First Chapter First Paragraph: Out of Bounds by Val McDermid

Published on by Margaret

Every Tuesday First Chapter, First Paragraph/Intros is hosted by Vicky of I’d Rather Be at the Beach sharing the first paragraph or two of a book she’s reading or plans to read soon.

This week I’ve chosen the last book I bought just a few days ago. It’s Out of Bounds by Val McDermid, the fourth Karen Pirie book and her 30th novel.

Out of Bounds (Inspector Karen Pirie, #4)

 

‘Some night, eh. boys?’ Ross Garvie flung a sweaty arm round the neck of Wee Grantie, his best mate in the world.

‘Some night, right enough,’ Wee Grantie slurred. The two youths swung their hips in rough unison to the deep dark bass beat that shuddered through the club.

Blurb (Amazon):

‘There are lots of things that ran in families, but murder wasn’t one of them . . .’

When a teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car and ends up in a coma, a routine DNA test could be the key to unlocking the mystery of a twenty-year-old murder inquiry. Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie is an expert at solving the unsolvable. With each cold case closed, justice is served. So, finding the answer should be straightforward, but it’s as twisted as the DNA helix itself.

Meanwhile Karen finds herself irresistibly drawn to another case, one that she has no business investigating. And as she pieces together decades-old evidence, Karen discovers the most dangerous kinds of secrets. Secrets that someone is willing to kill for . . .

What do you think? Would you keep reading?

The Karen Pirie books read well as standalone books, but as they continue Karen’s own story I think they are best read in order – and for once I am reading these books in order! I wasn’t sure after I’d read the third book, Skeleton Road that I’d read any more in the series, but this one does tempt me and I like the combination of a cold case linked to a current case.

I see that the fifth Karen Pirie book, Broken Ground is to be published on 23 August 2018.

10 thoughts on “First Chapter First Paragraph: Out of Bounds by Val McDermid”

  2. McDermid is very good at drawing the reader in, isn’t she, Margaret? And this intro is no exception. I’d definitely read on, and I really hope you’ll enjoy this one.

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  3. I love Val McDermid’s writing. Truly. I haven’t started this series yet, but I’ve certainly read good things about it here and other places. And I love cold case books. I know I have the first book in the series. Need to dig it out.

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  6. I’d carry on reading even though I’ve already read this one. I do admire the way Val McDermid weaves a lot of modern day issues into her books without making the reader feel like they are being lectured at – I do hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.

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  7. I liked this one more than Skeleton Road, so I think you’ve made the right decision to stick with the series. I’ve managed to snaffle a review copy of Broken Ground but haven’t read it yet, so fingers crossed we both enjoy meeting up with Karen Pirie again!

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