It's 1944, the closing days of World War II. Two men dig feverishly in a peat bog in Scotland to create a hole large enough to accommodate a pair of American motorcycles. Fast-forward to current day, when the granddaughter of one of the men decides to unearth the motorcycles. The first motorcycle has survived its lengthy incarceration beautifully, but there's a dead body where the second should be. Enter Karen Pirie, cold case detective (because, hey, cases don't get much colder than this), in the fifth installment of Val McDermid's popular Karen Pirie series, Broken Ground. Things take a turn for the weird(er) when the body, supposedly buried for some 70 years, is discovered to be wearing a pair of Nikes. McDermid's books are relentlessly excellent, with sympathetically flawed characters, well-crafted storylines, a clever twist or two and crisp dialogue. It's no wonder she is considered the queen of Scottish crime fiction.

 

This article was originally published in the December 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

 

McDermid, who comes well armed with CWA gold and Cartier diamond daggers, brings back Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie for a distinctive cold case. Alice Somerville has been digging in the Highland peat bog for her inheritance, buried six feet under by her grandfather during World War II. The treasure is there, but so is a dead body with a bullet hole between the eyes. The latest Karen Pirie book, Out of Bounds, was an Indie Next Pick and a Boston Globe Best Book of the Year.books

Alice Summerville and her husband travel to the Scottish Highlands in search of a legacy buried by her grandfather at the end of World War II and bequeathed to her just before his death. Aided by the property owner, they ascertain the exact location and dig into a peat bog, unearthing both the treasure and a corpse. When it's determined that the body was buried long after the end of the war, DCI Karen Pirie, head of the Historical Crimes Unit of the Edinburgh Police, is called in to catch a killer on the loose for nearly 20 years. While seeking justice for this murder, Karen must also deal with a superior with an ax to grind who has planted a mole in the unit, a cold case involving a serial rapist, and an overheard conversation that may lead to a fresh crime{amp}mdash;all while grieving the loss of her partner. VERDICT Prolific author McDermid (Out of Bounds) has crafted a tight police procedural with a strong female lead. While this is number five in the series, newcomers are brought up to speed. Fans of Tana French and Ian Rankin will be delighted. [See Prepub Alert, 6/10/18.]{amp}mdash;Susan Santa, Shelter Rock P. L., Albertson, NY

In McDermind's fine fourth novel featuring Edinburgh Det. Chief Insp. Karen Pirie (after 2016's Out of Bounds), Alice and Will Somerville, a married couple, set out on a treasure hunt in the Scottish Highlands. They have a map to guide them to the spot where Alice's grandfather buried two American motorcycles in protective boxes in 1944 when he was serving in the British army. To their surprise, they discover a body along with the motorcycles in the peat. When Pirie is called to the scene—a rarity for a cold case detective, getting to see the body in situ—she realizes the peat's preservation properties have worked in her favor. A forensic anthropologist identifies the victim as a professional athlete, who disappeared around 1995, based on his shoes. But even with a name, reconstructing a decades-old murder is tricky, and this time there's a lot of pressure from above to solve it. Meanwhile, Pirie becomes embroiled in a contemporary crime involving domestic violence. As always, McDermid's story lines are as richly layered as her protagonist. Agent: Jane Gregory, David Higham Assoc. (U.K.) (Dec.)