Out of Bounds

Out of Bounds

BOOK 4 in Series

‘There were a lot of things that ran in families, but murder wasn’t one of them …’Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie is an expert at solving the unsolvable.

With each cold case closed, justice is served. So when a teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car and ends up in a coma, a routine DNA test could be the key to unlocking the mystery of a twenty-year-old murder inquiry. Finding the answer should be straightforward, but it’s as twisted as the DNA helix itself. Meanwhile, Karen finds herself irresistibly drawn to another case, one that she has no business investigating. And as she pieces together decades-old evidence, Karen discovers the most dangerous kind of secrets. Secrets that someone is willing to kill for …Number one bestseller Val McDermid returns with her most atmospheric, spine-chilling and gripping novel to date.

Publication date UK: 25 August 2016 (Little, Brown Book Group)
Publication date US: 06 December 2016 (Grove Atlantic)
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Description

Out of Bounds
Number one bestseller Val McDermid presents another chilling and suspenseful novel!

Karen Pirie finds herself irresistibly drawn to another mystery that she has no business investigating…
When a teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car and ends up in a coma, a routine DNA test reveals a connection to an unsolved murder from twenty-two years before. Finding the answer to the cold case should be straightforward. But it’s as twisted as the DNA helix itself.

Meanwhile, Karen Pirie finds herself irresistibly drawn to another mystery that she has no business investigating, a mystery that has its roots in a terrorist bombing two decades ago. And again, she finds that nothing is as it seems…

Out of Bounds

Series: Karen Pirie Series – Book 4

Out of bounds
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Out of Bounds

Series: Karen Pirie Series – Book 4

Out of bounds
Listen to audio sample >>

Reviews

Reviews

McDermid excels in putting the reader at the center of the action. A tightly paced mystery. My bones tell me we haven’t seen the last of Inspector Pirie – or at least I hope not. — Janet Napolitano, Los Angeles Times

McDermid’s expertly juggled plotlines and masterful handling of pace and tension tick all the best boxes, but what makes this book a real cracker is Pirie herself – grieving, insubordinate and dogged in her pursuit of the various culprits. — Laura Wilson, The Guardian

McDermid balances the intense character studies in Out of Bounds with an inside view of the Scottish legal system and again shows her acuity in producing intelligent thrillers. –Associated Press

There are few other crime writers in the same league as Val McDermid. –Washington Post

A thriller as steely and superlative as its heroine. – O, The Oprah Magazine

McDermid applies her formidable intelligence and muscular style to the kind of urban crime novel that gives Scotland its tough rep and vigorous lingo. It’s the brawny characters and their beefy dialect that really keeps us coming back to this superior series. – New York Times

Readers will easily connect with Karen, whose unwavering confidence is tempered by a strong dose of kindness and sense of justice. Satisfying investigative detail, swift pacing, and realistic mysteries steeped in the intricacies of Scottish law; a sure fit for fans of Tana French and of Denise Mina’s Alex Morrow series. – Booklist (starred review)

Engaging . . . Pirie, a tough heroine cut from the same cloth as McDermid’s other fictional stalwart, Carol Jordan, never backs down from a thorny question or a seemingly impossible case.  –Publishers Weekly

Karen’s refusal to suffer her foolish superiors gladly is very appealing. As is her winning combination of being both brooding and no-nonsense. This . . . entertaining mystery has the grace of a heroine on the verge of coming into her own as a character whom readers will want to spend time with.  – Kirkus Reviews

McDermid’s expertly juggled plotlines and masterful handling of pace and tension tick all the best boxes, but what makes this book a real cracker is Pirie herself–grieving, insubordinate and dogged in her pursuit of the various culprits. – The Guardian (UK)

What superlatives are there left to describe the phenomenon that is the multi-award-winning McDermid? . . . Told with McDermid’s legendary verve and eye for detail, it grabs the reader by the throat and never lets go. – Daily Mail (UK)

An engaging new novel… McDermid’s 30th novel offers fascinating insights into the ethical dilemmas thrown up by advances in forensic science. – Sunday Times (UK)

On her 30th novel . . . none is more deserving of the queen-of-crime mantle than Val McDermid . . . I would like to see a great deal more of DCI Pirie. – Irish Times

McDermid concocts complex plots with plenty of twists and red herrings. At times the tension is palpable and there are genuine surprises . . . McDermid is a dab hand at creating enough plausibility to make her contributions to the genre intensely readable. – Glasgow Herald

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