I had been introduced to Val McDermid through her other series regarding Tony Hill and Carol Jordan and thoroughly enjoyed them. Having read only one of her Inspector Karen Pirie series I was not sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. She has a wonderful ability to build a case from the ground up that is logical and precisely plotted. As a result, the pacing is slower, but the intellectual reward is greater. I enjoyed the characters, and look forward to some new developments that foreshadow the future novels.  In this particular book , Karen is called to a Scottish peat bog where treasure hunters were seeking to unearth an inheritance. While they unearthed vintage motorcycles, they also found a dead body. Unearthing this mystery came under the province of her historic case unit, and digging through a myriad of clues helps to provide closure. In addition, there is a current case that is juggled going on simultaneously that offsets the other investigation and makes for an interesting juxtaposition. For individuals looking to begin the series, it is fine to just jump in at book five. Be prepared for a lot of Scottish humor and flavoring; it only adds to this atmospheric novel.

"The slap of spades in dense peat was an unmistakable sound. They slipped in and out of rhythm:overlapping, separating, cascading, then coming together again, much like the men's heavy breathing."

A body? Almost definitely, I thought. But it's not. And if I gave you a thousand guesses, I doubt you'd guess what they're burying in peat (unless you've read the book).

Back at the office, DCI Karen Pirie has a new boss. You'd think, since she's a woman, life would be better for Karen, but no - the DCI and DC Jason "The Mint" Murray have DS Gerry McCartney foisted upon them, ostensibly to spy and report to Ann Markie (Dog Biscuit). Their Historic Case Unit investigates cases younger than 70 years, but "cold" in terms of evidence. Meanwhile, Karen's friend, River, a forensic anthropologist gets the peat mystery.

Karen and Jason must navigate the bad politics, blurry lines drawn between cases, while they cannot escape the feeling that one bad move will have them blown up and out of jobs.

Val McDermid weaves an imaginative plot, including Highland games, a real highlander, and ties to spy-training units in WWII.

I thoroughly enjoyed the pace, the tension, the detail and the resolution, even though it did come a little suddenly.

BROKEN GROUND by Val McDermid is a dark mystery well worth the read. It hooked me from the first page and kept me reading into the night.

This book was  different, yet interesting with the ingrained stories of history and how the treasures came to be such a mystery.  The perils of human behavior are exemplified by so many characters in the book, it is at times disheartening and at other times completely heartening!

The Scottish police procedural novel is a genre that I generally like.  As in others of this type, I expected and received a good amount of environmental details, accurate language and authentic voices and relationships.  However I am not as familiar with the DCI Pirie series, of which this is the 5th (?) installment.  I found the first several chapters hard going in that I disliked the main characters so much.  They didn't improve a great deal.  found the storytelling well done, the writing intelligent, the secondary characters interesting.  So though this series may not be my cup of tea.  Val McDermid may be worth a second look.

All you need to know to know that this is a fabulous book is to see that it was written by Val McDermid. And then to follow that up, it is a Karen Pirie book. I got nothing done until I read this entire book!

Val McDermid's book series never fail to satisfy. I am pleased she issued another book in Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie of the Historic Crimes Unit series.  This book includes four plot lines.  Pirie starts off investigating a historic series of rapes, but is soon caught up in a WWII buried treasure case (complete with a treasure map),  which leads her to a murder in the 1990s (with a perfectly preserved body buried in a peat bog) and which solving could cost Pirie her career, and a modern day case of a beautiful young woman plotting a domestic murder. Pirie juggles all four cases by patiently connecting the dots and often going out on a limb, meanwhile, she has a Judas on her staff and a boss who is out to get her.  What makes Pirie such an interesting protagonist is her intelligence, compassion, determination, cynical attitude to human nature, dogged patience and attention to minor details when working a case. Besides the mystery this book gets readers closer to Pirie as a person.  She is still working through her grief after the death of her lover, yet in this outing, she is trying to see if she has what it takes to let go of the past and trust in herself as a woman again. The descriptions of the Scottish Highlands and the urbanscape of Edinburgh all lend to a great setting to spend some time in McDermid's capable hands weaving and doling out suspense.  Thank you to Netgalley for a pre-publish opportunity to read this book and opportunity for an honest review.

This is my first book by this author. I enjoyed the book and it did not interfere with the story at all that I had not read any other of her books that came before this one. Very enjoyable read. Good mystery. Pace kept me entertained! I received a free copy for my review and here it is! Get it, read it, like it!

it's a good detective story. I only wish the hipsters had more of a comeuppance/embarrassment. The senior office politics are intriguing.

I can't believe I have never read anything by Val McDermid before.  After reading this police procedural featuring a highly competent, no-nonsense woman detective, I'm impressed with the story itself and with the characters.   All the supporting characters are well developed, making the world feel real.  It's also an opportunity to learn some new Scottish words; be sure to read this one with a dictionary handy.  The best thing about discovering an author with a long list of previously published books is that you can look forward to so much more high quality detective fiction without having to wait another year for the next novel.

One of the storylines in Broken Ground is that DCI Karen Pirie’s scheming boss is trying to get rid of her. On this showing, my sympathies are with the boss.

This is what Pirie does in a single week: interfere in a case in which she is a witness, be rude and aggressive to a witness in her own investigation, socialise with a potential suspect, take on a case before getting official clearance and assault another police officer. (There’s more but I’d have to give spoilers.)

There’s nothing wrong with having a dodgy cop as your protagonist, but we are constantly told how brilliant Pirie is and that she has a fantastic clear-up rate. The trouble is, in this book we don’t see her doing anything impressive. All she seems to do all day is eat and moan about the traffic (we also get exhaustive details about the parking arrangements at the various locations she visits).

I’m all for local colour, I used to live in Edinburgh so it’s nice to revisit landmarks, but there are so many namechecks for cafes and restaurants (and even a particular supermarket’s wine) that I was sure McDermid must have a product placement deal. Among all this we are told that Pirie has lost weight, which is about as convincing as the claims of her brilliance.

The case itself is quite interesting, revolving round buried World War 2 loot in the Highlands and a body in a peat bog. However the team establish who their suspect is quite early on, and elements of the story are told in flashback which often repeat what we already know. The end is more grandstanding than dramatic climax and a number of subplots are left dangling.

McDermid is often praised for the accuracy of her use of forensics and has even written a non-fiction book on the subject. But it seems that the commitment to realism does not extend to the rest of her work. Are we really expected to believe that a DCI spends her day looking up birth certificates online, or travelling hundreds of miles on a routine enquiry for elimination purposes? Without even ringing ahead to check if the person she intends to speak to is in?

Broken Ground also introduces a new team member who is childishly rude and insubordinate to Pirie from the start. I found this unconvincing. The police have a strict hierarchy and expectations about behaviour. Of course officers find ways to disrespect and undermine their superiors, but it would be both more realistic and more interesting to see him do it with subtlety. Similarly, Pirie’s boss is a caricature and her motivation for her attacks on Pirie is thin.

Despite everything, the pages keep turning. To use a food analogy (which seems particularly appropriate in this case) it’s like a takeaway that doesn’t taste great and you know won’t do you any good, but it has just the right confection of salt, fat and sugar to make you go on eating.

What frustrates me is the fact that McDermid, like her creation, is capable of so much more. The early Jordan and Hill books, in particular, combined complex characterisation with dramatic storylines and an emotional resonance that stayed with me long after I’d forgotten the plots. Maybe it’s easy for her to turn out a book that’s good enough. But I wish she’d go deep and write something great.

Couldn't put it down.  I enjoyed this book so much, I immediately ordered more by the author. The protagonist is a realistic, believable detective facing the challenges of the modern day police force.  I enjoyed the author's blending of past and present-day plot points.  WWII history buffs, fans of police procedurals, and mystery readers will enjoy it.

I have never read a book by Val McDermid I didn't like, and this was no exception.  Set in Scotland, Detective Constable Inspector Karen Pirie is constantly butting heads with her superior officer who seems to have a personal vendetta against her.  Although DCI Pirie is assigned to the cold case squad, her newest case turns out to have present day connections as well as WWII historical interest.  Somewhat of a maverick, DCI Pirie decides to find out who was responsible for several murders, one current and one past, despite being warned off by her superior officer.  A little touch of romance for DCI Pirie does the story no harm at all.

Not all books suit every reader.  Unfortunately, that was the case with this novel.  I do appreciate being given the opportunity to read this book, but was not able to finish.  In fairness, since I didn't read the complete book, I will not post any negative feedback of this publication on Goodreads, Amazon, Facebook, or other social media.

DCI Karen Pirie has her work cut out for her in Broken Ground. She's involved in solving three different crimes, one in the present and two in the past.  Her main case involves the discovery of a body in a bog. It soon transpires that it's a recent enough murder for the Historical Crimes Unit to solve but clues are far and few between. Unlike most police procedurals Val McDermid takes the reader on a more detailed type of investigation.  Every lead has to be followed up and every witness questioned. Therefore, I think it's a more realistic thriller. Very enjoyable. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy.

DCI Karen Pirie is head of the Cold Case unit and now has a new boss.  Ann Markie is out to get her for some reason Karen can’t quite fathom. To this end she puts a new detective to work with Karen and Jason who is basically her spy. Luckily Karen still has her close friends and colleagues on her side and she needs them when she is tasked with finding out how a body unearthed from a peat bog got there while she is tracking down a serial rapist and helping a colleague with a “live case”.  Despite Ann Markie trying her best to undermine her at every turn Karen is determined to get justice for the families no matter how long ago their loved ones died and no matter the cost to her or her job. I loved the interactions between Karen and Jason and Karen and Ann. 
The story flowed and didn’t let up from the first to the last page. I couldn’t put it down. 
Val McDermid certainly knows how to keep readers on their toes.
I am intrigued to know where the relationship between Hamish and Karen will go and I can’t wait for the next Karen Pirie book to find out.

It is, very hard to review a book and not give away all the nitty-gritty details that you have uncovered through reading, and while some people don't mind, provided there is a disclaimer, I will still try to avoid spoilers (partially because this will be shared to my Goodreads as well!) Firstly thanks to Net Galley for the free preview of this, in exchange for an honest review of course) - it's important to note, that as of this day, I have yet to find a novel here that disappoints.  

Now, considering this is the 5th book in the Inspector Karen Pirie series, I found it very easy to read - normally, coming into a series late is a pain, and you find yourself HAVING to go back and read the others, or google small facts to understand whats occurring - I found this wasn't necessarily the case here (at least, not entirely). 

McDermind manages to create an interesting narrative, where, through the protagonist, we find some clever plot-lines, and the deliverance of justice in a way that is satisfactory, and covers all questions that one could ask. I thought the character creation was brilliant, and what McDermind manages (which so many fail to give) is to create someone with a background, someone relate able, and leaves you eager to know more about them.

 As with every novel, there were a few points which shocked me, or stood out - notably coming from reading mainly YA novels, the swearing was something different. As well one or two characters who I felt lacked, or I'd enjoy delving into more. 

Other than those things I would definitely suggest this as a read to many people. (I may even go back and read the rest of the series, although I didn't have to)

Broken Ground is a standalone novel. This is the first book I have read by this author so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was a well written mystery/police procedural novel involving what ended up being a cold case. The characters and the story were well written and it was easy to follow and get engaged in what was happening. I definitely want to read more from this author.

Detective Karen Pirie’s passion is solving old cases. And she is very good at it. Now if only her higher ups would allow her to proceed, she would be able to focus better and get closure sooner. But politics is interfering and Karen must cope with her new female boss, who she had hoped would be an ally. Worst of all, a new addition to her tiny squad of two, may be incompetent and a spy for the boss. 

One of Karen’s cases consists of a body unearthed in a peat bog. A young couple hoping to find an inheritance buried by grandpa made that grisly discovery. But the peat has enabled the body to be well preserved…so Karen and her Historical Crimes Unit go to work. But another case of grisly rapes, with just a description of a vehicle from many years past, also has their attention.

Trying to juggle the cases, office politics, her own sense of justice and a possible romantic interest, has Karen in unexpected territory this time.   McDermid’s descriptions, characters and settings are always a pleasure. Highly recommended.

I very much enjoyed the main characters of the novel and was excited to learn that it was a series. I will be starting the rest of it from the beginning and will recommend the same to my friends who enjoy the genre. At times it got a bit bogged down, but I think if I would have come to it in order, I would have enjoyed it more.

Thanks for the copy of the novel. I will definitely seek out more of her novels.