This is a psychological thriller wrapped in an intriguing mystery about a missing woman. Clues to what happened to the missing woman *may* exist in an unpublished manuscript found among a dead author's notes. You kind-of get two books in this one - the manuscript and the investigation of the missing woman. The manuscript follows a code that can be linked to real people, places and occurrences. But is the manuscript a blueprint for murder, or just another tale of fiction by this famous author? Is it even written by this author? All of the clues are masked but definitely point to a specific perpetrator. The main people of interest are mystery writers, so they spin tales of deception by profession. And the investigation occurs during the beginning period of the COVID lockdown, when people were most scared and untrusting. DCI Karen Purie, Jason and Daisy have their strong points and work well together to chase down information. The book portrays the difficulties of working an investigation during the severe restrictions required during lockdown - it also portrays the way relationships were strengthened or broken during this time. There were so many genius moments in this tale, but it was also heartfelt and poignant. The tale is so complex with many levels of treachery - really keeps you on your toes! I'm sure that if I read it again right now, I'd find things that I missed the first go round! I highly recommend it!!

It was so good to meet Karen Pirie again and as usual, Val McDermid gives the reader a layered mystery with heart. This case begins in April 2020, just as the lockdown in Scotland is beginning. Karen is a mirror for all of the uncertainty and fear at the time which was somehow both validating and very unsettling as a reader. (If you aren’t quite ready to revisit 2020, I suggest you set this book aside for another time.)

Karen and her team use their time in lockdown to investigate the unsolved disappearance of a young woman from a year earlier. It’s not a cold case but just a case that’s sort of been unattended. The evidence? Well, it’s all in an unpublished manuscript left behind when a famous crime writer dies.

The plot is very meta - with a crime book tucked into a crime book, and there’s quite a lot to follow. The players are all authors, both fictional and actual, which feels playful and is a treat to readers. I really enjoyed that so much of this mystery is set against a backdrop of the literary world.

The whodunnit of it all is predictable, particularly for readers well acquainted with this genre, but it’s okay. There is more telling than showing when it comes to the team connecting evidence and proposing theories, and it feels a rushed at the end. This version of Karen is very flat, which is understandable given what the world felt like in April 2020 and her grief, but I missed her. The connection between Karen and her sergeant Daisy is a good one, and engages the reader when the plot feels otherwise thin. There are some excursions from the central investigation that seem unnecessary but actually create context for what Karen is experiencing during such an uncertain time.

Is it Karen’s very best outing? No. But who among us was at our best in April 2020 when things went to pieces? I’d recommend it gladly.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Wow , another great book from Val McDermid. This one is set in lockdown which adds to the difficulties Karen Pirie and her team have when taking a look at an unpublished book found in the papers of a dead crime author. The book seems to document a perfect murder and they agree to look into it because it is better than playing video games or watching boxsets which have been the main activities during the pandemic. How quickly we forget that period of time when we were not allowed more than an hour of exercize and only the supermarkets are open. Val describes the period well and the investigation is put together well, plenty of twists and enough about the detectives personal lives to make them feel like real people.
Events are believable and the book kept my interest throughout.
Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book

This is the second book I've read in this series (I read #5 previously), but I was able to keep up with the story, and I loved the characters. I do recommend reading the series in order though for a better understanding of the different characters. I did see the Karen Pirie show on Brit Box, so I was at least familiar with some of the characters. I did like how the story takes place during covid and how they were able to work around all the restrictions that the pandemic caused.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book.

Val McDermid's "Past Lying" is set in the early days of COVID-19, and she has setup a wonderful narrative where DCI Karen Pirie and her team of cold case detectives have to navigate the lockdown challenges.
The book starts with a librarian's accidental discovery of an abduction and murder story blueprint similar to a past case that had gained much attention. As Karen becomes engrossed in the leads, she and her team are also trying to strike a balance between their professional and personal work, and their main worry is that the thin line between work and home seems too complicated.

Overall, a wonderful book, solid police investigative work, and a good entertaining book.
Highly recommended.

I'm a big fan of everything Val McDermid writes and so I've eagerly devoured all the Karen Pirie seres as they've been released. This is only the second COVID lockdown set book that I've read and it's astonishing to go back to when what became normal was new....and look at it from where we are now. The story is not about covid but about the case of a missing girl. It's pretty twisty, I saw a couple of them coming but not all, but I very much enjoyed the journey with Karen, The Mint and Daisy, along with brief "visits" from other familiar characters. Definitely recommend this one.

I received an advance copy from the publisher and Netgalley to review.

After the first few pages, I knew this was a book I wasn’t going to be able to put down, until I got to The End. If you like absolutely unpredictable, twisted suspense as much as I do, you can't go wrong with this book!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

Review of Uncorrected Proof

With everything locked down, thanks to the COVID-19 virus, Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie finds herself locked down in Hamish Mackenzie with Detective Sergeant Daisy Mortimer. Using her allowed one hour’s outdoor exercise a day, Karen hikes from Hamish’s spacious flat to her own smaller space on the edge of the Firth of Forth. While taking her brisk walk, she’s working on learning Gaelic.

With the shops shuttered and everyone in lockdown, she had a certain amount of leeway, especially if she was involved in an investigation. But there are no active cases for the Historic Cases Unit.

But while cataloging new acquisitions given to the National Library from deceased crime writer Jake Stein, Meera Reddy discovered an unpublished manuscript that eerily echoes that of Lara Hardie, a student who vanished a year earlier. And the unfinished manuscript offers a solution to the case.

Is there any truth to the story penned by the deceased author? If he knew about the reason for the young girl’s disappearance, why keep it to himself?

Now it’s up to DCI Pirie and her team to find the answers. But will they find the truth about what happened to Lara?

=========

Seventh in the author’s Inspector Karen Pirie series, the book works as a standalone for readers new to the series. Anchored by a strong sense of place, the unfolding tale offers some unexpected twists for the reader as the plot takes some surprising twists.

Covid-19 is essentially a character in the telling of this tale; some readers may find themselves uncomfortable with the idea of reliving the rules and restrictions of the lengthy lockdown. However, the intriguing plot, the ever-building suspense, and strong characterizations all work together to keep the reader involved in the investigation.

For readers who enjoy police procedurals, there is much to appreciate here.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Grove Atlantic, Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley
#PastLying #NetGalley

Thank you to Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book

First up I need to say that I'm a huge fan of Val McDermid and have been from the early days of her career. Since I'm familiar with her writing I expect a lot from her. She does not fail to deliver with this book. This is #7 in the Karen Pirie series and takes the reader right back to March of 2020. Covid, lockdown, uncertainty, fear. The book brings it all back. If this isn't a time you want to revist then save this for later as it's a huge part of the book.

Lockdown has begun. Working from home the new normal but just what are the cold case detectives supposed to be working on? A quarantined librarian is cataloguing archival material from a famous deceased writer when she stumbles across the bluepring for an abduction and murder of a young woman. The outline bears a striking resemblance to the disappearance of a young worman just a few years previous. The librarian can't shake her suspicions so she calls Jason, one of Karen's team. It's intriguing enough to catch Karen's attention. The hunt is on.

It's an excellent, well written book. I enjoyed the story. The search for the truth amongst the Scottish crime writing community is a treat specially as long time followers of Ms McDermid know how involved in this community she is. Definitely worth a read as long as the reader can handle a look at Covid from this time.

A Covid shutdown is in place. So time can be spent studying the unsolved cases in more detail. Karen, Daisy and Jason are looking for a case they can sink their teeth into. Finally a missing person case has promise when a short story reflects a possible scenario of what happened. By pulling every thread they see a case, But who actually committed a crime? Crime authors are involved so how to tell the truth from the fiction?
The story was slow to pull me in but eventually I found myself caught up in the book. Some twists and turns, Covid protocols and so many lies. I liked it and will look forward to seeing the show based on the book.

I love this series. I got hooked after watching the TV show.

I was glad to get the latest installment in the great series of books. It lived up to my expectations with twists and turns and a chance to visit all the characters I enjoy.

crime-thriller, suspense, law-enforcement, mysteries, detective-fiction, procedural, pandemic, archivist, library, tense, murder, murder-investigation*****

Cold case: Scotland/Historic Cases Unit
Law enforcement is hard enough, but the constraints placed upon them by necessary precautions of effective quarantine plus a more than double lack of personnel makes it all darn near impossible as well as totally exhausting. DCI Pirie and her team are called upon to look into a case and find enough evidence to make it valid for trial. Excellent read!
I requested and received a temporary PDF from Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press via NetGalley.

Interesting

When a librarian cataloging the papers of a recently deceased author, she comes across a story that reminds her of a woman who has been missing for nearly a year. Cold case police officer Karen Pirie and her staff work on solving the case while dealing with lockdown rules.

The covid lockdown aspect of this book was still a little tough for me to relive, but it had a good plot (pretty easy to figure out if you read a lot of mysteries, but still enjoyable) and great characters.

This seemed overly long in some spots, but that may be because I am unable to read a Scottish word or location without stopping to look it up.

I really appreciated that there were several gay characters without making their orientation a big deal or plot point. Normalizing different orientations, religions, and races in popular books and shows that we all have similarities and differences and none of us are just one aspect of our selves.

DCI Karen Pirie is back in book 7 of the thrilling series joined. by Daisy and Jason of course!

The setting is 2020 lockdown in England. If you aren't ready to revisit it all, I would caution reading this story. McDermid however brings it to life and there are many many reminders of what we were supposed to do (as well as how many people decided not to follow government recommendations). Juggling multiple view points, she presents a mystery of an unfinished novel predicting a mysterious disappearance a year earlier. A little long, but still very entertaining for any McDermid or Pirie fan! #Grove

Review of Val MdDermid’s Past Lying

It’s been a long time since we’ve been treated to a new Val McDermid book, and like many things we were deprived of during Covid times, the lack of one just became a kind of new normal. Less nice than the old normal. Less satisfying books were out there and some were worth it. But reading became sort of a ritual, and what one read almost didn’t matter.

But now along comes Past Lying, Val McDermid’s triumphant return to crime fiction in what is possibly her most emotionally relevant book yet. Set in the Edinburgh of the very beginning stages of the first Covid Lockdown, Historic Case Files investigator DCI Karen Pirie struggles, as we all did, with the terrors and uncertainty of the disease and its transmission, the new world order of safety rules, the minefields of maintaining relationships in the face of social distancing precautions. And, of course, the formidable challenges of undertaking investigations in a pandemic society.

McDermid’s skill has never been more evident. She recreates the fears and uncertainties we all felt with every interpersonal encounter. She brings back the heartbreak of learning someone we knew, or loved, contracted the disease before vaccines existed. The story brings the reader right back to the very unsettling reality of COVID’s early days, while simultaneously unveiling the ingenuity and dedication of DCI Pirie in the face of it all.

And McDermid has produced one of the most intricately plotted and suspenseful police procedurals I’ve ever read. It was so supremely gratifying, after all this time, to read such a masterful narrative. Pirie may investigate Historic Cases, but this plot revealed itself in the Covid present in riveting fashion. That the protagonists are crime writers was an extra delicious touch.

Karen Pirie is the DCI in charge of cold cases in Scotland. It is the beginning of the Covid lockdown and her entire team is at very loose ends because of the Covid rules. Then they pick up a case that is not quite cold and about a missing young woman who had disappeared a year earlier. The more they look into the case, the more complex it becomes. Their potential suspects involve crime writers (there is a novel inside the novel), the former wife of one who was involved with the other, her very difficult boss’ putting every obstacle possible in her way, the arrest of one of her team and Covid. It is a procedural, and one of the best I’ve read in quite a while. Thanks to Net Galley and First Grove Atlantic for an ARC for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book. I loved it! Val McDermid's writing is so easy to read, it just rolls along so well. I enjoyed reading about COVID in Edinburgh - I had forgotten so much that we went through. Karen Pirie and her co-worker Daisy are living in Hamish's large and luxurious flat while he's away at his croft in northern Scotland. They are having a quiet time going through old case files until Jason calls to say he has a lead on a case for them. When a famous author had died a few months ago, his remaining papers and notes were donated to the archives, and a worker there was disturbed by what she read in a draft of a novel - the murder of a woman. The three get to work, while trying to keep safe from COVID.

The identity of the murderer was not difficult to learn, but the ways that the team had to find evidence to make arrests stick were the hard part.

The latest Karen Pirie mystery describes the challenges of policing during the early days of the covid lockdown.. When an archivist reaches out about a strange coincidence in a recently deceased author's papers, Karen and her team from the Historic Cases Unit leap at the chance to break up the boredom of isolation. Covid is a critical part of the overall storyline as it sets the stage for various interactions of key characters; it would not be the same story in another setting. An engrossing tale-even though the author seemed to telegraph the ending too soon!

Thanks to Grove Atlantic for access to a digital ARC on Netgalley.com.

So great to get a new Karen Pirie story in my hands! It is great to be back with the group this time investigating the disappearance of a young girl. The story moves at good pace and I always enjoy Val McDermid’s writing style.

As many have pointed out, the COVID aspect of the book was tedious and grim. Not sure why authors bring that to their fiction. I read to escape that particular reality. You get really sick of the rules quickly.

The story was great other than that. The characters were interesting and the twists surprised me. I can’t wait for the next installment in the series. Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC to enjoy and review.

As a police procedural, this is a special story because of the time it's set, and because of the way the suspicions arise. Like most British crime, it's rather long and slow, but it doesn't feel like it's wasting my time; something is always moving along. The plot, storytelling and characters are all excellent.