Past Lying

Karen Pirie Novels, Book 7

By: Val McDermid

Narrated by: Lauren Lyle

In this latest installment to her acclaimed detective series, internationally bestselling author Val McDermid returns with DCI Karen Pirie in a propulsive new thriller of deceit and vengeance, set against the disquiet and investigative challenges of a global pandemic

Hailed as Britain’s “Queen of Crime” (Scotsman), Val McDermid is the award-winning, internationally bestselling author of over thirty novels that have enthralled readers and listeners for the past three decades. The long-awaited seventh novel in McDermid’s acclaimed Karen Pirie series, Past Lying is a breakneck collision of ego, retribution, and just how far one will go to settle the score.

It’s April 2020 and Edinburgh is in lockdown, but that doesn’t mean crime takes a holiday. It would seem like a strange time for a cold case to go hot—the streets all but empty, an hour’s outdoor exercise the maximum allowed—but when a source at the National Library contacts DCI Karen Pirie’s team about documents in the archive of a recently deceased crime novelist, it seems it’s game on again. What unspools is a twisted game of betrayal and revenge, but no one quite expects how many twists it will turn out to have.

Tense, atmospheric, and relentlessly captivating, Past Lying is another winner from Val McDermid, and new and longtime readers alike will delight in this triumphant return to a stellar series.

©2023 Val McDermid (P)2023 W.F. Howes, Ltd.

Narration not as good as past books

I really like this series, this is book 7. I will only be listening to more of her books if the narrator is different from this one

Val at Her Best

The growth of characters in a real and caring way entwined with appalling masochist behavior.

Excellent story line

It took a while to understand the narrator’s Scottish accent, but the more I listened to her the clearer her narration became.

Characters and plot kept me interested and enjoying the mystery.

Nice and twisty

Not only an interesting mystery but commentary on the relationships between men and women, women and women and the impact of the Covid lockdown in Scotland with the accompanying degrees of compliance (or lack thereof). I was amused by Karen's acerbic reaction to idiots who wear masks covering only their mouths.

Editing makes narrator look poorly

Love the story! Cannot wait to see it on the screen if it ever comes to fruition. Enticing and complex plot, great character development and personal thread - well done.

However, There are too many instances where it seems as if the narrator either messed up, couldn’t pronounce a word, or they simply wanted a retake.
The problem is, it sounds as if, either a different narrator spoke the line or she did it in a different room with poor microphones. It was very blotchy and annoying for the first 20 chapters.
After that, I just got used to it because the story was so good.
Sorry, I just miss the old narrator.

Love that Karen! Narrator was up to the Scottish task.

Loved sorting out the twisted story. Good portrayal of life in Covid. This made me remember in sharp focus what I wanted to forget; the boredom, the isolation, the ever present stress. The secondary story of immigration grief and fear for one’s life was an addition to the plot, not a deterrent.

Another great Karen Pirie novel

When we last left Chief Inspector Karen Pirie and Detective Constable Jason Murray they were heading into lock down in 2020 after tackling two difficult cases. This book starts with Karen, Detective Sergeant Daisy Mortimer, and Jason solving an unusual mystery after getting a strange tip from the national archives. Most of Historic Case Squad books have two mysteries to solve - one central and a secondary. This one only has one crime and two side plots that do a lot to move along character development. I genuinely enjoy spending time with Karen and Jason so even though the pandemic bits were not my favorite, I was interested to see how this pair dealt with it. The mystery was a bit predictable but listening to Karen, Jason, and Daisy put the pieces together was fun.

However, the narrator of this book was so monotone. I had a hard time staying engaged because she rarely put much effort into bringing the characters to life. The previous narrator was MUCH better.

Karen and her team; another great success

Loved the unfolding mystery/crime and further development of our three main protagonists. Very disappointed in narrator. Ms Lyle is a great actor, but that does not translate to being a good storyteller; narrating a good book. Almost stopped listening to this book several times but I loved the characters and the plot so did not

Karen and Company at their Feisty Best (even during lockdown)

Plot was a little too twisty toward the end. Love the Scottish place details and accents!

Story is pretty good, narration is not

I like this series quite a bit and enjoy the author's character development. Although I guessed the big bad near the beginning of the book, I was still on edge to hear the story play out. On the narration...I love Lauren Lyle as Karen Pirie on the series (when is season two coming???) but a good narrator she is not. Stick with it, though. A combination of getting used to her style AND her injecting a bit more emotion into her reading as the story progresses combine to make this production just bearable. I was even impressed with her Aussie accent for Tamsin! That's about the only good thing I can say about it, though.