Out Of Bounds (Karen Pirie #4)

Description

When a teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car and ends up in a coma, a routine DNA test reveals a connection to an unsolved murder from twenty-two years before. Finding the answer to the cold case should be straightforward. But it's as twisted as the DNA helix itself. Meanwhile, Karen Pirie finds herself irresistibly drawn to another mystery that she has no business investigating, a mystery that has its roots in a terrorist bombing two decades ago. And again, she finds that nothing is as it seems ...

Awards

Short-listed for McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime 2017 (UK). Long-listed for Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2017 (UK).

Reviews

An incredibly suspenseful thriller, elegantly plotted with smartly drawn characters and fascinating detail Sunday Mirror What superlatives are there left to describe the phenomenon that is the multi award-winning McDermid? ... Told with McDermid's legendary verve and eye for detail, it grabs the reader by the throat and never lets go Daily Mail It is evident in her 30th novel that her mastery of the crime has matured well Sunday Express [An] engaging new novel ... McDermid's 30th novel offers fascinating insights into the ethical dilemmas thrown up by advances in forensic science Sunday Times Her books combine ironclad storytelling technique, cogent commentaries on modern society and an attitude to the crime genre's long history that is both interrogative and innovative ... we are reminded that the new Queen of Crime is still at the top of her game Independent McDermid's expertly juggled plotlines and masterful handling of pace and tension tick all the best boxes, but what makes this book a real cracker is Pirie herself - grieving, insubordinate and dogged in her pursuit of the various culprits Guardian Quite simply, nobody does British crime writing better ... [a] twisty, deliciously tangled thriller Peterborough Telegraph As intelligent and chillingly good as ever Good Housekeeping Packed with intrigue, warmly drawn characters and dollops of tension, McDermid's 30th novel leaves the reader looking forward to the 31st Irish Independent On her 30th novel ... none is more deserving of the queen-of-crime mantle than Val McDermid ... I would like to see a great deal more of DCI Pirie Irish Times McDermid proves herself to be as adept as ever at mixing thrilling crime fiction with psychological study ... Karen is a compelling character, and her personal baggage lends Out of Bounds a great backstory ... she writes with a brisk light touch, but the book does not stint on realistic detail. Out of Bounds is a fine, tense, and multi-layered addition to the canon of the queen of Scottish crime fiction Irish Sunday Business Post It's a treat to watch DCI Pirie once again as she pursues a tantalising forensic trail through a brilliantly realised Scottish setting ... the back-and-forths with her pusillanimous boss, as she deflates his attempts to undermine her, are a particular joy Scotland on Sunday McDermid concocts complex plots with plenty of twists and red herrings. At times the tension is palpable and there are genuine surprises ... McDermid is a dab hand at creating enough plausibility to make her contributions to the genre intensely readable Sunday Herald A celebrated crime author with an attention to detail which makes her stories both gripping and totally authentic Western Daily Press Her thrillers never fail to entertain, and this - her 30th (!) novel - is no exception. Another twisted treat Heat

Author description

Val McDermid is a No.1 bestseller whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages, and have sold over fifteen million copies. She has won many awards internationally, including the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year and the LA Times Book of the Year Award. She was inducted into the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame in 2009, was the recipient of the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2010 and received the Lambda Literary Foundation Pioneer Award in 2011. In 2016, Val received the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award at the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She writes full time and divides her time between Cheshire and Edinburgh.