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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is the first book in the Karin Pirie series, but she plays an alarmingly small role. I know this is blasphemous, but I actually liked the TV series based on this book more than the book itself. I liked the changes they made to the plot as it was more palatable. I’ll pick up the next book, because I know I loved the fifth one, but I was a bit disappointed with this one.
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a rattling good read as Val mcdermid introduces us to a cold case squad which includes D.C. Karen pirie ,albeit in a minor role in this book.
Four drunk St Andrews university students on a snowy December night in 1978 stumble across a young woman dying of a stab wound and fall immediately under suspicion of her murder. 25 yrs later the cold case squad investigates and we learn how the events have changed theirs and others lives.
A really compelling plot and a book that I couldn't put down.
Four drunk St Andrews university students on a snowy December night in 1978 stumble across a young woman dying of a stab wound and fall immediately under suspicion of her murder. 25 yrs later the cold case squad investigates and we learn how the events have changed theirs and others lives.
A really compelling plot and a book that I couldn't put down.
A murder in the 70s dragging it's nasty tracks through the lives of the four young university students who found her. And as a cold case review picks up the case, everything comes right back to haunt all the people marked by the experience. And as this is Val McDermid, things are twisted, and take unexpected turns. For something turning into a series it's remarkable our detective does not turn up until halfway through, but then it's not about her. It's about everybody else affected by the initial murder and the suspicion that has been hanging over them for 25 years - and what that does to people.
Audible. This book started with a bang, loved the first half of the book and liked the narrator. The second half started dragging. It should have been shorter.
Hurray! Another series to fill the void left after finishing the Carol/Tony books. You're only allowed brief glimpses of Karen Pirie so who knows what's in store in this series. A wonderful introduction though.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I read this book because Val McDermid was a judge on the booker prize in 2018. It was a pretty good mystery novel. I liked the plot. I would give this one a 3.8/5.