Blog Tour: Val McDermid's 30th crime fiction novel, Out of Bounds

McDermid, with deft paint strokes, paints an authentic picture of both character and setting throughout
Out Of Bounds.  The over enthusiastic hotwiring of a car by Red Bull and Vodka fuelled youths in Chapter 1 is so vivid you can almost smell the alcohol.   This is swiftly followed by a visit to a Kinross pub where we meet Gabriel Abbott, eccentric and confused, before moving on to Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie, head of the Historic case Unit, who is grieving and in despair, then... there's the dead body.


I love McDermid's Karen Pirie cold case series and Out of Bounds is no exception.  There is something deliciously satisfying about the concept of solving a cold case or mystery that's lain unsolved for decades.  Through these cold cases of Pirie's, McDermid explores the huge advances i n forensics science that have made closure of many of these cases almost an inevitability - especially with Pirie on the case- she's like a Rottweiler on speed!

Though arguably not quite as gripping as The Skeleton Road, Out of Bounds is without a doubt a thrilling engaging read.   
When a DNA sample a young joy rider shows up familial match to a twenty year old rape and murder Karen is immediately on the case.  then the coincidence of another death which has links to an IRA attack decades ago makes Karen wonder if all is as it seems. 
In Out of Bounds we see an evolving character in Pirie.  Adjusting to her changed circumstances and reaching out to old friends we see a very different side to her.  One which I felt was both poignant and hopeful.  Another McDermid triumph! 
Available on Amazon Kindle £9.99, HB £12.91, PB £7.99 click here