Still Life (Inspector Karen Pirie #6) by Val McDermid

Still Life (Inspector Karen Pirie #6) Reviews

• 
  Meredith (Slowly Catching Up)

  “The passage of time turns straightforward murders into convoluted journeys.”
  
  Still Life is a straightforward and satisfying mystery/police procedural that focuses on two missing person cases that lead Karen Pirie and team to the black market of the art world.
  
  This is book 6 in the Karen Pirie series, but can easily be read as a standalone.
  
  This book delves into two mysteries. Clues and witnesses have Karen traveling to Paris and Ireland. One case involves a dead body found in a van in a woman’s garage. The other is the murder of a man whose brother went missing 10 years ago. The cases are not connected, but both are easy to follow and are equally interesting.
  
  I love this series and Val McDermid’s writing. There are no crazy plot twists or convoluted events. McDermid writes well-developed characters and plots that are always interesting. There are still some surprises, but none are outlandish. The mysteries are solved and all questions are answered and resolved. Everything makes sense, and I never shake my head or roll my eyes while reading a Karen Pirie book!
  
  I find it fascinating that Karen Pirie has a reputation for being crazy. She is strong, intelligent, and determined, and far from crazy. She has gone through some horrible traumas, but despite them, she is even more grounded. She has little drama in her life, and even her romantic life is straightforward.
  
  In addition to Karen's character, there is also Jason, “The Mint,” whom I love. This installment also introduces some new characters, including Daisy, a young sergeant who has a lot of promise and meshes well with Karen.
  
  This is the first book I have read that mentions COVID. By the end of the book, Scotland is about to go on lockdown with Karen preparing to work from home. Due to the impending virus, the ending is dark, but the idea of Karen’s determination to survive left me feeling hopeful. I can’t wait to see how she will solve cases during the Pandemic.
  
  I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Barbara

  
  
  This review was first posted on Mystery and Suspense. Check it out for features, interviews, and reviews.
  
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  3.5 stars
  
  In this sixth book in the Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie series, the police investigate two cold cases. The book works fine as a standalone.
  
  DCI Karen Pirie of Police Scotland's Historic Cases Unit believes solving cold cases is just as important as solving new ones, to give bereaved people answers. Thus Pirie digs right in when two old crimes land in her lap.
  
  
  
  One case is the murder of a woman whose skeleton was found in Perth, on the property of a road accident victim named Susan Leitch. Susan's sister was cleaning out her deceased sibling's garage when she discovered the bones in an old camper van.
  
  
  
  Since the corpse must have been rotting away for years, DCI Pirie gets the case.
  
  Another case is the disappearance ten years ago of Iain Auld, a civil servant with the Scottish government.
  
  
  
  Iain was presumed dead, and his brother James - who had argued with Iain about Scottish independence - was the prime suspect. James ran away before he could be arrested and was in the wind until now.....
  
  
  
  .....when his body was fished out of the Firth of Forth.
  
  
  
  Since the whole business has political implications, Assistant Chief Constable Ann Markie (aka The Dog Biscuit) is pressing Pirie to resolve the case fast.
  
  
  
  Pirie has two assistants to help her investigate. Her trainee, Detective Constable Jason Murray (aka The Mint), helps with the skeleton case;
  
  
  
  and a policewoman from the Fife crime squad, Detective Sergeant Daisy Mortimer, assists with the Auld inquiry.
  
  
  
  The first order of business in the skeleton case is to identify the victim, which turns out to be tricky. Pirie and Jason start their inquiries by investigating Susan Leitch, whose garage contained the corpse. Eventually, the detectives narrow down the skeleton's identity to two women, one of whom is presumed to be the victim and one of whom is presumed to be the killer.
  
  Inquiries in the skeleton case lead the detectives to an artist colony in Glenisla;
  
  
  
  a woman's father in the Borders;
  
  
  
  and a church hall in Manchester.
  
  
  
  At one point, Pirie - who's busy with her other case - sends Jason on a solo mission, which turns out to be a dangerous undertaking.
  
  
  
  The James Auld homicide is complicated by the fact that he fled to France ten years ago and changed his name. At the time of his death, James Auld was calling himself Paul Allard and playing in a Parisian jazz band. Pirie and Daisy go to France, where they make significant discoveries. They also learn that Auld traveled to London and Dublin before he was killed in Scotland. In time it becomes clear why The Dog Biscuit is so anxious to have the Auld case resolved and out of the public eye; it may be connected to a scandal the government covered up.
  
  
  
  To further her inquiries, Pirie needs phones examined; computers scrutinized; DNA analyzed; etc. To get her requests to the front of the queue at the police labs, Pirie coaxes her colleague, Tamsin Martinu, with chocolate biscuits.
  
  
  
  Tamsin then chivvies her colleagues to go the extra mile, which puts Pirie's cases on the fast track. Pirie's investigations also require cross-border warrants, which her contacts quickly arrange.
  
  The book alternates back and forth between the skeleton case and the Auld case. The story is easy to follow though, and doesn't get confusing.
  
  Pirie's investigations are complemented by her nascent romance with Hamish Mackenzie, a wealthy crofter and coffee shop entrepreneur who wants to wine, dine, and entertain Pirie in style. Pirie usually eats with her police colleagues, though, and much of their food is described. This includes things like bacon, egg and cheese muffins; fried chicken and chips; crab in rice paper wrappers;
  
  
  
  pad khing;
  
  
  
  poppadums;
  
  
  
  pakoras;
  
  
  
  Portuguese custard tarts;
  
  
  
  curries; double mozzarella pizza with spicy salami; and more. The meals make a nice accompaniment to the detective work and sound quite tasty. I also liked some of the novel (to me) expressions, like braw day (fine day); the crack of sparrowfart (early morning); radged (angry); breenge in (rush in); and others.
  
  Some aspects of the story stretch credulity a bit, but I enjoyed this compelling police procedural.
  
  Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Val McDermid), and the publisher (Atlantic Monthly Press) for a copy of the book.
  
  You can follow my reviews at
  https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
• 
  Sandy *TheworldcouldendwhileIwasreadingndIwouldnto

  EXCERPT: 'Good morning, DCI Pirie. This is Sergeant Pollock from Barrack Street in Perth. We've got a walk-in this morning that I think is more up your street than mine. Any chance you could come up and help us reach a decision?
  
  Karen felt a familiar prickle of interest and turned away from Hamish. 'Could you give me a wee bit more to go on?'
  
  'Well, it's like this.' He spoke slowly, keen to make sure he got his point across. 'A member of the public came in and made a report at the bar. Her sister died in a RTA a few weeks ago and she's just getting round to sorting out the deceased's house. There was a camper van in the garage that the woman says definitely didn't belong to her sister. She took a look inside and there's skeletonised human remains in the back of the van. Now, the fact that they're skeletonised says cold case to me and my boss. So we thought we'd cut to the chase and get you involved from the start.'
  
  ABOUT 'STILL LIFE': When a lobster fisherman discovers a dead body in Scotland’s Firth of Forth, Karen is called into investigate. She quickly discovers that the case will require untangling a complicated web—including a historic disappearance, art forgery, and secret identities—that seems to orbit around a painting copyist who can mimic anyone from Holbein to Hockney. Meanwhile, a traffic crash leads to the discovery of a skeleton in a suburban garage. Needless to say, Karen has her plate full. Meanwhile, the man responsible for the death of the love of her life is being released from prison, reopening old wounds just as she was getting back on her feet.
  
  MY THOUGHTS: Val McDermid certainly knows how to grab my attention and hold it. She knows how to strike that fine balance between the characters personal and professional lives, providing just the right amount of each. She gives technical information where it's warranted, but never overwhelms. And . . . she keeps us updated on the office gossip.
  
  McDermid knows how to tell a story, how to take all the different threads and weave them into one glorious picture that never could be imagined from the outset.
  
  I enjoyed the introduction of a new character, DS Daisy Mortimer, seconded to Pirie's team. She is bright and clever, a great foil for 'The Mint', DC Jason Murray who, while not the brightest bulb in the pack, is starting to gain confidence and come into his own.
  
  This investigation takes place in the last weeks of February 2020, just as the Covid-19 pandemic kicks off, and ends on the eve of lockdown. It's mentioned, but doesn't play a large part in the story.
  
  Still Life is classic McDermid with several threads to the plot which is well paced and keeps throwing up surprises. The central characters continue to develop individually and as a team, the only exception being 'the dog biscuit', the thorn in Pirie's side and her boss.
  
  I hope that this is not going to be the end of the DC Pirie series. I have developed a strong admiration for Karen's character, though she still has a few life lessons to learn, and hope that the introduction of Daisy bodes well for more to come in this series.
  
  A cracking great read.
  
  ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
  
  #StillLife #NetGalley
  
  I: @valmcdermid @groveatlantic
  
  T: @valmcdermid @GroveAtlantic
  
  #contemporaryfiction #crime #detectivefiction #familydrama #murdermystery #mystery #policeprocedural #scottishnoir #thriller
  
  THE AUTHOR: Val McDermid is a popular Scottish author who was born on June 04, 1955 in Fife, Scotland, United Kingdom. She is particularly famous for writing all her novels in the Mystery, crime and Thriller genres.
  
  McDermid has been writing as a full time author since the success of her initial novels and she spends equal amounts of time in her homes in Edinburgh and Cheshire. She hails from the Kirkcaldy town of Fife in Scotland and completed her college studies from the St. Hilda’s College in Oxford.
  
  McDermid lives along with three cats in Northumberland and Stockport and supports the Raith Rovers team. She also has a border terrier dog and considers the Northumberland coast as one of the relaxing places in the world.
  
  DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Grove Atlantic via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Still Life by Val McDermid for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
  
  For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
  
  This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage
  https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
• 
  Adrian Dooley

  So this is not only my first read in this series, its my first read by Val McDermid! Having finished it Im annoyed with myself that its taken me this long to discover her work.
  
  The spiel: When a body is pulled from the sea by some fishermen it is quickly discovered that the dead man was the prime suspect in a murder 10 years ago. DCI Karen Pirie was the last to review the legacy case(her specialty)a couple of years ago. She is given the cases from her superior but she has a lot on her plate as it is, as she is already investigating a skeleton being discovered in a camper van in the garage of a house.
  As she investigates both, she is drawn into a murky world of secrets, deception and lies.
  
  I really enjoyed this one and I`m only sorry I havent read any others in the series. I really liked Karen as a character and indeed enjoyed all the characters here. It worked fine as a stand alone read but there is a lot of reference to back stories which I obviously wasnt familiar with and I really want to read the rest of the series now to investigate further.
  
  The story is quite a complicated one but somehow the author manages to make it easy to follow. There is quite a large cast of characters, loads of story threads and yet I never once found myself going back a few pages to check who was who or what exactly was happening. The book just flowed beautifully.
  
  Id highly recommend this one and I`m now off to seek out the rest of the series.
  
  One last thing! I found myself heading to the fridge for snacks regularly reading this book. The characters spend a lot of time eating and meeting in restaurants and I have to admit, I found myself salivating more than once as I was reading about the food. That Indian food sounded devine!
  
  Many thanks to Netgalley, Grove Atlantic and Val McDermid for an ARC in excahnge for an honest review.
• 
  Kasa Cotugno

  Any time a new book by Val McDermid appears, there is reason to rejoice, but this time she delivers an astounding feat: welcome to the first thriller written during Covid-19 Lockdown incorporating current events seamlessly into the plotline. She is a magician in her tight plotting, extraordinary set up, clear prose and spot on characterization as DCI Karen Pirie of Edinburgh's Historic Cases Unit (cold case) works to solve two greatly dissimilar, original jobs. McDermid slyly introduces the first whiff of pandemic danger in an almost throw-away fashion, but her incorporation of distinct dates makes the reader breathe a bit more shallowly as the date of lockdown approaches.
  
  International borders have been crossed, allowing McDermid to instruct on procedures that are shifting thanks to the thankless backlash of Brexit, and the differences between Dutch, French and Irish protocols as they pertain to extradition to Scotland. I read her books because there is so much to chew on besides the crackling good stories she weaves, but always because I go away having learned something.
• 
  Matt

  First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Val McDermid, and Grove Atlantic for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
  
  Happy to return to Scotland for another DCI Karen Pirie procedural, I look to Val McDermid, whose storytelling is second to none. In a jam-packed story with more twists that even I could have predicted, McDermid spins a tale that will keep readers guessing throughout. When a body is fished out of the water, a call to the local police brings DS Daisy Mortimer to the scene. After checking for identification, DS Mortimer learns that the victim appears to be a French citizen and begins her inquiries. The plot thickens when she learns that the man was not Paul Allard, as previously thought, but James Auld. Things take an even more interesting turn when Auld is known to be the prime suspect in his brother’s death, a high-ranking bureaucrat at the Scottish Office in London. All this sounds like a case for the Historic Cases Unit and DCI Karen Pirie. As she tries to sort out her complicated personal life, DCI Pirie is called to consult on another case, one where skeletal remains were found in the back of a camper van of a woman who died in an accident a few years before. While she seeks to put all the pieces together there, DCI Pirie is handed the Allard/Auld case and agrees to work alongside DS Mortimer. The case sees them head to Paris to get a little background on the victim, where they learn that Auld had been living off the radar after tiring of all the accusations back home. After discovering some photographs that do not make sense, Pirie and Mortimer return to Scotland and work the case from that angle, touching base with the victim’s former sister-in-law. While this is taking place, the bones in the other investigation are seemingly identified and the case takes a turn towards a commune where the victim and her girlfriend spent some time, though they are said to have left while they were both alive and well. Rumours swirl around that there could have been a case of presumed identity, but the facts are still too circumstantial at this point. While Pirie and Mortimer work the Auld case, DC Jason Murray handles the skeleton case and chases down a lead on his own. With both cases gaining momentum, a twist or two will leave all those involved wondering what they might have missed and how two killers could get away with murder. A formidable addition to the series that kept me wanting more with each chapter. Recommended to those who are fans of Val McDermid and this series, as well as those who love a good police procedural.
  
  When it comes to reading novels by Val McDermid, the reader must make a pledge to stick it out until the end. This is not only because her books are long, but there is so much going on that it is not until the last chapter that all finally comes together. DCI Karen Pirie returns for her sixth case and she has not lost any of her lustre since the series started. Still trying to find the balance between work and personal life, Pirie struggles to make the pieces come together. Her personal life is strained throughout the book, which is revealed in moments when the action is less intense. However, she doesn’t let this deter her from cracking on and getting to the heart of the cases before her. Pirie may be work focussed, but she is not one to miss the small things, which help solve crimes and keep the Historic Cases Unit on the map. The addition of DS Daisy Mortimer was key to this novel’s success. A great cop in her own right, Mortimer is learning from the best when she is paired with Pirie. The reader sees a great deal of her work ethic in the novel, with glimpses of personal backstory. One can only wonder if Mortimer will make her way over to Historic Cases, as she seems keen to be where the ‘real action’ tends to find itself. The handful of other characters add a wonderful depth to the story and kept me reading, if only to see how some of them would develop throughout the tale. McDermid mixes the Scottish flavouring of this novel with a few other locales and creates the perfect mix, with characters to match. The story itself was captivating and held my attention throughout. McDermid is able to write in such a way that both cases receive much attention and neither pushes the other out of the way. With a number of key twists, the story moves in directions one might not have first presumed, which only adds to the mystery and wonderment as the reader delves deeper. A sprinkling of politics, the art world, and even some international travel all keep the story full of action until the final reveal. I can only hope there is more DCI Pirie to come, as this was surely one of the best police procedurals I have read in a long while.
  
  Kudos, Madam McDermid, for a stellar piece of writing. I am happy to see you still have it and keep your fans buzzing with excitement.
  
  Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
  
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• 
  fleurette

  Many, many years ago, when I was still a teenager, I read a book by Val McDermid and decided that I absolutely must read another. But, as it happens in life, it hasn't come to that until now. And I was right many years ago to keep this author on my TBR pile because she's worth it.
  
  This is a very good book with interesting characters and a satisfyingly complicated storyline. I haven't read the other books in this series, but that wasn't a problem. I also think that I liked these characters so much that I will read other books in this series.
  
  As I mentioned, the plot is quite complicated, but in a very good sense. The main character, DCI Karen Pirie, has two cases that have not been solved in the past. Both are equally interesting and the solution of both is equally fascinating. I also like how certain themes are repeated in both cases, making them somehow strangely match. And although I foresaw some solutions quite quickly, it did not take away the joy of reading the whole story and discovering other small nuances. The elaborated scam is very interesting, yet still believable, and for sure highly entertaining.
  
  Pirie is an intelligent and inquisitive heroine. She has her flaws, but they only make her an interesting character, not an annoying one. Her relationship with Hamish is also an interesting addition.
  
  This is a very ‘European’ novel. I don't know how to describe it otherwise. I think it's been a long time since I read a book so solidly set in the realities of conducting an investigation in Europe in the era of the European Union. The author has knowledge on the solutions adopted in Europe that enable the prosecution of criminals between the borders of the EU and associated countries. There are also subtle but remarkably interesting threads of Brexit and its impact on the investigation. I have a degree in European Studies, so such details were especially valuable to me. This also distinguishes this book from other thrillers, especially American ones.
  
  Overall, it's a very good and interesting story. This author definitely stays on my TBR pile.
  
  Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Gary

  This is the 6th book in the Karen Pirie series by author Val McDermid.
  
  DCI Karen Pirie is called on to revisit one of her old cases when a fishermen pulls a body from the sea. The dead man was the prime suspect in an old investigation, when a prominent civil servant disappeared without trace. DCI Karen Pirie was the last detective to review the file and is drawn into a sinister world of betrayal and dark secrets.
  
  With Karen already struggling on another case where a skeleton has been discovered in an abandoned camper van the pressure is on. Everything is pointing to a killer who was never arrested and still on the loose. Karen encounters a network of lies and secrets that must be 
  
  In her search for the truth, Karen uncovers a network of lies that has gone unchallenged for years. 
  
  Of all the Val McDermid series this one is my favourite and loved this book from start to finish. The characters are so strong. plots well crafted and expertly paced and there is never a dull moment.
  
  I would like to thank both Net Galley and Grove Atlantic for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Julie

  A wonderful and gripping mystery with character development and wonderful dialogue. I love Val McDermid's quality writing that demands my full attention and doesn't let go until the very end!
  
  I invariably learn something new about police procedures or forensics while reading, as McDermid is so thorough in her research and engaging in her writing. I also appreciate the setting of the scene and the references that remind me where and when the action is taking place.
  
  I learned two new words, I'd not previously heard of, which I found fascinating:
  
  hirple - to hobble or walk with a hitch in your step, the example in the story is of a person walking with the aid of crutches.
  
  breenge - rush in.
  
  Quotes that resonated, or particularly drew my attention:
  
  "'I've known many musicians over the years. Most of them play to forget themselves and their back pages.'"
  
  "'I thought you needed a wee livener.' His eyes widened. 'Livener? More like a heart attack in a cup.'"
  
  "'I can't believe she's in the wind without a motor.'"
  
  "she understood that sometimes laughter was the only way to survive wounds that went bone deep."
  
  "she was slowly learning that change wasn't always something to chafe against."
  
  
  
• 
  Brenda

  I’m having mixed feelings about this book. I think the Karen Pirie in this book is different than in previous books. She was selfish, obstinate, a little mean sometimes. I found myself not liking her much. I still liked Jason, and the addition of Daisy was good. I also wasn’t enthused about the storyline. Pacing was slow until the last third of the book. I enjoyed the book for the most part, but I didn’t love it.
• 
  Susan

  It takes a skilled author to keep not one but two murder story lines alive and kicking at the same time but McDermid manages it with apparent ease. Karen Pirie is in charge of the Historic Crimes Investigation, cold cases in other words. Pirie brings the enthusiasm and importance to these investigations.
  
  The first case is the apparent accidental death of a French tourist. It turns out that he is actually the Scottish brother of a high ranking government official who committed suicide 10 years ago. His wife has just been able to declare him legally dead. High ranking police officials want to know if there is any connection to the suicide and possible governmental embarrassment.
  
  The second case involves a skeleton found in a small camper in a dead woman's garage. Pirie must find out who the skeleton is and what happened. This turns out to be an interesting search that leads her staff into danger. The story that unfolds is so interesting that it's hard to put the book down.
  
  McDermid is a gifted author and this is a remarkable addition to her series. It can certainly be read as a stand alone and will keep you turning the pages. It's a wonderful mystery and I thank NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
• 
  Alexander Peterhans

  I'm an irregular reader of thrillers, but I do like diving into the genre, now and then. I've never read any of Val McDermid's work before, so why not start slap bang in the middle of a series!
  
  As I expected, this turned out to be no problem at all - I never had the feeling I was missing something, or felt left out. McDermid knows how to tell a story and how to keep things moving along. Her writing is intricate and funny, with a knack for describing food (pretty much every scene is centered around some form of eating - and I'm not complaining). Her characters feel real, warm and have a history. The crime story itself was sufficiently complicated without losing focus. I was surprised how light the book was, while still basically being about a couple of murders.
  
  In short: come for the story, stay for the characters.
  
  (Kindly received an ARC from Atlantic Monthly Press through Edelweiss)
• 
  Karen M

  This was the last in the series I will read. A turgid start left me amazed that two cases, involving much travel and pastry consumption , were all beautifully solved by Pirie . In twelve days. Including grief management and the even more unlikely Hamish. And Daisy. And Tamasin, who owes so much to Abbey Sciuto and Penelope Garcia from TV crime shows , that she seemed to be a caricature of them and her biscuit fuelled diet almost as irritating as Daisy’s pie eating.
  And errors in proof reading . And coronavirus ...just tacked on in to show how up to date this is. Began to wonder if Nicola Sturgeon would have a few lines.
• 
  Linden

  DCI Karen Pirie, who handles historic crimes (AKA cold cases) in Scotland, has been notified that there's a camper in someone's garage with a skeleton in it. Her unit is investigating the identity of the deceased, who appears to have been murdered. Meanwhile, there is the case of a man who has been found dead; his documents say he is French, but apparently he is a Scot who vanished years ago after the disappearance of his brother. What could this jazz musician have to do with some mysterious art forgeries? I enjoyed the Scottish setting and strong female characters in this well plotted mystery. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
• 
  Wendy

  Val Mcdermid has been called one of the queens of crime fiction. Not sure why I haven't read more of her work, but after this book, that's going to change. This is the 6th book of the DCI Karen Pirie series. She's tasked with investigating a skeleton found in a van parked in a dead women's garage. Then, when a body was fished out of the waters, it was discovered that he's the brother of a missing Scottish civil servant. He's also the primary suspect in the disappearance 10 years ago. Karen is asked to investigate this disappearance, too.
  Both cases are very interesting and both have their twists and turns. I enjoy Karen as a character. She is complex but not morose. Sure there's personal issues in her life but she's still out there trying to solve these mysteries. The result is a book that I find hard to put down.
  Also, this book is set in the present day (2020) and we see the pandemic rearing its head near the end of the book. Very timely, indeed.
  **Thank you to Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
• 
  Marnie (Enchanted Bibliophile)

  "A cold case was a story constructed piece by piece. Sometimes the pieces arrived in the wrong order, so it made no sense at first. But some stories were like that.:
  
  
  
  As always Val delivers!
  I've said it with every Pirie book, BUT I love the cold cases... I love the crime procedure and each piece of the puzzle getting thrown in to create the bigger picture.
  To top that I love Karen and Jason, their character growth is spectacular and so realistic.
  Hoping this is not the end of this due, or will it become a trio? Daisy???
  
• 
  Bam cooks the books ;-)

  *4.5 stars rounded up. Terrific police procedural involving Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie of Police Scotland's Historic Cases Unit. In this outing, the sixth in the series, Karen gets called in when a skeleton is found in a caravan parked in the garage of a recently deceased woman. But her attention is split when she's asked to take the lead in a current murder investigation with its roots in a 10-year-old cold case she'd recently reviewed.
  
  The police work is necessarily plodding as Karen and her team must dig for information and sush out clues to take the cases forward but I enjoyed the pace at which everything is revealed. The teamwork between these officers is excellent and I enjoyed the way the author brings Karen's personal life and theirs into the story without being too heavy handed about it. There's enough action and suspense to keep the reader riveted till the exciting conclusion!
  
  Writing stories in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic must be difficult. This story begins in mid-February of 2020 so the world's awareness that there could be a problem is just beginning and Karen is warned to stock up on hand sanitizer and masks. As the lockdown closes in on Scotland, it will be interesting to see where McDermid leads her characters in future books.
  
  I received an arc of this exciting new thriller from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks for the opportunity.
• 
  Valleri

  How I love this series! Karen is brilliant and yet so prickly. Jason is loveable and learning police work in leaps and bounds. The new character, Daisy, made me smile and is a wonderful addition to Historic Cases. It feels like Karen’s team is coming together really well! Karen was a busy girl this time out, handling two different cases in this book. Both cases were interesting and nicely complex. Still Life definitely held my attention throughout.
  
  This is a preCovid-19 novel, but Ms. McDermid lightly touched on it in acknowledgment of what was coming.
  
  *Warning for readers who dislike books with F-bombs in them; there are a lot of them in this one.
  
  I cannot wait for the next book to be written!!!
• 
  Dana Stabenow

  Two different murders, one in the present, one in the past, end up before CI Karen Pirie's Historical Crimes Unit. One is a skeleton in a VW van parked in a garage, the other a body raised by fishermen offshore. Both are murder victims, and McDermid has a high old time sending her characters up this and that blind alley in (sequentially) Scotland, France, England, and Ireland before coming to a most satisfactory apprehension and interview of one twat of a conspirator and a violent takedown of the murderer. There are some dangling ends but the characters will sweep you along regardless--my heart goes out to the Mint and you'll hope Daisy goes on to her own series.
• 
  Zoe

  Complex, intriguing, and sophisticated!
  
  In this impressive sixth instalment in the Inspector Karen Pirie series, Still Life, McDermid has written a fast-paced, sinuous, police procedural that has DCI Pirie and her team from the Historic Cases Unit immersed in two investigations, one involving skeletal remains found inside a camper van parked in a residential garage, and the other concerning a newly deceased middle-aged male found floating in the water who seems to have an extremely mysterious, complicated past.
  
  The prose is sharp and tight. The characters are impulsive, secretive, and greedy. And the plot, including all the subplots, seamlessly intertwine and unravel into a gripping tale full of deception, manipulation, misdirection, mayhem, violence, and murder.
  
  Overall, Still Life is another engrossing, pacey, action-packed thriller by McDermid that once again has just the right amount of suspense, well-drawn characterization, and creative storyline to make it a satisfying, highly entertaining read for lovers of this genre.
  
  Thank you to PGC Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Shereadbookblog

  I like Val McDermid’s Karen Pirie Historic Cases Unit police procedurals. This is the third consecutive of six that I have read. I really like the main character, a strong, intelligent, vulnerable, but not overly flawed, DCI.
  
  Karen is balancing two cases. A skeleton has been found in a van parked in the garage of a recently deceased woman. She is drawn into the second case, albeit a current one, because one of the suspects in the years old killing of his brother has been found dead. The familiar supporting characters are here, as well as a new female colleague, Sergeant Daisy Mortimer. Still mourning the death of her love, Phil, Karen has established a new relationship with Hamish, who was introduced in the prior novel.
  
  Although I think many of the twists were known to the reader before discovered by Karen, this did not detract from the readability or enjoyment of the story. I always like the the inclusion of topical issues in McDermid’s novels. In this one, there is a hint of the pandemic to come and the book ends just as Scotland is about to go on lockdown for Covid.
  
  McDermid’s vivid descriptions of various locales place you right there in the middle of a scene. And, all the food consumed….you can just about taste those bacon rolls, curry, and croissants!
  
  This reads well as a stand alone, but I think reading the prior novels will give provide more context. Plus, they are a joy to read.
• 
  Karine

  I love mostly all books that Val McDermid wrote, unfortunately this isn't one of them.
  
  The previous books in the series were mainly supported by the main character, Karen Pirie, a grieving widow using her work to get past the hurt of losing her partner. But she has changed in such a way that it is very difficult to feel any sympathy for her anymore.
  She is disrespectful and selfish, she refuses to communicate correctly with her team, which results in almost disastrous result for one of them and yet she will not take responsibility. She also misuses her prerogative as a detective for personal reasons. If I were her partner Hamish, I would run as far as I can.
  She also attaches great importance to the archaic and bureaucratic echelons in the force in the sense that everyone below her are plods, and those above are there because of political reasons. The only one good and decent detective is Pirie herself. How tiring.
  
  I'm not sure if I would read a next installment of this series because of the main character. However, I've already pre-ordered
  Christmas is Murder: A Traditional Christmas / A Wife in a Million as I stay convinced that Mrs. McDermid is one of the best authors I'm actually reading.
• 
  The Cats’ Mother

  Still Life is the sixth book in the mesmerising DCI Karen Pirie series, set in Edinburgh. Unlike her Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, these are not gory, dark or violent - nothing wrong with that when you’re in the mood for it, but these are absorbing character driven cold-case mysteries and it often surprises me that they’re by the same author - which goes to show how talented she is.
  I’ve now read them all, and while they do work as stand-alones, do recommend starting at least from book 3 (The Skeleton Road) to get the most out of Karen’s story arc.
  
  A body is pulled from the frigid Firth of Forth by some lobster-fishermen, and the obvious blow to the head suggests murder. When the investigating detectives find a link to the disappearance of a prominent civil servant in the Scottish government ten years earlier, the case, and young DS Daisy Mortimer, are assigned to Karen’s Historical Cases Unit. Busy with a separate case involving a skeleton in a campervan, and privately dealing with both her anger over the parole of the man who killed her partner Phil, and her conflicted feelings about her new relationship, Karen has a lot on her plate. Fuelled by coffee and her insatiable determination to get to the truth, ably assisted by the resourceful if perpetually hungry Daisy, loyal if-a-bit-slow Jason, and her ever-increasing network of helpful contacts, the indomitable DCI will follow the trail of clues to the Highlands, London, Paris, and Ireland.
  
  I think I’m running out of superlatives for this series. I love that it’s not all about “the twist you won’t see coming”. I actually guessed what was going on fairly early but it didn’t matter at all. The investigation takes place over only a matter of days, but packs an awful lot in, leavened with characteristic Scottish humour (and some new words I had to look up, despite living there for ten years!) I like that Karen is so human - brittle and insecure in her personal relationships but bullish and resolute at work, and the relationship between her and Jason ‘The Mint’ is as sweet as ever. I’m also relieved that McDermid doesn’t need to make Pirie the only competent Detective in Europe - I enjoyed meeting her French & Irish counterparts and learning a little about how they go about things there. ACC Mackie is like Snow White’s wicked stepmother - I do hope she gets her comeuppance one day.
  
  Towards the end, McDermid bravely tackles the elephant in the world of 2020, Covid-19. By setting dates to her timeline - the plot begins in mid February- I wondered whether she would introduce it or continue in an alternate timeline. By then, we were certainly talking and thinking about it, but still oblivious to the impact it would come to have on us all - and I am (was, sniff) a travel doctor so of course it was all we could think about. I’ve read many comments from readers and authors saying they don’t want to read or write about it, but going forward I don’t see how that’s realistic. I thought the epilogue was an elegant solution and am curious to see how she handles it in the next book. (Please let there be a next book!)
  
  Finally, I appreciated the dedication to her friends and colleagues in New Zealand: she was actually out here towards the end of last year, and I had tickets to her talk in a book festival, but had to cancel for a work commitment; I was gutted as very few Crime writers - especially of her calibre - make it out here, and now it seems unlikely any will be able to visit for quite some time.
  
  Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC which allowed me to give an honest review. Still Life is published on October 6th.
  
  
  
  
• 
  Bridget

  There is quite a lot going on in this Karen Pirie mystery. Missing people, murdered people, art theft, identity theft, more missing people and alongside that there is the troubled relationship of Karen and Hamish. All is not well there.
  
  This book is a treat for me because it was partly written here in Dunedin while Val was here in 2019. Those were happy times. We had a wonderful festival with her and came to know her just a little bit. She was due to come back to our fair city last year, and then this year, but Covid ruins everything. We have our fingers crossed for 2022! In the book there are friends whose names are used for characters, there is a fabulous acknowledgement and so I had high hopes that it'd be great, and of course it was. It's a good solid book and Karen is so fabulously firm but fair, she is like the headmistress you like but are a little bit scared of.
  
  I find the Karen Pirie novels really good, a break from the tension and grit of some of the other Val McDermid books. They are no less interesting though, quiet build up to the bad stuff, and it works. Along the way we learn quite a lot of great information, a lot about art in this one.
  
  
  
  
• 
  Barbara K.

  Although I've been a fan since the Karen Pirie series began, I have to confess to being a wee bit disappointed with this entry. The tone felt different from the earlier books, and I've been puzzling over why that's so.
  
  I guess it felt somewhat softer. Karen has only one minor skirmish with her boss ("the dog biscuit") and both the cold cases she's been assigned move forward smoothly. It takes a while to get on the right track (which in both cases was pretty obvious to me from the start), but she never really travels down the wrong track by pursuing any red herrings. She gets cooperation all along the way.
  
  Of course, she's brilliant, as are her network of forensic scientists and art experts and the like. These are primarily women. Let's be clear, I'm always a fan of strong female characters in crime novels, but in this series it's beginning to seem a bit over the top, especially now that Karen has added a perky young female DS to her team. With the exception of one Irish cop, most of the male cops are pretty inept, characters Karen has to train and encourage.
  
  There is, of course, the breathtaking boyfriend, Hamish. From a privileged background, he spends part of his week managing his hip chain of coffee shops, and part working on his croft in the highlands (where he takes his hair out of the ponytail and wears a kilt). For crying out loud!
  
  It almost feels as if McDermid is straying into a chick-lit version of a police procedural. I hope that's not the case, and that future books have more of the tension of earlier books.
  
  It pains me to do it, but I can only give this 3 stars. For someone who wants to try out this series, I'd recommend books 2 through 5.
• 
  Sue

  Val McDermid is a very consistent writer. She provides much detail of the legal and police procedures that are important in her series and stand alone novels. Here, in “Still Life,” we find Karen Pirie again in her historical crimes unit. This time she is involved after the discovery of skeletonized remains in an old camper van in the garage of a woman who recently died in an accident. Strange case demanding a multi-pronged approach. Here is the combination of modern policing with old fashioned leg work.
  
  As this first case is moving along, Pirie is “commandeered” into another investigation. A new murder has been linked to an historical case, the disappearance of a low level Scottish official several years before. Working both cases reveals modern police methods, working with various legal departments, other police jurisdictions (officially and legally), and the world of forensics. I enjoy this level of detail and the honesty of what can and cannot be done in the real world.
  
  There is also a side story on Karen’s relationship with the man she met in the last book in the series and her difficulty in moving on from her lost love.
  
  Again, a recommended book from McDermid’s long list.
  
  A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
• 
  Maranda

  I love a good crime drama and I enjoyed McDermid's Broken Ground which is Inspector Karen Pirie #5. This Still Life installment just left me uninterested in the plot and the characters alike. Think there was just too much going on for my tastes. "A copy of this book was provided by Atlantic Monthly Press via NetGalley with no requirements for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion."
• 
  Nina

  Still Life has a slow start, even though this is about two cold cases. But the more clues DCI Karen Pirie finds the more dynamic the plot becomes. I enjoyed this a lot. 5 out of 5 stars.
• 
  Laura (Kyahgirl)

  3.5/5; 4 stars
  
  Pretty good story with two separate mysteries. I liked the meticulous detail involved in piecing together the stories behind the murders, both the cold case and the new one.
• 
  Leah

  Art and politics…
  
  DCI Karen Pirie is busy on a case involving a skeleton which has been found in a camper van when a fresh body turns up in the waters of the Forth. As the head of Police Scotland’s Historic Cases Unit Karen wouldn’t usually be involved in a current investigation, but the corpse in question is James Auld, a man who had disappeared ten years before, suspected of murdering his brother Iain, and Karen had reviewed that case just a couple of years earlier. So Karen finds herself juggling both cases, with the assistance of her regular DC, Jason Murray, and DS Daisy Mortimer, seconded to the unit to help with the Auld case.
  
  McDermid is on top form again in this one. The two cases run in parallel, although the Auld case soon takes priority, both for Karen and the reader. The skeleton is of a young woman, and it looks like she has probably been the victim of her partner, another young woman. So first Karen has to work out which of the women is the victim, and then try to trace the other woman, since both seem to have dropped off the radar a few years ago, at the time that the murder must have happened. Because of the Auld case, much of the work in the skeleton case is handed over to Jason, who has gradually developed over the series and is now a dependable, if not brilliant, officer. It’s good to see him get a chance to work on his own in this one, rather than simply acting as Karen’s sidekick. The role of sidekick is handed over to Daisy, an ambitious and competent young officer who has a strong personality of her own. I enjoyed her very much as a character, and hope she might become a permanent addition to the series.
  
  Iain Auld had been a civil servant in the Scotland Office (which, for non-Brits, is part of the UK government rather than the Scottish Government, and is based in London). So there had always been some question if his presumed death had had something to do with his job – a scandal waiting to blow up in the faces of the politicians. However, he’d been overheard having a heated argument with his brother the night he disappeared, so James was the obvious suspect. James also disappeared shortly afterwards and the police never managed to track him down. Now he too is dead, apparently murdered, and Karen must work out if the two deaths are connected. This will take her into a plot involving art and politics, and secrets that have been hidden by those who feel there are some things it’s better for the public not to know.
  
  While the bulk of the story is set in Scotland as usual, the twin plots mean that the team members have to do a bit of travelling outside the country, just at the point where Brexit is coming into force and the rules of cross-border policing are changing. Karen and Daisy have to go to Paris, which neither of them is unhappy about although they don’t get much time for sight-seeing. They do get to eat some nice French food though! Later they’ll also have to do a bit of investigation over the border in Ireland – sensitive at any time, but even more so when it’s still not clear exactly what the rules will be under Brexit. McDermid handles all this well, and, although she makes her anti-Brexit views quite clear, she restrains herself from being too strident about it, and happily has managed to keep her Scottish Nationalist polemics to herself for the most part this time, along with her sycophancy towards our First Minister. I do wish she could follow Ian Rankin’s example, though, and navigate her way through Scottish and British politics without banging a drum for any particular position. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person who reads crime fiction to get away from the tedium of real life where these arguments are inescapable.
  
  (On the subject of Ian Rankin, it always makes me laugh that Karen Pirie works out of Gayfield Square in Edinburgh, which of course is also Rebus’ usual headquarters. I find myself imagining them meeting in the canteen, or having to attend meetings together. I’d love to be a fly on the wall…)
  
  So strong plotting, interesting stories and an already likeable team enhanced by the new addition of Daisy make this a great addition to what continues to be an excellent series. As the book finishes, the characters are preparing for the first lockdown – it will be interesting to see if McDermid sets her next one during Covid, or jumps forward a couple of years to avoid it. Not sure I’m ready for pandemic novels yet, but we’ll see…
  
  
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