A review by andreagl
The Distant Echo by Val McDermid

5.0

I did things a bit differently and read this book after having seen the show and read the other Karen Pirie books. This was going all the way to the beginning for my journey with this character and I have no regrets. The show changed a lot of things about the story, including the perspectives - this novel is mostly told through the voice of the four St. Andrews students who happened upon a murder victim 25 years ago. Significant portions of the book are about the murder investigation in the 1980s told from the pov of the witness/suspects and the investigators. When the case comes under view near the 25th anniversary of the murder, a young Karen Pirie is assigned to it and without spoiling the story, I think people who watched the show will find the book to be entirely different in how the mystery unfolds. This is one of Val McDermid's best.