Out of Bounds: A Karen Pirie Novel

Tightly plotted … McDermid applies her formidable intelligence and muscular style to the kind of urban crime novel that gives Scotland its tough rep and vigorous lingo … [A] superior series. –Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

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. It’s a cold case that should be straightforward. But it’s as twisted as the DNA helix itself. Meanwhile, Karen, mired in grief after the death of her partner, finds herself irresistibly drawn to a mystery that has its roots in a terrorist bombing two decades ago. Karen’s intuition is telling her something doesn’t add up. But is she onto something? Or has she, as her boss has been waiting for, gone too far this time? An enthralling, twisty read that takes Karen into the vagaries of privacy law, the history of the Northern Irish Troubles, and right into the heart of power in London, Out of Bounds reaffirms Val McDermid’s place as one of our finest crime writers.

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

There are few other crime writers in the same league as Val McDermid … Another terrific and intricate suspense novel by a writer who has given us 30 of them. – Washington Post

Exciting … [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

Thirty books in, most crime writers start to flag, but not Val McDermid … McDermid’s work always slashes like a knife. –The Globe and Mail (Canada)