Past Lying

Karen Pirie Novels, Book 7

By: Val McDermid

Narrated by: Lauren Lyle

In this latest installment to her acclaimed detective series, internationally bestselling author Val McDermid returns with DCI Karen Pirie in a propulsive new thriller of deceit and vengeance, set against the disquiet and investigative challenges of a global pandemic

Hailed as Britain’s “Queen of Crime” (Scotsman), Val McDermid is the award-winning, internationally bestselling author of over thirty novels that have enthralled readers and listeners for the past three decades. The long-awaited seventh novel in McDermid’s acclaimed Karen Pirie series, Past Lying is a breakneck collision of ego, retribution, and just how far one will go to settle the score.

It’s April 2020 and Edinburgh is in lockdown, but that doesn’t mean crime takes a holiday. It would seem like a strange time for a cold case to go hot—the streets all but empty, an hour’s outdoor exercise the maximum allowed—but when a source at the National Library contacts DCI Karen Pirie’s team about documents in the archive of a recently deceased crime novelist, it seems it’s game on again. What unspools is a twisted game of betrayal and revenge, but no one quite expects how many twists it will turn out to have.

Tense, atmospheric, and relentlessly captivating, Past Lying is another winner from Val McDermid, and new and longtime readers alike will delight in this triumphant return to a stellar series.

©2023 Val McDermid (P)2023 W.F. Howes, Ltd.

Another great read by Val

Great suspense, vivid characters and setting , lives up to McDermid’s abs fab reputation yada yada

Val at Her Best

The growth of characters in a real and caring way entwined with appalling masochist behavior.

Excellent story line

It took a while to understand the narrator’s Scottish accent, but the more I listened to her the clearer her narration became.

Characters and plot kept me interested and enjoying the mystery.

Narration not as good as past books

I really like this series, this is book 7. I will only be listening to more of her books if the narrator is different from this one

The author has an intriguing mind

I continue to be surprised by the amount of research and the level of intricacy of her plots. I like her books I enjoy reading them.