in with a treasure from WW2, however, the body is more recent than so. So, the question is, who is this man and who killed him?

If there is one thing I love is it cold cases and that's why I enjoy this series so much. I especially liked that the case in question dates back all the way to the WW2 Now it's up to Karen and her team to try to figure out who the dead man is and who was it that killed him. But, it's not an easy case to solve, a great deal of digging must be done. Meanwhile, while Karen is working this case does she also overhear a heated discussion in a café and she can't resist butting in. This will have some consequences...

BROKEN GROUND is an excellent crime novel. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!

Val McDermid is to be praised for the variety of setting and stories she brings to her books. Here we have a tale of WW2 leading to a cold case today for Karen Petie. The main story was great but I have downgraded my review because I do not like flashback construction and thought we could have done without three different timelines.

Broken Ground by Val McDermid is part five of the Karen Pirie series. I had no problems following the events or the relationships presented in Broken Groud. The author gives readers enough that the novel works fine as a stand-alone. DCI Karen Pirie of Police Scotland's Historic Cases Unit is good at her job. With Karen deeply involved in three separate cases, I worried the plot would suffer from overload. Honestly, at times it did to a degree. However, the mysteries unfold in a way that kept me intrigued. I felt sympathy and remorse for the victims and was eager for the DCI to bring them justice.

Intelligent and strong-willed, Karen is a female protagonist I enjoy. Despite the loss of a loved one, Karen retains healthy relationships with those around her. She even gets the opportunity to explore a new one. Karen is proud of her job. She gives it her best and expects the same from her team. Confronted with the constant condemnation from her direct supervisor, eventually leads to a gratifying encounter between the two.

Overall, Broken Ground was an enjoyable crime mystery novel. As previously stated, I did get slightly bogged down by the multiple plots, but it was never so much I did not enjoy the novel. I would recommend this story to those looking for a decent mystery from abroad. I was granted an ARC copy of this book by Grove Atlantic, through NetGalley, for my honest opinion. I encourage all readers to reach their own conclusions.

I used to have a policy not to jump into a series midstream but, since joining NetGalley, that has fallen by the wayside as I take the opportunity to read arcs of new books. In this case, it has led me to discover a prodigious author (32 books!) who is totally new to me. Now I can look forward to reading many more of her books in various mystery series.

Broken Ground is the fifth book in the Inspector Karen Pirie series. Detective Chief Inspector Pirie heads the Historic Crime Unit for Police Scotland and in this novel, there are 3 crimes she's working on, including one present day case she got involved in because of an overheard conversation.

Her assistant, Detective Constable Jason 'the Mint' Murray, is a bit of a bumbler but she's mentoring him. But she also seems to have a cuckoo in the nest in the form of Detective Sergeant Gerry McCartney, who has been foisted on their unit by her new boss, Assistant Chief Constable Ann Markie. Karen assumes he's there to spy on her for the boss.

With a cold case police procedural, it's really fascinating to watch the team dig out information from the past that they need to solve the case. There are many frustrations, dead ends but occasionally a remarkable success. I enjoyed the pace at which the story unfolded.

I have recently found a new love for Scottish mysteries which began when I read Peter May's The Blackhouse. The rugged landscape is the perfect backdrop for these stories.

I received an arc from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful foe the opportunity and look forward to reading many more of Val McDermid's novels.

Broken Ground is the fifth book in the Karen Pirie series about a resolute cold case Detective set in Scotland. I had read the earlier instalments a while ago, but have broken one of my usual rules and skipped number four in the interests of not being too late with my review for this one. My sense of the others was that they could easily be read as stand-alones, and I can confirm that the same is true of this one, although there is reference to events from earlier books.
I will however be buying the one I missed on the strength of this.

DCI Karen Pirie is dismayed with the new addition to her team, a grumpy disrespectful Glaswegian who is just as unhappy with his deployment by the glamorously nasty new ACC to keep an eye on the Historical Crimes Unit. Investigating a series of brutal rapes from the 1980s because new evidence has become available, she is brought into the case of a body found underneath an old motorbike that had been buried in the peat bog at the end of the war, and also gets involved in her friend DCI Jimmy Hutton’s case of a marital dispute that has turned deadly. Meanwhile, a hunky man in a kilt is paying her some unexpected attention...

This was an excellent procedural by an author who delivers, time after time. Her characters, even the minor ones, are so well drawn that I cared immediately about what happened to them. I liked the historical elements and the gradual reveal of information which didn’t end to rely on a shocking twist or implausible coincidences to wrap everything up. Sometimes separate cases are just that. This ends with enough for several more books which I will be awaiting eagerly, but at least I have book 4, and the latest Tony Hill offering to keep me going in the meantime.

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest voluntary review.
Broken Ground is available now.

It was an ok book. Not the biggest fan nor the biggest hater. Lots of British slang that I had to get used to as an American. There were three plot lines that didn't really connect at all and all wrapped up too quickly and conveniently. I thought the book was overly long. I don't regret reading it, but I can't see myself reading anything else by this author.

Review given in exchange from receiving a book through NetGalley. Thoughts are my own.

This was an excellent book, with an interesting setup. Not the usual (plotline) suspects. I really enjoy the storyline that emerges from the past.

Broken Ground by Val Mcdermid is an exciting, fast paced, police procedural thriller. It follows Karen Pirrie. Karen is DCI for Scotland’s elite unit that is tasked with investigating cold cases. Karen is a true bulldog if ever there was one, and she has a phenomenal clearance rate for a cold case unit. While Karen is investigating a series of long stale violent rape cases, her friend River, a forensic anthropologist, throws her a new case involving a well preserved body uncovered by a couple of treasure hunters looking for a pair of rare Indian motorcycles that were buried during the close of WW11. The body is buried in a peat bog, and shows little signs of decomposition. The clothing covering the body dates it to a much more recent time, and puts it firmly in Karen’s wheelhouse. Karen throws herself into the case, and soon uncovers the identity of her bog body. It belongs to Joey Southerland, a body builder making rounds on the circuit in the mid nineties. No one has seen or heard from him in over 20 years. Karen and her team pick through Joey’s history laying bare details of his past in the hunt for a cold blooded killer who lured Joey out to the Scottish Highlands and ended his life. The endless list of suspects is soon narrowed down until a most unlikely primary suspect emerges.

The story is engaging and fun to read. I enjoyed the tenacity and thoroughness that Karen and her team approach their investigation with. Karen is all at once a vulnerable protagonist and a fierce investigator. She soldiers on and gets her man despite inner doubts and a case of sabotage being carried out against her unit by her boss, who wants to discredit Karen and throw her out of the cold case unit. A very enjoyable read. Look forward to reading the other novels in this series. Novel provided by Net Galley.

This is the first book I've read by this author but I found it to be an intriguing story with enough twists and turns to keep me interested (although maybe a little slow in some places). Not having read any other books in this series left me behind in the dynamics of the main character and her colleagues but I was still able to follow along with them.
I haven't decided yet if I want to read other books in this series (or by this author) but we'll see.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias.

A Gripping and Atmospheric Thriller

Broken Ground is a police procedural set in Scotland and the fifth book in the Karen Pirie series. Despite being the fifth book of the series, readers will not have any problem picking up on the main characters or understanding the story. It is absolutely not necessary to read the other books to enjoy this novel.

This is third thriller set in Scotland that I have read this year and I am now convinced that all great thrillers are set in Scotland.The plot is unique as it weaves together not one or two but 3 cases at once. The first involves the discovery of an old dead body in a peat bog, the second, about a string of unsolved rape cases and the third a domestic murder case. Unlike other police procedurals, this book is about solving old & unsolvable criminal cases (historical cases unit) which have reached a dead end in terms of investigation. The cases investigated in this novel are all completed in a satisfactory way. If these 3 cases are not enough, Karen also has to deal with office politics & difficult boss at her work.

Without facts, the science of criminal investigation is nothing more than a guessing game

The investigation in these old cases with a cold murder trail, many dead ends and painstakingly looking for pieces of evidences like a needle in a haystack, all adds a unique dimension to the story. But the story also incorporates a lot of modern techniques from DNA analysis, rapid facial reconstruction to stab wound forensics. The book includes crimes from different time lines from the distant past to the present. Narrating a story with different tracks can be tough but the writer manages it effortlessly. The chapters are short and the story never loses momentum. Having said I feel that packing the story with 3 cases slowed the progress of the main case a bit. The story could have been a lot tighter without one of the cases.

For those new to the series, Karen Pirie proves to be a great character. Sharp, witty, sarcastic and courageous, Working within the law but having a near disdain for authority, Karen Pirie is the most fascinating characters, I have read in recent times. Still struggling to recover from the death of her lover but devoted to her work which gives her character a emotional touch. She is not infallible but she is a hero. Though the story mostly revolves around Pirie, other characters were developed well.

Val McDermid has now written over 30 novels and she is a clearly a master of her craft. Reading this book is watching a master artist at the peak of her powers. McDermid manages to hold on the reader’s attention through each of the case and never lets the story gets confusing. Her ability to and attention to detail are incredible. This was my first Val McDermid book and it certainly won't be my last!

Overall, Broken Ground is a highly entertaining police procedural with a brilliant story and some excellent characters. If you love thrillers, you will definitely enjoy this one.

Many Thanks to Grove Atlantic and the author Val McDermid for the ARC.

I love books set in Edinburgh, Scotland. They invariably make me want to pack my bags and move immediately and this book is no exception. I can't tell you how jealous I am of Inspector Pirie sitting in a coffee shop looking at the Castle. Sigh. As an added bonus, one of the mysteries takes place in the Highlands so we get that added dimension. This book shines for atmosphere alone.

But that's not all. Pirie is head of the Historic Cases Unit (HCU) that consists of herself and her helper, Mint. She gets a new boss and a new member of the team selected by the new boss. Neither are a good fit and Pirie feels like she has a target on her back. She is slowly recovering from the death of her partner but it's still very fresh.

The first mystery involves two found Indian motorcycles left over from WWII. The complication is the dead body found in the pit with the bodies. The search goes in surprising directions and ultimately to the top levels of power. Another mystery deals with a rapist from thirty years ago and leads to a shocking conclusion on the steps of the police station. The weakest case, to me, stems from an overheard conversation that Pirie steps into it. It's one that I just had trouble believing and dropped this to 4 stars for me.

Overall, this is an interesting book with plenty of twists and turns to keep your interested. Did I mention that it was set in Scotland? This is a good way to spend a cold winter evening. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Fan’s of Val McDermid’s Karen Pirie series will not be disappointed in her latest outing. Pirie is investigating a case whose roots reach back to the end of World War II when returning soldiers sometimes came back with souvenirs that they didn’t own. As usual, Pirie is fiercely loyal to her job: to justice and equity for the victims. That loyalty sets her (again) at odds with her more political superiors, and the tension of the several criminal investigations that are ongoing is ratcheted up by Pirie’s conflict with her boss. “Broken Ground” kept me reading, and dreaming of a trip to Scotland!

Never having read the previous books in this series, I was a bit worried that I would be totally lost. Surprisingly, I wasn’t! With a slow start, it took a while to get into this book, but with several cases going at once, the readers attention is grabbed and held. Excellent police procedural!

I really enjoyed McDermid's previous book but this one fell so short for me I didn't even finish it. I was initially intrigued about Karen looking into a cold case but the alternating perspectives were filled with so much extraneous, boring details that I lost interest. I'm not sure why she included so many irrelevant details about restaurants, parking situations, what Karen ate etc. This was not only a super slow burn, it seemed to be lacking in important details. I didn't find it plausible that Karen would be rude to a witness, incorporate herself into an invesstigation in which she was a witness and assault another police officer. The flashbacks weren't helpful for furthering the story either as they were often repetitive. I just couldn't bring myself to care about the outcome or the characters.

I received a free copy of this book from the author. I had the opportunity to review or not.

I love Karen Pirie. She is tenacious, focused, and a dedicated police officer. And a little on the sneaky side. I found some of her actions, let us say, not quite up to snuff, but certainly interesting. It was a great look into the process of investigating whether old or new cases. The characters were well-developed and interesting. I enjoyed getting to know them.

The plot was unique and kept me guessing. The way a simple case of hiding two motorbikes turned into a deadly situation, while criminal, was not exactly what the perpetrators were attempting to do. It was a plot within a plot, suspicious characters sliding out of focus and new ones entering the picture. Very nicely developed.

I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more of Mr. McDermid’s novels. I especially look forward to more of Karen Pirie.

It's wonderfully refreshing to read a thriller that relies on a well crafted mystery rather than shocking and frequently implausible plot twists, so I am happy to say that Broken Ground by Val McDermid is just such a tale. Flashbacks to the end of the second world war shape the origins of a story that is some how connected to the discovery of a corpse buried in the Scottish highlands in the 1990s. Cold case detective Karen Pirie is soon on the case, and refuses to be distracted despite her unit being under attack from her superiors. This was my first experience of this character, and I have to say I really liked her, Despite this being the fifth book in an ongoing series, it reads perfectly well as a stand alone, and I found the characters and setting intriguing enough to make me seek out the previous books in the series.
I read and reviewed a copy of the book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book! Broken Ground is an intricate story full of well developed characters living their non-charmed lives in the background of a criminal investigation. The bad guys are not all bad, and the good guys aren't perfect. It is realistic and possible. The investigation captures you so that your mind is also pursuing other avenues of inquiry. I especially loved reading the Scottish accent and colloquialisms! Incredibly well written, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes police procedural novels and thrillers.

Broken Ground by Val McDermid returns to cold case detective Karen Pirie. It is hard to pick a favorite among McDermid's series, but I do like Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie, Jason, and the Historic Cases Unit.

Karen Pirie is sarcastic and often brash, and her dislike for her boss creates a problematic atmosphere--especially when her boss assigns a snitch to her unit.

When a young woman searching for the WWII motorcycles her grandfather buried in a peat bog after the war discovers the body of a man who has been missing for years, Karen's investigation into the cold case of a rape victim is interrupted. In addition to these two cases, Karen overhears a conversation in which a woman tells her friend that she intends to confront her abusive husband. Stepping in to warn the woman that she might be putting herself in danger, Karen hopes she has kept the woman safe. Uh oh. Best laid plans and all that.

McDermid never disappoints. Her characters feel genuine and her knowledge of forensics goes a long way to giving her plots a sense of realism.

Read in August

NetGalley/Grove Atlantic
British Detectives/Cold Cases. Dec. 4, 2018. Print length: 432 pages.