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lisaarnsdorf's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I loved this Karen Pirie story! I’m pretty WWII’d out, but this angle was different and interesting. I was fascinated by Karen’s involvement in a domestic violence incident, and I loved meeting Hamish. And Jason is just so adorable. McDermid makes the long slog off sorting through paperwork and asking the same question endlessly of different people interesting, and that is an amazing skill! I just wish the ending hadn’t been wrapped up quite so quickly.
hollyxbeth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
thechemicaldetective's review against another edition
5.0
Is there a word for that delicious feeling when, after putting off finishing a captivating book, you discover that the same author has already written many more? Vielmehrbuchfreude?
After hearing Val McDermid conducting slick interviews at Theakstons’ Festival of Crime, then talking eloquently about her own books before headlining a rock band, I purchased “Broken Ground” and made a glorious discovery.
Two motorcycles and a body preserved in Highland peat pose a challenge for the cold case squad led by Karen Pirie. The dual timelines and interlocking stories are skilfully plotted, but what makes this such an easy read (in a good way) are the characters: Dog Biscuit, the Macaroon, the ginger ninja Mint, River, Ruari, Dandy and Willow, Joey and Shirley and the gorgeous Hamish Mackenzie, the kilted hipster sex bomb. All mouth and no trousers? Or something more dangerous? No spoilers here.
Police procedural at its finest. And a full back catalogue to look forward to!
After hearing Val McDermid conducting slick interviews at Theakstons’ Festival of Crime, then talking eloquently about her own books before headlining a rock band, I purchased “Broken Ground” and made a glorious discovery.
Two motorcycles and a body preserved in Highland peat pose a challenge for the cold case squad led by Karen Pirie. The dual timelines and interlocking stories are skilfully plotted, but what makes this such an easy read (in a good way) are the characters: Dog Biscuit, the Macaroon, the ginger ninja Mint, River, Ruari, Dandy and Willow, Joey and Shirley and the gorgeous Hamish Mackenzie, the kilted hipster sex bomb. All mouth and no trousers? Or something more dangerous? No spoilers here.
Police procedural at its finest. And a full back catalogue to look forward to!
rhihill's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
antiopelle's review against another edition
3.0
I absolutely love Pirie and I’ve devoured all previous installments. Although some of the storylines seemed far fetched I still enjoyed it until the last pages. What felt like 25% of the book was crammed
in a few pages and the epilogue was just information that should have been included in the main chapters. However, this will not stop me longing for the next one.
in a few pages and the epilogue was just information that should have been included in the main chapters. However, this will not stop me longing for the next one.
pipparature's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
lgpiper's review against another edition
4.0
I have no idea how this came to be on my kindle. But it was in the group of the last half dozen downloaded books. Looking through my messages from Amazon, it wasn't on any of them. So, it just appeared magically...or else I did snag it for some strange reason and, due to my developing a "mature" brain, I forgot.
Well, it seems I downloaded it from Netgalley back at the end of July. Who knew? So how did it end up grouped with December downloads? Whatever, I decided to read it and am glad I did.
It would have been even better, of course, had the folks at NetGalley bothered with a bit of formatting. It's not that difficult to produce a decent EBook these days, but the formatting was so amateurish that I think it might have been done by a beginning student just learning the ropes of InDesign, or Quark, or whatever publishers use these days. Clearly not one of the better students in the class, just someone filling space because his mother made him or her do so. It's not that difficult. I took one of those classes and made both print and EBooks.
Whatever, we are up in Scotland with Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie and her faithful, if not all that competent, sidekick, Detective Constable Jason Murray, also known at "The Mint". They work in the HCU, or "Historical Cases Unit". That is, they investigate things long unsolved in the light of recent information.
So, it seems that a couple, Alice and Will Somerville have heard a story from Alice's grandfather about a pair of vintage Indian motorcycles that were buried in a bog in 1946. They have a crude map, and with the help of a local crofter (who is also rather a stud and runs a chain of coffee shops), Hamish Mackenzie, manage to decode the crude map they have and go to dig up the motorcycles, and thereby, retrieve some of Alice's "inheritance". Well, it turns out that there's a body in one of the holes along with the motorcycle. But, the strange thing is, the body can't have been there for more than about 20 or so years. Thus we have a case for the HCU.
There are, of course many complications. Karen's boss, ACC Ann Markie (aka "The Dog Biscuit") has embedded one of her minions, Detective Sergeant Gerry McCartney, into the HCU to keep track of Karen Pirie's doings. It seems that Karen doesn't always go by the book even though she is generally successful, and The Dog Biscuit wants some dirt on Karen so as to remove her and retain greater glory for herself, or something.
There's also the complication that Karen finds herself attracted to the crofter, Hamish, although she's not sure he's to be trusted. Then too, Karen overhears two women talking in a coffee shop about the husband of one of them. They way they're talking, it sounds like one of them could get embroiled in some serious domestic violence. So Karen warns them. Naturally, one of the women along with the husband of the other woman get murdered. Thus, Karen is involved, even though she should not be: more grist for The Dog Biscuit's mill, so to speak.
The story line moved back and forth between events as they occurred in the past and events as DCI Pirrie worked to unfold the history. A rather interesting touch.
This book is the fifth in a series of books about DCI Karen Pirie, and I'm likely to check out a few of the earlier books. Actually, I've already placed a hold on the first in the series.
Well, it seems I downloaded it from Netgalley back at the end of July. Who knew? So how did it end up grouped with December downloads? Whatever, I decided to read it and am glad I did.
It would have been even better, of course, had the folks at NetGalley bothered with a bit of formatting. It's not that difficult to produce a decent EBook these days, but the formatting was so amateurish that I think it might have been done by a beginning student just learning the ropes of InDesign, or Quark, or whatever publishers use these days. Clearly not one of the better students in the class, just someone filling space because his mother made him or her do so. It's not that difficult. I took one of those classes and made both print and EBooks.
Whatever, we are up in Scotland with Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie and her faithful, if not all that competent, sidekick, Detective Constable Jason Murray, also known at "The Mint". They work in the HCU, or "Historical Cases Unit". That is, they investigate things long unsolved in the light of recent information.
So, it seems that a couple, Alice and Will Somerville have heard a story from Alice's grandfather about a pair of vintage Indian motorcycles that were buried in a bog in 1946. They have a crude map, and with the help of a local crofter (who is also rather a stud and runs a chain of coffee shops), Hamish Mackenzie, manage to decode the crude map they have and go to dig up the motorcycles, and thereby, retrieve some of Alice's "inheritance". Well, it turns out that there's a body in one of the holes along with the motorcycle. But, the strange thing is, the body can't have been there for more than about 20 or so years. Thus we have a case for the HCU.
There are, of course many complications. Karen's boss, ACC Ann Markie (aka "The Dog Biscuit") has embedded one of her minions, Detective Sergeant Gerry McCartney, into the HCU to keep track of Karen Pirie's doings. It seems that Karen doesn't always go by the book even though she is generally successful, and The Dog Biscuit wants some dirt on Karen so as to remove her and retain greater glory for herself, or something.
There's also the complication that Karen finds herself attracted to the crofter, Hamish, although she's not sure he's to be trusted. Then too, Karen overhears two women talking in a coffee shop about the husband of one of them. They way they're talking, it sounds like one of them could get embroiled in some serious domestic violence. So Karen warns them. Naturally, one of the women along with the husband of the other woman get murdered. Thus, Karen is involved, even though she should not be: more grist for The Dog Biscuit's mill, so to speak.
The story line moved back and forth between events as they occurred in the past and events as DCI Pirrie worked to unfold the history. A rather interesting touch.
This book is the fifth in a series of books about DCI Karen Pirie, and I'm likely to check out a few of the earlier books. Actually, I've already placed a hold on the first in the series.
erinnejc's review against another edition
4.0
Great story, great plot and a fabulous author. What more could I ask for! Another winner by Val McDermid.
ellelainey's review against another edition
4.0
Potential triggers: mentions of WWII, Nazi's, theft from Jews who were then sent to concentration camps; murder, violence; mentions of domestic violence; mentions of historic rape/murder; mentions of tuberculosis; mentions of the Highland clearances
What I love most about the Karen Pirie books - or maybe it's just Val McDermid's way of writing - is that there's no formula. I've mentioned before how disappointed I was in both the [b:Perfect Remains|32580398|Perfect Remains (D.I. Callanach, #1)|Helen Sarah Fields|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1476210916l/32580398._SY75_.jpg|51608215] Callanach series, and the [b:The Burning|10769683|The Burning (Maeve Kerrigan, #1)|Jane Casey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1317067725l/10769683._SY75_.jpg|14449306] Maeve Kerrigan series, becuase both had firm formulas for each book would function, and despite having the 90% police procedural ratio that I love, they went wildly off script with their ethics and the unbelievability of the plot lines. This never happens with McDermid's books.
The plots are believable, with a human aspect, a police investigation, and the honest fact that you can never quite predict the ridiculous or outrageous things people can and will do to each other. But, the investigations also aren't your bog standard brainiac detective finding all the clues. There's outside sources, like the forensic analysts and experts specific to the case.
In this book, Karen has to rely on a diamond expert, an American detective, the library records, as well as multiple forensic fields, to get the answers she needs. She's not a one-woman-show, by any means, which makes all of her investigative work all the more believable. And Jason gets his fair share of praise and pats on the back for digging up seemingly lost or impossible information. I LOVE that about this series, and McDermid's well researched knowledge of real police investigations.
~
When it comes to POV's, we have a few, but spread across 3 main timelines:
2018 - the present day
1944 - when the entire case began
1995 - when the murder happened
POV's include:
Austin/Kenny - initially unnamed, in the first chapter's POV, they're soldiers in WWII, who are reluctant to see two shining new Indian motorbikes be destroyed at the end of the war. They decide to bury them in crates in a peat bog, then come back for them later.
Karen - who is investigating a body found in a beat bog in Wester Ross, shot and lying deep in the ground atop a long-buried Indian motorbike buried in 1044
Ann Markle, aka the Dog Biscuit - the new ACC who replaces Lees, after he's caught up in a high-level scandal. She's ambitious, loves the camera, and hates Karen
Alice Somerville - the granddaughter of Austin, told about the "family legacy" of the bikes, goes to Wester Ross with her husband to retrieve them.
Gerry - placed into Karen's team by the new ACC, Gerry is from MIT but demoted for some unknown reason to the HCU. Desperate to impress the ACC.
Dr River Wilde - forensic expert, and friend to Karen
Arnie Burke - the one who started it all, in 1944, while stationed in Antwerp, Belgium, as an undercover spy in the Nazi camp
Shirley - a potential witness/suspect in the main case Karen's investigating.
~
While there are a lot of varying POV's, some are limited to the discovery of the crime and then never reappear, while some are recurring. For example, Shirley, River, Austin/Kenny and Ann are all solo chapters or scenes. Gerry and Alice have maybe 2-3 scenes, while the story is predominantly Karen, with a few flashbacks to the 1944/1946 timelines.
We're told it's been "more than a year" since Phil died, and Karen is tempted to move on when she meets the mysterious crofter/coffee shop owner, Hamish. Written like a stunning Highland model, I can see why she'd be tempted, though there are some twists and turns that don't make it easy, which I liked. While I loved Phil, it's been a while since he died and I've been on the journey of grief with Karen so much that it feels like she's entitled to move on eventually. I also quite like Hamish as a character, who is a little morally ambiguous and intriguing, potentially with secrets yet to discover.
I loved the exploration of nicknames, within the police force. I thought the Mint and Macaroon were funny, and utterly appropriate, but to learn Karen's is KP Nuts, and that the new ACC is labelled the Dog Biscuit, because of her surname Markie, was hilarious. It's a brilliant display of Scottish gallows humour.
I liked the continuity of the plot, including Cafe Aleppo again, more than just in passing, while also keeping track of the regular series characters, like Jimmy Hutton, River Wilde, Tamsin and so on. It was nice to see familiar faces while exploring new crimes. It was also nice to see how Hutton and their team worked the Murder Prevention Team.
~
In terms of the crimes, there were quite a few this time, and not interlinked as usual.
1) a historic rape/murder spree
2) the body in the peat bog
3) a domestic violence with a potential to lead to murder.
Karen's involvement in all three was interesting, as two were officially her case, and she was a witness to another.
I also liked how there was no set patten or formula for the people involved in the crimes. Not every victim was low class, killed by a high class, or vice versa. They're just everyday, ordinary people. Some are pushed towards murder, some plan well ahead, and other stumble upon it with no plan to actually do it until the time. Every case is different, and every killer unique. I love that you never know what to expect.
However, I did feel that the main case - the body in the bog - was resolved suddenly, at the end. There was a regular chapter, and then within two paragraphs it suddenly summarised how the case was solved, and what happened in the resolution of the other cases. It all came out of nowhere, and I felt a bit robbed of seeing the killer being raked through the court system or at least the press. In this one, the press had been so helpful to Karen, that I'd really hoped for a resolution to all that. However, there was an Epilogue that showed the actual crime taking place, which answered a few lingering questions.
I'll still be reading more of the series, though I'm sad that Book 6 is the end, for now. Book 7 won't be out until October, but this is definitely a series I'll be following, and might even get in paperback for future re-reads.
What I love most about the Karen Pirie books - or maybe it's just Val McDermid's way of writing - is that there's no formula. I've mentioned before how disappointed I was in both the [b:Perfect Remains|32580398|Perfect Remains (D.I. Callanach, #1)|Helen Sarah Fields|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1476210916l/32580398._SY75_.jpg|51608215] Callanach series, and the [b:The Burning|10769683|The Burning (Maeve Kerrigan, #1)|Jane Casey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1317067725l/10769683._SY75_.jpg|14449306] Maeve Kerrigan series, becuase both had firm formulas for each book would function, and despite having the 90% police procedural ratio that I love, they went wildly off script with their ethics and the unbelievability of the plot lines. This never happens with McDermid's books.
The plots are believable, with a human aspect, a police investigation, and the honest fact that you can never quite predict the ridiculous or outrageous things people can and will do to each other. But, the investigations also aren't your bog standard brainiac detective finding all the clues. There's outside sources, like the forensic analysts and experts specific to the case.
In this book, Karen has to rely on a diamond expert, an American detective, the library records, as well as multiple forensic fields, to get the answers she needs. She's not a one-woman-show, by any means, which makes all of her investigative work all the more believable. And Jason gets his fair share of praise and pats on the back for digging up seemingly lost or impossible information. I LOVE that about this series, and McDermid's well researched knowledge of real police investigations.
~
When it comes to POV's, we have a few, but spread across 3 main timelines:
2018 - the present day
1944 - when the entire case began
1995 - when the murder happened
POV's include:
Austin/Kenny - initially unnamed, in the first chapter's POV, they're soldiers in WWII, who are reluctant to see two shining new Indian motorbikes be destroyed at the end of the war. They decide to bury them in crates in a peat bog, then come back for them later.
Karen - who is investigating a body found in a beat bog in Wester Ross, shot and lying deep in the ground atop a long-buried Indian motorbike buried in 1044
Ann Markle, aka the Dog Biscuit - the new ACC who replaces Lees, after he's caught up in a high-level scandal. She's ambitious, loves the camera, and hates Karen
Alice Somerville - the granddaughter of Austin, told about the "family legacy" of the bikes, goes to Wester Ross with her husband to retrieve them.
Gerry - placed into Karen's team by the new ACC, Gerry is from MIT but demoted for some unknown reason to the HCU. Desperate to impress the ACC.
Dr River Wilde - forensic expert, and friend to Karen
Arnie Burke - the one who started it all, in 1944, while stationed in Antwerp, Belgium, as an undercover spy in the Nazi camp
Shirley - a potential witness/suspect in the main case Karen's investigating.
~
While there are a lot of varying POV's, some are limited to the discovery of the crime and then never reappear, while some are recurring. For example, Shirley, River, Austin/Kenny and Ann are all solo chapters or scenes. Gerry and Alice have maybe 2-3 scenes, while the story is predominantly Karen, with a few flashbacks to the 1944/1946 timelines.
We're told it's been "more than a year" since Phil died, and Karen is tempted to move on when she meets the mysterious crofter/coffee shop owner, Hamish. Written like a stunning Highland model, I can see why she'd be tempted, though there are some twists and turns that don't make it easy, which I liked. While I loved Phil, it's been a while since he died and I've been on the journey of grief with Karen so much that it feels like she's entitled to move on eventually. I also quite like Hamish as a character, who is a little morally ambiguous and intriguing, potentially with secrets yet to discover.
I loved the exploration of nicknames, within the police force. I thought the Mint and Macaroon were funny, and utterly appropriate, but to learn Karen's is KP Nuts, and that the new ACC is labelled the Dog Biscuit, because of her surname Markie, was hilarious. It's a brilliant display of Scottish gallows humour.
I liked the continuity of the plot, including Cafe Aleppo again, more than just in passing, while also keeping track of the regular series characters, like Jimmy Hutton, River Wilde, Tamsin and so on. It was nice to see familiar faces while exploring new crimes. It was also nice to see how Hutton and their team worked the Murder Prevention Team.
~
In terms of the crimes, there were quite a few this time, and not interlinked as usual.
1) a historic rape/murder spree
2) the body in the peat bog
3) a domestic violence with a potential to lead to murder.
Karen's involvement in all three was interesting, as two were officially her case, and she was a witness to another.
I also liked how there was no set patten or formula for the people involved in the crimes. Not every victim was low class, killed by a high class, or vice versa. They're just everyday, ordinary people. Some are pushed towards murder, some plan well ahead, and other stumble upon it with no plan to actually do it until the time. Every case is different, and every killer unique. I love that you never know what to expect.
However, I did feel that the main case - the body in the bog - was resolved suddenly, at the end. There was a regular chapter, and then within two paragraphs it suddenly summarised how the case was solved, and what happened in the resolution of the other cases. It all came out of nowhere, and I felt a bit robbed of seeing the killer being raked through the court system or at least the press. In this one, the press had been so helpful to Karen, that I'd really hoped for a resolution to all that. However, there was an Epilogue that showed the actual crime taking place, which answered a few lingering questions.
I'll still be reading more of the series, though I'm sad that Book 6 is the end, for now. Book 7 won't be out until October, but this is definitely a series I'll be following, and might even get in paperback for future re-reads.