McDermid, Val A Darker Domain ISBN 13: 9780061688997

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9780061688997: A Darker Domain
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A New York Times Notable Crime Book of the Year - A Finalist for the Los Angeles Book Prize

"[A Darker Domain] combines a thrilling story with heartbreaking questions of social justice and history." --Seattle Times

The New York Times calls Val McDermid, "As smooth a practitioner of crime fiction as anyone out there...the best we've got." Time spent with her extraordinary thriller, A Darker Domain, will prove that it's true. Set in Scotland, the milieu of Ian Rankin's John Rebus, McDermid's brilliant exploration of loyalty and greed intertwines the past and present.

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Review:

1984. The National miners' strike is dividing the country, and in a struggling coal-mining town, the miners and their families are living at the edge of their resources. They have no money, and there is no food or heating. On the 14th of December, five miners break ranks to travel to Nottingham and work. For those who stay behind, this is an unforgivable betrayal, and the men are branded as scabs. 23 years later, a young woman is asking the police to trace her missing father: miner Mick Prentice vanished, never to be seen again, although money has been sent to his family; he was widely considered to be one of the scabs. Soon, D I Karen Pirie and DS Phil Parharta find themselves investigating a forgotten disappearance.

This is the provocative premise of Val McDermid's latest novel, A Darker Domain, and this utterly compelling book is further proof that McDermid is determined to stretch the parameters of what crime fiction is supposedly capable of. McDermid has always been prepared to freight serious issues into her work, and this novel -- which, in many ways, is an examination of the conditions that produced the Britain we live in today -- demonstrates the continuing high level of her ambition.

In fact, Karen Pirie, when taking on this new assignment, is already involved in a case of kidnapping that took place 22 years earlier (in which a woman was killed during a bungled handover of money). Journalist Bel Richmond makes a startling discovery concerning the MacLennan kidnapping while on holiday in Tuscany, and as the three protagonists dig deeper into ever-more labyrinthine mysteries, they are to make some remarkable discoveries -- discoveries which throw light not just on the crimes involved, but on the whole of British society.

As all of this might suggest, the stakes here are as high as one is likely to find in a crime novel, and Val McDermid demonstrates that she is as capable as ever of integrating the demands of the page-turning crime narrative with a discussion of the things that make society tick. McDermid fans who may be lamenting the fact that this is not another novel featuring Dr Tony Hill will quickly change their minds as A Darker Domain exerts its cobra-like grip. --Barry Forshaw

Review:
"This renowned Scottish writer's fascinating new book is dark, less violent than some previous titles and heartbreakingly vivid. Its greatest strength is its depiction of the horrendous miners' strike of the mid-1980s. . . . This is a wonderfully written book you can't put down."--Romantic Times

"Complex and layered plotlines come together, and McDermid does an excellent job creating tension around a cold case. Sure to be a hit with McDermid's large fan base, it should also appeal to those who read other Scottish police mysteries."--Booklist

"This is McDermid's storytelling at its best, and DI Pirie, with her blend of humor and tenaciousness, is both likable and believable. A great read; highly recommended for fans of the genre."--Library Journal

"Multifaceted and relentlessly gripping. . . . McDermid advances each of the storylines separately until they are so intertwined that it becomes impossible to separate them, the intrigue mounting with each page turned."--BookPage (Mystery of the Month)

"A DARKER DOMAIN is a prime example of a crime novel that manages to encompass politics, sexual relations and social changes as it examines two unsolved crimes of the mid-1980s. . . . McDermid digs into the two cold cases through a pair of terrific investigators."--Connecticut Post

"Gripping and intense. . . . A strong, suspenseful psychological thriller. . . . McDermid pulls together these disparate cases with the aplomb and skill that will remind readers of her masterpiece, A Place of Execution. McDermid takes us into the heart of a mining community where unity meant survival."--Mystery Scene

"McDermid pulls us deeply into the lives of the victims and their families. . . . Pirie is a complicated heroine made all the more appealing by her everywoman demeanor."--USA Today

"McDermid keeps the suspense high as she also delivers an emotionally wrenching story about people abandoned by those they trust the most."--South Florida Sun Sentinel

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  • PublisherHarper Perennial
  • Publication date2010
  • ISBN 10 0061688991
  • ISBN 13 9780061688997
  • BindingPaperback
  • Number of pages368
  • Rating

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