Description

The second riveting crime novel in the Karen Pirie series, from No.1 Sunday Times bestseller Val McDermid.

‘A superb mystery’ The Times

From the creators of Line of Duty and Bodyguard, KAREN PIRIE is now on ITV, starring Lauren Lyle (Outlander)
Twenty-five years ago, a woman and her baby son were kidnapped and held to ransom. Catriona Grant ended up dead and little Adam’s fate has remained a mystery ever since.

When a new clue is discovered in a deserted Tuscan villa – along with grisly evidence of a recent murder – cold case expert DI Karen Pirie is assigned to follow the trail.

She’s already working a case from the same year. During the Miners’ Strike of 1984, pit worker Mick Prentice vanished. Where did he really go? And is there a link to the Grant mystery?

The truth is stranger – and far darker – than fiction.

Publisher Review

'An absorbing novel, one of her best' The Times 'Val McDermid is a born storyteller... absorbing reading' Sunday Telegraph 'A searing piece ... McDermid orchestrates the tension with authority... After reading McDermid's novel, readers may wish that more crime fiction would have the guts to take on serious issues' Express 'Torture, warped psyches, unspeakable cellars: Val McDermid sends you to bed with lights blazing' Sunday Times 'One of the best modern writers of crime fiction ... Excellent' Scotland on Sunday Praise for Val McDermid: 'No one rivals Val McDermid's skill at writing truly terrifying thrillers' Good Housekeeping 'The real mistress of psychological gripping thrillers' Daily Express 'McDermid's capacity to enter the warped mind of a deviant criminal is shiveringly convincing' The Times 'Val McDermid is undoubtedly the queen of British crime' Observer 'McDermid's expertly juggled plotlines and masterful handling of pace and tension tick all the best boxes' Guardian 'The queen of crime is still at the top of her game' Independent 'One of today's most accomplished crime writers' Literary Review 'Her writing is never less than excellent' Crime Time