Reviews

For some reason, this book is listed as the first of the "Karen Pirie" series. I'd read one further along the line (#5, I think it was) and figured to try to begin at the beginning. Karen Pirie has only a couple of cameo appearances in this book. Weird.

So, we begin in 1978. Four extremely inebriated youth are staggering home after a late night of partying and one of them falls across the body of a young bar maid, Rosie Duff. She's been stabbed. The police, not really knowing what to do, figure one of the boys is a chief suspect, and the tabloids certainly like them as perps. But, all attempts to find incriminating evidence on any of the boys is not to be found.

Then we fast forward twenty-five years. The police decide to open up a cold case, using the tools of modern forensics that were unavailable at the time of Rosie Duff's original killing. In addition, it appears that Rosie Duff had had a child at one time—immediately adopted off and well hushed— and he has decided that the boys must pay for having murdered his mother. He becomes quite obsessive about it. But, for some reason, most of the forensic evidence from 25 years previously has mysteriously disappeared.

Next thing you know, first one, then a second of the boys, now of course men with various careers, is killed off in suspicious circumstances. So what is going on?

Basically, the police don't seem to be doing much of anything, and it's some of the original four who begin doing a bit of sleuthing on their own to come up with a surprising solution.

This was a pretty interesting and engaging book, but as I said, attributing it to a "Karen Pirie series" is a bit of a stretch.

jakewritesbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

It's crystal clear that I need to read more Val McDermid.

A Place of Execution was one of the best things I read in 2021, but I consistently punt on her books. I finally bought 1979 with some Christmas money after returning it three times to the library unfinished. I don't know why, don't ask me to explain it. She's very good.

Like the other one I read, this is a character driven crime novel with a mystery that's resolved in a textured way. There are twists that feel legit, as opposed to the Jump Scare Style of so many thriller writers. The persons are all three dimensional and the stakes high. I had a decent idea of who the killer was but this still go me thinking.

I read this because the BBC series Karen Pirie is now broadcasting stateside. I wouldn't recommend picking it up just for that. Pirie herself doesn't even show up until act two and isn't really featured until near the end. This isn't a book about high end sleuthing. The bulk of the plot revolves around the four boys/men who discovered the body and how their lives changed after...and to see if one of them is the killer. So it's not that kind of catch-and-mouse whodunnit featuring a brilliant detective and a villain. But it's still very good and I encourage everyone to try it.

I'm looking forward to seeing what they cull from this for the series. And I'm definitely looking forward to reading more Val McDermid. No more excuses.

More...