BOOK 8 in Series
A thrilling new novel in the Karen Pirie series from number one bestseller and Queen of Crime, Val McDermid
THE MASTERFUL NEW THRILLER IN THE KAREN PIRIE SERIES, NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES
The truth is buried just beneath the surface . . .
When torrential rain causes a landslide on a motorway in Scotland, it reveals a crime scene: someone hid a body in the tarmac eleven years before. Journalist Sam Nimmo had been the prime suspect in the murder of his fiancée when he disappeared, and now DCI Karen Pirie and her Historic Cases Unit must find out who buried him, and why.
Meanwhile in Edinburgh, new evidence reopens a closed case and the accidental death of a hotel manager starts to look like murder. But what did Tom Jamieson’s book club have to do with his demise – and what will they do to keep their secrets?
Karen and her team begin to untangle a web of lies, one which connects their murder cases with Scotland’s rich and powerful. They will be tested to their limits – and possibly beyond . . .
Publication date UK: 23 October 2025 (Little, Brown Book Group)
Publication date US: 02 December 2025
For a list of Translation Publishers: click here
Series: Karen Pirie – book 8
A hugely enjoyable heart-stopping afternoon in the company of Queen Macbeth and her three wise women. I *love* the Darkland tales! — DAMIAN BARR
A page-turning tale of adversity and adventure, laughter and love, death and defiance. — THE SCOTSMAN
Among the most exciting series of books of recent years. — SNACK MAGAZINE
A wondrous tale of subterfuge, courage, and resolve set among Kings and Queens, war and passion in eleventh century Scotland — LOVEREADING
A historical romance seen from the perspective of a strong and determined woman fighting for life and love — MAIL ON SUNDAY
Val McDermid painta a more sympathetic and certainly more feminist portrait of the Queen, adding subtlety, romance and drama to her story. — DUNDEE COURIER
In the fifth book in the critically acclaimed ‘Darkland Tales’ series from Polygon Val McDermid plunges into medieval Scotland. Overturning Shakespears’s propaganda, the reader will encounter a new Lady Macbeth amidst a web of vicious intrigue. — GOODREADING MAGAZINE AUSTRALIA
This gripping entry in the Darkland Tales series of fictional retellings of Scottish history finds the mighty Val McDermid interpret the story of Lady Macbeth with searing feminist power. – WATERSTONES SAYS
A powerful, moving, timely retelling of the story of a legendary queen. — LIFE_OF_REILLY_76
Successfully dismantled my blood-soaked Shakespearean assumptions about Lady Macbeth. — LIBBY BROOKS
McDermid’s short, sharp novel does everything it can do to upset the narrative we think we know to tell us a magical new story… a pushy, playful rewriting of Shakespeare and Scottish history in the context of the hurly-burly present. — THE CONVERSATION
Chapter after chapter, past and present are warp and weft, alternately interweaving the compelling, violent machinations of pre-Scotland royal bloodlines with an enthralling love story. McDermid offers a no-nonsense, authentic earthiness of language, dialogue and descriptive passages. — HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY
It is Thelma and Louise with crossbows. The three companions are delightfully skilled, fast, furious, and deadly in battle… a terrific novella. — WEST HIGHLAND FREE PREE
In Queen Macbeth, McDermid brings [Lady Macbeth’s] story to life as only she can, with a vivid and often vicious depiction of medieval Scotland based on Gruoch’s life and times. — SNACK MAGAZINE
It’s a story we think we all know, but this excellent novel will tell you otherwise. — BOOKS FROM SCOTLAND
Val Mcdermid’s reimagining of the Macbeth story involves as daring a trick as anything Shakespeare provided for the theatre… the alternative Lady Macbeth will please many of [McDermid’s] readers. — THE SCOTSMAN
McDermid allows Lady Macbeth to reclaim her real name – Gruoch – and casts her in an altogether more sympathetic light. — THE IRISH NEWS
McDermid is best known for her crime books, and there’s plenty of blood and guts in this one, but here she has delved into Scotland’s past to bring us a version of history from the female perspective. — SA (AUSTRALIA)
Very beautiful. — BBC SATURDAY LIVE
This book is one of the finest ones Val has written because it has shown the versatility and the depth and breadth of the literary talent she undoubtedly is. — NICOLA STURGEON
McDermid steps into the breach with a novel that offers a very different interpretation of this medieval queen, attempting to redress centuries of misinformation. — HERALD
I enjoyed Queen Macbeth so much… I really enjoyed going back to the eleventh century. — ABC RADIO
Queen Macbeth fits well into the Darkland Tales series, but it also fits well into the McDermid canon, which has since her very first novel featured determined women battling to have their voices heard — CRIME BOOK GIRL
Terse, atmospheric, and superbly reimagined, McDermid’s latest perfectly captures the terror of living in a medieval Scotland riven by violence. Scottish history enthusiasts will enjoy. — LIBRARY JOURNAL
Queen Macbeth is a fascinating and thought-provoking addition to this series of dramatic retellings of stories from Scotland’s past that intersect history, myth and legend. — HISTORICAL NOVELS REVIEW
