Reviews

Past Lying by Val McDermid

xflowerfairyx's review against another edition

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informative mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

els04's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

 
De leugen voorbij. Door: Val McDermid. 
 
McDermid ken ik al jaren, maar op de één of andere manier verloor ik haar een beetje uit het oog (geen thrillers meer lezen enzo) tot ik Karen Pirie in haar debardeur op tv zag: instant verliefd. Vlak daarna verscheen Stilleven; een nieuwe McDermid mét Karen (KP Nuts), ik las hem direct en vond die zo goed. Mijn verwachtingen voor De Leugen voorbij waren daardoor hoog gespannen en werden helemaal ingelost! 
 
De plot is vrij ingewikkeld maar blijft goed te volgen, ik had zelfs vrij snel een vermoeden in verband met de ‘who done it’ maar het hoe en waarom bleef uitermate spannend. Het verhaal speelt zich af in april 2020, midden in de lockdown; een periode waar ik niet graag aan herinnerd wordt. Ik hou dus niet van boeken met een virus-sausje. Aangezien McDermid’s reeks over Pirie blijft evolueren in tijd moest ze natuurlijk deze trieste periode tot een onderdeel van haar boeken maken. Maar wees gerust: ze doet dat goed, oef. 
 
Karen zelf speelt, ofcourse, weer de hoofdrol maar ook Daisy en Jason doen weer mee. Ze onderzoeken de verdwijning van Lara, die iets te maken blijkt te hebben met een manuscript en misdaadschrijvers: boeiend! Daarnaast is er ook een nevenplot in verband met een asielzoeker, liefdesperikelen tussen Karen en Hamish, familieproblemen bij Jason en Zoom-zuchten voor Daisy. 
 
Dat alles maakt dit boek spannend én boeiend tot op het einde, je voelt je echt deel van het onderzoeksteam en dat is zo tof. Val McDermid kan schrijven, dat weten we al langer. Ik heb zin in meer Karen Pirie: op tv én op papier! 

wediblino's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Really enjoyed this for an easily digestible crime story. It’s a crime writer writing about crime writers, so it gets a bit meta and self-referential at times which made me feel like I wasn’t in on the joke, but generally love a bit of Val and will defo read more of her work. 

sjyudelson's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

strawbkatie's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

i did really enjoy this, my first val mcdermid and i wasn’t disappointed :) i wish id realised it was set in the pandemic though, after 400 odd pages it does get really quite annoying to read about - i don’t want to keep thinking about it?? the mystery itself was really intriguing, although it was a bit of a slow burner with a rather random side plot i’d recommend reading:)

mjallirow's review against another edition

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3.0

I debated between 3 and 4 because I truly hated how big a part Covid lockdown face masks two meters apart protocol distancing etc etc played in it. Nothing about Covid interests me I don’t want to think about that. But the mystery was good, the case was interesting and when there wasn’t Covid mentions it was super engaging and easy to read. And it made me want to read the other books in this series from book one, I picked this up in an airport so jumped into a series haha. Also the blurb at the end about the author - sorry she wrote wire in the blood?! She wrote psychologist Tony Hill!? The impact that tv show had on me… so I almost bumped it up to 4 but it was probably more a 3,5 for me and having thought about it 3 seems a little more accurate.

coleycole's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

jodannna's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

nictans_001's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

bmarvallace's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

i really liked the premise of the story, i thought it was really interesting and unique, but i really could not stand how prevalent the covid lockdowns were throughout the book. i understand it makes it more realistic for that time period, but it just seemed all-consuming and it made me want to DNF i dont even know how many times.