Past Lying: The twisty new Karen Pirie thriller, now a major ITV series

· Hachette UK
4.8
31 reviews
Ebook
464
Pages
Eligible
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About this ebook

KAREN PIRIE RETURNS. A MASTERFUL THRILLER BY THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER VAL MCDERMID

THE HEART-POUNDING NEW NOVEL IN THE KAREN PIRIE SERIES, NOW A MAJOR ITV SERIES STARRING LAUREN LYLE
__________

'Another jewel in Val McDermid's crown' MICK HERRON

'A must-read for anyone who enjoys top-knotch crime fiction' YOURS

'A chilling, twisting triumph. Past Lying is a classic mystery' CHRIS WHITAKER

Edinburgh, haunted by the ghosts of its many writers, is also the cold case beat of DCI Karen Pirie. So she shouldn't be surprised when an author's manuscript appears to be a blueprint for an actual crime.

Karen can't ignore the plot's chilling similarities to the unsolved case of an Edinburgh University student who vanished from her own doorstep. The manuscript seems to be the key to unlocking what happened to Lara Hardie, but there's a problem: the author died before he finished it.

As Karen digs deeper, she uncovers a spiralling game of betrayal and revenge, where lies are indistinguishable from the truth and with more than one unexpected twist . . .

The Queen of Crime Val McDermid is at the top of her game in her most gripping and fiendishly clever case yet.

Praise for Val McDermid

'McDermid is at her considerable best' GUARDIAN

'Irresistible' PATRICIA CORNWELL

'A brilliant novel by a supremo of the genre' PETER JAMES

'Outstanding' SPECTATOR

'Another masterpiece' DAVID BALDACCI

'Sensational. One of Britain's most accomplished writers' SUNDAY EXPRESS

'Wickedly entertaining' DAILY MAIL

Ratings and reviews

4.8
31 reviews
Duchess Sarah Ferguson
December 5, 2023
A superlative mystery-thriller from the Scottish Queen of Crime Fiction. Karen Pirie and her team investigate a twisted case with links to Scotland's crime-writing community while subject to the restrictions of the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. I'd enthusiastically recommend Past Lying to any reader who's enjoyed previous series instalments over the past 20 years, and to those new to either D.I. Karen Pirie or Val McDermid's substantial body of much-lauded work.
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THOMAS
April 25, 2024
The author's writing is solid, with well-timed plot twists that keep readers eagerly anticipating the next page.
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nita guy
January 2, 2025
love the characters and the crack from Karen
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About the author

Val McDermid is an international number one bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than forty languages. Her multi-award-winning series and standalone novels have been adapted for TV and radio, most notably the Wire in the Blood series featuring clinical psychologist Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan. The Karen Pirie novels have now been adapted for a major ITV series.

Val has been chair of the judges for the Wellcome Book Prize and the Gordon Burn Prize, and has served as a judge for the Women's Prize for Fiction, the Man Booker Prize and the Royal Society Book Prize. She is the recipient of eight honorary doctorates and is an Honorary Fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford. She is a visiting professor in the Centre of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Otago in New Zealand. Among her many awards are the CWA Diamond Dagger recognising lifetime achievement and the Theakston's Old Peculier award for Outstanding Contribution to Crime Writing. Val is also an experienced broadcaster and much-sought-after columnist and commentator across print media.

www.valmcdermid.com
Instagram @quineofcrime

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