In this superb new addition to Val McDermidâs masterful crime series, DCI Karen Pirie returns in a propulsive thriller of deceit and vengeance, set against the disquiet of a global pandemic
Britainâs reigning âQueen of Crimeâ (The Scotsman), Val McDermid is the award-winning, internationally bestselling author of over thirty novels. The long-awaited seventh novel in the acclaimed series that has captivated audiences for twenty years, both on the page and now in the Edgar Awardânominated ITV/BritBox show, Past Lying is a full tilt novel of ego, retribution, deceit, and just how far one will go to settle the score.
Itâs April 2020 and Edinburgh is in lockdown. It would seem like a strange time for a cold case to go hotâthe streets all but empty, an hourâs outdoor exercise the maximum allowedâbut a mere pandemic doesnât mean crime takes a holiday.
When a source at the National Library contacts DCI Karen Pirieâs team about documents in the archive of a recently deceased crime novelist, it seems itâs game on again. At the center of it, a novel: two crime novelists facing off over a chessboard. But it quickly emerges that their real-life competition is drawing blood. What unspools is a twisted game of betrayal and revenge, and as Karen and her team attempt to disentangle fact from fiction, it becomes clear that their investigation is more complicated than they ever imagined.
A tense, atmospheric page-turner, Past Lying reaffirm McDermid as one of the most talented crime writers of her generation.