Val McDermid manages to stay at the top of her game in her latest ... cDermid, an avid gamer and early adopter of social media, moves effortlessly between scenes of a musty archive, old-fashioned shoe leather and cutting-edge technology. She captures the camaraderie of those who toil in the keyboard trenches and the never-ending competition for the spoils of literary success.
In the series’s seventh installment, the team find themselves at loose ends at the beginning of the pandemic. (Setting Past Lying during the coronavirus was a gutsy move, since the conventional wisdom is that pandemic books don’t sell. Luckily, the Scottish Queen of Crime ignored this) ... McDermid has a high old time satirizing Scotland’s crime-fiction scene, portraying it as a misogynist hive of gossip, backbiting, and awards envy ... McDermid outdoes herself with the thorny, semi-meta plot; even the book within a book, a device that can be tedious, is irresistible. Trying to figure out who’s playing whom while relishing McDermid’s behind-the-scenes take on Tartan Noir should keep readers up past their bedtimes.
...it’s absorbing, even compelling, splendidly puzzling, very clever, but thrilling it isn’t. It’s a puzzle novel. The reader is encouraged to find the way to the centre of a maze. The plot is improbable, but this doesn’t matter any more than it does in the best Agatha Christie novels ... McDermid plots her novels in masterly style. She holds the reader’s attention and provokes our curiosity. She keeps her narrative jogging along, and I doubt if many will lay aside this book, slow though the narrative often is. Her ingenuity commands respect, and she has the necessary novelistic gift of making the implausible seem right. This takes some doing, especially since the centrepiece of this book is unlikely. It takes skill to make the improbable ring true ... Val McDermid is deservedly popular and now acclaimed as the Queen of Crime. She is a fine carpenter, her books always well-constructed. She has the confidence to take her time in the telling of her story and even though the elaborate plot at the centre of this novel borders on the incredible, she brings it off with admirable efficiency. At her best and, despite my dislike of her DCI Pirie, she is at her ingenious best here, she is almost in the PD James and Ruth Rendell class.
While the author’s style drives the story with excellent pacing, she takes the time to insert some arch characterizations ... McDermid’s novel is a generously sized, big book with an entertaining puzzle within a puzzle and a great tongue-in-cheek attitude.
Pirie is a probing, astute detective with a heart of gold and a taste for justice, even when she doesn’t get the support she needs from her superiors. Meanwhile, her relationship with Hamish is also on the line, so Pirie has plenty to ponder despite the world being seemingly on hold. Past Lying is another finely plotted Karen Pirie page turner that will leave readers wanting more.
...takes time to get going, mostly because the characters aren't allowed to be in the same room together. Much of the early action is through phone calls, virtual meetings, FaceTime. The pace quickens as Pirie and crew adhere to lockdown rules but find ways to do their jobs. The twists and turns are satisfying, especially the meta quality of a crime writer writing about crime writers and the book-within-a-book structure.If nothing else, Past Lying is worth a read for the Scottish slang.
Past Lying is a wonder to behold. I place it directly next to McDermid’s finest works...Her use of the pandemic is one of the most clever I have seen to date, and the story within a story that constantly references such greats as Agatha Christie and the aforementioned Highsmith makes this a novel that cannot be missed.
McDermid’s fans know better than to trust...a simple solution. She ingeniously flips over the rug and examines the pattern in reverse. Karen and her supporting cast are absorbing, providing insight into the restrictions on police work during the pandemic and plenty of Scottish flavor
McDermid masterfully uses the lockdown as another character in the book, making the novel especially atmospheric. Stay-at-home orders preclude the usage of the detectives' normal strategies and nearly get Pirie and her team in trouble with the higher-ups for breaking regulations ... Tartan noir at its finest, Past Lying is perfect for fans of Ian Rankin or Denise Mina.
With an intricate plot, authentic dialogue, rich details, and masterly McDermid twists and turns, [Past Lying] will delight Pirie fans, existing and new
