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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
roseflr's review against another edition
4.0
After hearing several recommendations of her work, I finally got around to reading a Val McDermid book. I enjoyed it and found a lot to like about her style and character development, but I was a bit surprised that the whodunit aspect was so obvious after just a few chapters. I suppose that's simply a different sort of construction, valid as any, and I'll look forward to reading more of her work.
macponioftdy's review against another edition
2.0
Less of a mystery than an exposition of the bleakness of police work and necessity for work-life balance. Pirie's two cases both have novel elements, but this narrative is a slow plod across Europe to a disappointing answer. There's no cleverness in the police, in the criminals, no justice, and no elegance in the revelation. There's not a lot of danger. We have straightforward investigative work, following one clue to others past a dead end, a loose end, and on to a pretty easy answer. Investigative work is intercut with flashbacks, which at best add color and depth to a witness story, but at other times dash any developing tension.
I think I usually read McDermid for her weird, dark people, but here the only clearly drawn character is the 1984-85 miners' strike, the setting of the original events. McDermid draws a stark and immersive picture of how brutal the strike was for miners and everyone around them and is still remembered today.
I think I usually read McDermid for her weird, dark people, but here the only clearly drawn character is the 1984-85 miners' strike, the setting of the original events. McDermid draws a stark and immersive picture of how brutal the strike was for miners and everyone around them and is still remembered today.
Spoiler
I really thought the answer would be that Mick wasn't the sick kid's grandfather. It would explain why Jenny was so reluctant to have him pursued, and been a slightly more interesting reason why Adam couldn't donate. I've probably forgotten some reasons why this wouldn't work, but I thought it would have fit better.pegish's review against another edition
4.0
[b:A Darker Domain|2573867|A Darker Domain (Inspector Karen Pirie, #2)|Val McDermid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327955800l/2573867._SY75_.jpg|2585962]
A really fun mystery with loads of twists and turns even to the last sentence.
A really fun mystery with loads of twists and turns even to the last sentence.
mary_bear's review against another edition
4.0
Un polar extrêmement bien ficelé et tout aussi prenant, et ce malgré un début de lecture laborieux provoqué par mon overdose de culture britannique que je vis au quotidien et qui m'épuise plutôt qu'elle ne me paraît exotique.
Un coup de coeur pour les lieux des intrigues, l'Écosse et sa culture bien sûr et l'Italie aussi, ainsi que pour les personnages, tous très riches et intéressants, mais surtout pour le travail des intrigues croisées plus que plausibles et vraiment captivantes.
Une petite déception en revanche pour, finalement, pas autant d'information sur les grèves des mineurs de 1984 que je l'espérais...
Un coup de coeur pour les lieux des intrigues, l'Écosse et sa culture bien sûr et l'Italie aussi, ainsi que pour les personnages, tous très riches et intéressants, mais surtout pour le travail des intrigues croisées plus que plausibles et vraiment captivantes.
Une petite déception en revanche pour, finalement, pas autant d'information sur les grèves des mineurs de 1984 que je l'espérais...
twrafferty's review against another edition
4.0
A complicated tale that weaves together the impact of the miners' strike in Fife, a cold case, and a kidnapping gone wrong. A page-turner.
kchisholm's review against another edition
4.0
Val McDermid has tackled some social history that is obviously very dear to her own heart in A DARKER DOMAIN, and it has to be said, she's done it with considerable style. Not only does this book give you a fascinating glimpse into the social chaos and personal pain caused by the Miner's Strikes in early 1980's Britain, it carries the story of three unfathomable disappearances.
Cold Case squad detectives DI Karen Pirie and DS Phil Parhatka are initially looking into the disappearance of Mick Prentice - reported missing 22 years after he supposedly broke ranks and joined the scabs in the devastating miners' strike of 1984. There's also the baffling disappearance of Mick's mate Andy about the same time. Unfortunately Karen's boss thinks that new evidence in the case of the dead heiress and missing son (and grandson) of a wealthy and powerful man is more important. Karen isn't all that fazed by pressure from on high though, and she's able to dance a fine line between both investigations.
The action in this book does take a couple of overseas trips to Tuscany, but mostly it stays within the small mining community of East Wemyss (a place that Val spent time with her grandparents as a child), and the way that the setting is portrayed in this book is wonderful. Not just the look and layout of the place, but the psyche of the place. The damage that the miners' strike caused, within families, throughout the community, the fractured lives demonstrated was really moving in some places, but at no stage did it become sentimental or overblown. There's also romantic element to this book which is also well done and quite funny. In fact that is something about this book which you wouldn't expect - there is a sense of humour amidst the sadness that lifts the story beautifully.
DI Karen Pirie is a tremendous character, with (hopefully), real possibilities for an ongoing series. An archetypal maverick police officer maybe - she's just not afraid to manipulate, defy and flat out be as devious as she needs, to do what she thinks is the right thing. Phil as her offsider is perfect, less emotional, equally as determined, they are a really good team.
An extremely solid and nicely twisting plot; a couple of very engaging central characters; an interfering and weak boss; a powerful man who wants to know where his grandson is; a daughter who needs to find her father; a wife who cannot forgive; and a sister who is grief stricken 22 years after the unexplained; there's an enormous amount in A DARKER DOMAIN. But at the base of it is a community that was destroyed - to the point where the abnormal was accepted as the normal, and there's no sign of recovery. Beautifully done, A DARKER DOMAIN is simply and utterly a wow of a book.
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Cold Case squad detectives DI Karen Pirie and DS Phil Parhatka are initially looking into the disappearance of Mick Prentice - reported missing 22 years after he supposedly broke ranks and joined the scabs in the devastating miners' strike of 1984. There's also the baffling disappearance of Mick's mate Andy about the same time. Unfortunately Karen's boss thinks that new evidence in the case of the dead heiress and missing son (and grandson) of a wealthy and powerful man is more important. Karen isn't all that fazed by pressure from on high though, and she's able to dance a fine line between both investigations.
The action in this book does take a couple of overseas trips to Tuscany, but mostly it stays within the small mining community of East Wemyss (a place that Val spent time with her grandparents as a child), and the way that the setting is portrayed in this book is wonderful. Not just the look and layout of the place, but the psyche of the place. The damage that the miners' strike caused, within families, throughout the community, the fractured lives demonstrated was really moving in some places, but at no stage did it become sentimental or overblown. There's also romantic element to this book which is also well done and quite funny. In fact that is something about this book which you wouldn't expect - there is a sense of humour amidst the sadness that lifts the story beautifully.
DI Karen Pirie is a tremendous character, with (hopefully), real possibilities for an ongoing series. An archetypal maverick police officer maybe - she's just not afraid to manipulate, defy and flat out be as devious as she needs, to do what she thinks is the right thing. Phil as her offsider is perfect, less emotional, equally as determined, they are a really good team.
An extremely solid and nicely twisting plot; a couple of very engaging central characters; an interfering and weak boss; a powerful man who wants to know where his grandson is; a daughter who needs to find her father; a wife who cannot forgive; and a sister who is grief stricken 22 years after the unexplained; there's an enormous amount in A DARKER DOMAIN. But at the base of it is a community that was destroyed - to the point where the abnormal was accepted as the normal, and there's no sign of recovery. Beautifully done, A DARKER DOMAIN is simply and utterly a wow of a book.
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