OUT OF BOUNDS is the fourth book in the Inspector Karen Pirie series and I have previously read book two and three in this series. This is a series that is growing on me. I still prefer the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series by the author, but this one and the one that comes after (that I picked up straight after I finished this one) are really good and I now want to read the first book that I haven't yet read. 

Karen Pirie lost the love of her life recently and she spends her nights walking around in the city trying to come to grips with her loss. That doesn't mean that she isn't doing her damn best to solve cold cases. A joyride crash has given new life to an old rape and murder case. However, finding the answers will not be that easy. Karen is also drawn to a recent murder case that is linked to a terrorist bombing that happened twenty years ago. Could there be a link between the two deeds? 

OUT OF BOUNDS is a really good book and it's not necessarily to read the books in the right order since each book has new cases.

An engaging mystery with two investigations going. In the middle of it all, McDermid nicely showed the humanity and dignity of Syrian refugees, portraying several men as just wanting to be able to take care of their families and live without constant fear of dying.

McDermid does it yet again -anyone surprised?
She is a very well known crime author for a reason and this book and series is no exception. 
If you enjoy McDermid, this series or any of her other books, defiantly worth a read!

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for an advance ARC in return for an honest review.  My apologies for the fact that it took me 10 months to get around to read this book.

Detective Karen Pirie heads a Cold Case Unit in Edinburgh, and when the DNA from an injured teenage joy rider matches a 20-year-old unsolved murder case, Karen is on the case.

This is very clever twisty crime thriller and Karen and her partner Jason (The Mint) make a good team.  Karen is tough, recently bereaved after her lover and partner Paul was killed in the line of duty.  She is not afraid to take on authority and think and work outside the box.  It’s this facet that finds her investigating an apparent suicide, which may or may not be linked to a 1990s Cold Case, when an Irish terrorist organization targeted a small passenger plane, killing all four passengers.

This is the 4th Karen Pirie novel, however you can read this as a standalone novel.  Having not read any of either Karen Pirie novels, or Val McDermid’s other books I plan to rectify this as I really enjoyed it.

Confession time... This is my first real exposure to anything Val McDermid related. I've been aware of her for many years but never watched Wire in the Blood or read any of her books. I got very tempted to watch the TV show at one point because of my massive crush on Simone Lahbib but never did. I'd heard mixed things about her books and was never motivated to give one a chance. Until, as has been happening more and more for me, I came across Out of Bounds on NetGalley. I hesitated momentarily because it was the fourth in a series but a well-written book should be able to stand on its own. And, yes, this one did.

As soon as I heard the sample of the audio book, I knew that would have to be how I'd consume this book. I love Scottish accents. Helen Stewart from Bad Girls (see above reference to Ms. Lahbib) nearly had me drooling when she said "serious" and "suit." It was hard not to pause and grin every time the narrator for Out of Bounds said "serious." *sigh*

Anyway, here's the blurb from Amazon: [Removed]

Of course, I won't give anything away about either case so no worries of spoilers here. Instead, I'll tell you how much I enjoyed this book. I loved how many strong, smart, capable women were present and how they didn't argue or fight among themselves. They were supportive and believable. I liked them and was happy that Karen had them in her life. I found the cases and the methods used to solve them interesting.

I definitely appreciated getting just enough information on the characters that were in previous books to help me understand the relationships. Info dumping to bring new readers up to speed sucks but there wasn't any of that here. We found out what happened to Karen to make her depressed and lonely and were able to be a part of her moving on.

McDermid's writing is smooth and vivid. Not once did I feel like I was being led around by the author but, instead, following characters who felt as real as I am. I'll be hitting my local library once I'm done posting this to see what other offerings might be available.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing the ebook ARC.

I started reading Val McDermid after watching the Wire in the Blood series and becoming hooked on her Tony Hill character.  Her books always have a complex story line but are also easy to follow, because of her fantastic writing skills.  Her Karen Pirie series is no different, this one is about a "cold" case and a familial DNA hit, which leads them to organ transplants, a great story line.

I haven't been reading much fiction lately, and I especially haven't been reading a lot of crime fiction lately: I tend to go down a rabbit hole reading the news instead, and it's not necessarily good for my equilibrium. I was happy to get into this police procedural with a new set of characters and with a plot not nearly as gruesome as the Tony Hill- Carol Jordan series by Val McDermid.

Out of Bounds is the story of Karen Pirie, the head of the Historical Crimes Unit. She's mourning her dead partner  Phil by burying herself in work, and she's not a dour presence at all in the story. Score 1 for McDermid. Karen becomes involved in both a current and a historical murder investigation: a recent death of a young man whose mother died in an unsolved airplane bombing in the 1990s piques Pirie's interest because she suspects that murder- or at least suspicious death- doesn't run in families

What I liked most was the matter-of-factness not only of Karen but of a whole slew of highly competent women in police, social work, and forensic science. And McDermid had a damn sympathetic portrait of not one but two lawyers, for which I'm personally grateful. Also, McDermid is so good at populating this book with interesting people during the parade of investigatory interviews, etc. I hope this is the beginning of a new series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. I didn't like this novel much at all. Read nearly 40% before giving up. So sorry!

Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Out of Bounds.  This is my honest opinion of the book.

Cold Case Detective Karen Pirie gets involved in an intriguing case involving a teenage joyrider who ends up in a coma.  When his DNA is, in part, linked to an unsolved crime from before his birth, Karen must wade through some seemingly unrelated clues to get to the truth.  In the process of trying to do her job and solve a cold case, will Karen be able to help with a current death as well?

I am not sure why the trend is lately to have supervisors that have a grudge against the female detectives in their employ, but I really wish that Out of Bounds had not taken that direction.  The book could have stood on its own merits without having to resort to that tactic.  Although it includes a cold case, which is usually slow moving, the author was able to give excitement to the investigation.  Cold Case Detective Karen Pirie is tough as nails and her strength as an investigator comes through.  Out of Bounds was a good book, but not as great as I was expecting.

I haven't read any of Val McDermid's many books in so many years, but within minutes of starting this I was asking why not and berating myself.  She is such a skilled author that I defy anyone to be sucked straight in and completely engaged with the characters and plot. 
'Out of Bounds' is part of a series staring Detective Karen Pirie, but my enjoyment wasn't at all effected by not having read the others (although I am eager to read the others).  Trying to untangle two mysteries gave the novel added pace and often had me searching for a connection between the two – I was eager to see if I could work it all out before everything was revealed.  I didn't.  McDermid is too good. 
As you'd expect, we are given insight into Pirie's personal life as she struggles with the two cases she's working on.  She is a grieving insomniac whose non-nonsense attitude towards her boss made her instantly likeable to me. 
Val McDermid is a brilliant author and if you haven't read any of her books yet, I'm sure 'Out of Bounds' will make a fan out of you.

Very much enjoyed this, it keeps in with Val's usual style, but made for some good reading, recommended for thos who have liked her previous work.

Val McDermid is simply one of the best crime writers around. I have loved every book she's written. She has a number of series. Out of Bounds is the fourth novel featuring Inspector Karen Pirie. But you could absolutely read this as a stand alone.

Pirie is working cold cases. When a DNA sample from an accident victim turns up a match with a twenty two year old unsolved murder, Karen hopes for a quick solve to an old case. But it's not as straight forward as she hoped. And being Karen, she can't help but follow a case that interests her. Even when it's not hers. A terrorist bombing, also from twenty plus years ago is one she can't let go.

Karen is a wonderfully flawed character, struggling to overcome her own tragedies and doubts, while still maintaining a professional demeanor. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But you can't help but be in her corner. She's fierce and driven to find answers. The mental and verbal sparring between her and her superior is such fun to read. Her partner Jason is not as quick, but they make a good team. And it's impossible not to like him.

Where McDermid's books shine are in the plotting. Complex and not easily sussed out. I enjoy following the police work needed to unravel the answers, discovering the connections along with the characters. McDermid adds a nice (and timely) piece of social commentary with Karen befriending some Syrian refugees.

Absolutely recommended. (As are the previous twenty nine books she's written!)

Another great book from Val McDermid.
I started reading this book and from page one I was stucked into the story. Everything else that I was supposed to be doing was put to one side (including sleep) as I turned the pages.
The Carol Jordan/Tony Hill series is one of my favourites but the Karen Pirie series is quickly becoming a close second.

DCI Karen Pirie is back. Struggling to adjust to life without her colleague and partner, Phil, she spends her nights walking the streets of Edinburgh, will the tiredness to come to her. On her walks, she meets a group of Syrian refugees, their plight reminding her that life is complicated for all, and that the struggles and loss she has faced is not unique to her.

Meanwhile, up in Dundee a tragic accident involving some joyriders leads to some new evidence on a cold case from Glasgow, some twenty years earlier. A DNA match which proves not to be the easy answer that Karen had initially hoped it would be.

Needing advice on the case, she turns to an old school friend who now acts as a Social Worker in Fife. BY pure co-incidence, while she is there, Karen learns about a new case, a man who has a very tragic and unresolved event in his past. Karen’s interest is piqued. Not officially a cold case, but never technically resolved, she begins to unofficially look into the mysterious plane bombing, initially written off as a terrorist attack due to the profession of one of the victims.

But not everyone is thrilled that Karen is looking into this case. Someone is set on derailing the investigation before it has really begun, casting allegations against Karen that delight her boss, ACC Simon Lees, a man who has been determined to see the back of Karen for too long. With a long list of suspects, Karen will have to think outside of the box in order to catch a killer from two decades ago who may well have struck again.

Val McDermid has proven time and again that she is one of the true masters of mystery and suspense and ‘Out of Bounds’ is no exception. She has in Karen Pirie, developed a really intriguing character. She is far from perfect, is driven by a desire for solving the puzzles and bringing justice for victims, something which suits the cold case unit perfectly. In this she is reeling from Phil’s death, something captured perfectly on the page as she battles insomnia and an ongoing conversation in her head as she tries hard to figure out what Phil would have done or said.

In terms of supporting characters, you cannot help but like Jason ‘the Mint’ Murray, the bumbling and perhaps generally intellectually challenged DC who works alongside her in the cold case unit. He is vulnerable, unbelievably naïve and yet has the heart of gold and an underlying amount of respect, and fear, for Karen. Their partnership is unorthodox, yin and yang, and yet it works perfectly.

The story itself, is complex, a series of almost perfectly timed coincidental meetings which lead Karen to the two cold cases that form the focus of the story. Alongside that, there is a strong social commentary on the condition and terms under which Syrian refugees are accommodated or perhaps more aptly, tolerated, in current society. There is an almost inevitable feeling of where that part of the story will lead, and I wasn’t surprised to see it head there, as sure and true as the Restalrig Railway Path on which it took place. But this was perhaps the only predictable part of the story, the rest of it branching off as series of possibilities, with any one of a number of possible resolutions to the two sordid tales.

I won’t begin to try and tell people how great the narrative, the setting and characterisations were. Anyone who has ever read any of the other 29 novels McDermid has written will know this is a given. The pacing matches the concept of a cold case unit completely, slightly less urgency in terms of finding the result as the evidence, as with many of the suspects, is considerably older than they used to be. However, when the pacing increased when the peril was the greatest, and from the outset the sense of a greater conspiracy always bubbled just under the surface of the story, drawing me, as the reader, most assuredly, to a very satisfying conclusion.

‘Out of Bounds’ was another first class delivery of an intriguing story, from a writer who never fails to impress.

I read the first two chapters and didn't go any further because the story was uninteresting and the writing mediocre. Several weeks later I went back to the book and re-started at chapter 3. There was a significant improvement and I continued to the end.  Despite the cliche of a detective in grief over the loss of a partner/lover/spouse/child and who leads a monastic life when not working, the author manages to make the story interesting. There are two threads, the first concerns the death of a man who turns out to be the son of a woman killed in an unsolved killing when a light aircraft was bombed some 23 years previously.  Early on the author drops a very obvious clue as to the murderer. The second thread is a case where a young accident victim is found to have DNA showing that a close relative is the perpetrator of a brutal rape/murder 20 years previously. The solution of this mystery it thwarted when it turns out that the accident victim was adopted. There is a lot of detail about DNA testing which from my very limited knowledge seems accurate.

In summary, the book would be much better with the first two chapters removed. They contain no information that is not provided later in the story.

Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie, leading the Cold Case Unit has stumbled upon a small plane crash some 20 years ago with all four passengers killed.  Forward to current day and it appears the son of one of the victims either committed suicide or was murdered. Karen is also involved in another cold case of a young girl who was brutally murdered with no suspects in sight until DNA emerges from a crash victim.  
The same clues will be offered many times throughout the chapters, along with forcing the reader to try to understand why other officials in both cases want Karen to stop all the investigating work.  Val McDermid has many fans that enjoy her style of writing. 

** Thank you to Publisher Atlantic Monthly Press  and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review. **

McDermid likes to slow-cook her stories. She stirs the pot and adds a variety of ingredients as the plot thickens and the story progresses. She takes her time to cultivate it, which is definitely her particular style.

Karen is still grieving for her lover and partner, and that grief is what leads her to the sub-plot aka an important political hot topic of our era, refugees. The author weaves it into the main plot with the greatest of ease.

Karen has got a whiff of a connection leading from a suspicious death to an old cold case. There is just something dodgy about two deaths in the same family but decades apart.

Simultaneously the chance DNA extraction has brought back a hit in the database in an old murder case. So on the one hand she has her hands full with her own case, but she can’t resist meddling with cases outside of her unit. Not exactly the right thing to do if the head honchos want rid of you.

I guess in a way she is delving into as many ventures and mysteries as she can to stop from obsessing about Phil. A coping-mechanism if you will.

McDermid describes the police and judiciary systems of Scotland very well, although it does seem quite antiquated. Then again it might just be the unnecessary bureaucracy of said systems. Of course the flip-side of the coin is the fact there are rules and laws in place for a reason.

Hopefully this won’t be the last we see of Karen and her trusty sidekick The Mint.
*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy of Out of Bounds.*

Confession time………. this is the first Val McDermid book I have read. I know, I know, where have I been, but in all fairness I do have six McDermid books sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read and I will definitely be making time to read them now.

Out Of Bounds is the fourth book in the series but it can be read as a standalone. I normally like to read books in order and I didn’t realise this was part of a series, but it didn’t spoil the enjoyment of the book what so ever. There is enough background history mentioned so I didn’t feel like I was missing anything.

Set in Edinburgh DCI Karen Pirie works on the Historic Crimes Unit, when a Land rover crashes which is driven by teenagers a DNA sample reveals a connection to a cold case murder twenty years ago.  What should be a simple case, isn’t and Karen also finds herself investigating a different mystery, one that isn’t her case but also has leads in the past. Sounds complicated? It really isn’t and McDermid has done a fabulous job of bringing everything together.

I felt I instantly connected with DCI Karen Pirie. She was a very believable character, kind and caring yet strong and very focussed. Having gone through a loss there’s a vulnerable side to her which made her feel even more real. Jason Murray, Karen’s colleague in HCU was a great character too, he’s still learning and Karen has to guide him along the way and it was nice to see him progress though out the book.

This isn’t a fast paced book but it draws you in and keeps you reading. I often found myself along with Karen thinking I’d solved the case and boom, McDermid chucks in another twist or turn and I found I was wrong, again.

This being my first Val McDermid book, I have to say I am blown away by her writing and plotline. I will be giving myself a good slap for not reading any of these books before now. I highly recommend this book and can’t wait to catch up with McDermids  others, only 29 to go.

The story begins at a party after which four kids decide to steal a car and go on a joyride. The night ends with a tragic accident which marks the beginning of cold case investigation as one of the kid’s DNAs partially matched DNA found on an old crime screen. The case is soon referred to Karen Pirie, Investigator in charge of the detective’s unit that deals with the cold cases (Historical Crime Unit). At first, the case seemed quite straight forward but this is where the twists started. The lead investigator is soon faced with one hurdle after the other while trying to establish the missing link.

I found it interesting that the lead detective was involved in three cases at the same time. There was the DNA case, a suspicious suicide and a twenty year old case about a terrorist bombing. All these cases were intertwined hence making it a very complex investigation. However, the lead detective, Karen was definitely up for the task. The author did a fantastic job in creating a strong, female lead. Karen was a smart, intuitive, relentless and confident Investigator who made the investigation quite interesting.

Apart from the Investigation which was the main story-line, I like the fact that the author introduced a new angle of Syrian refugees in Scotland. We get to meet these refugees through their interactions with Karen. Their stories and struggles are shared in a way that makes them endearing. They are not treated with suspicion(it happens sometimes) but as regular people going through a tough time. I really liked this angle  even though it was not part of the main story-line.

I think that this book will appeal to lovers of police procedural. It is more character-driven than plot-driven hence the pace is not too fast. However, the characters are well-developed in such a way that it was easy to become immersed in their story. The investigation is explained in detail and as readers, we get to understand how the cases were solved. I also like the fact that the detectives relied on evidence and forensics and not purely on instincts and confessions like in some cop procedural/thrillers.  The book was also so well researched that I ended up learning a number of things. For instance; I didn’t know much about the laws concerning adoptions and the complexities surrounding the information pertaining adoption cases.

As I have already mentioned, this book can be read as a standalone. I recommend Out of Bounds by Val MacDermid to all fans of police procedural/crime thrillers.