Val McDermid is a Scottish crime fiction legend. I have loved many of her chilling police procedurals and tried some of her standalone novels. Most of these I read before I started reviewing books online. Her latest, Past Lying, was a fascinating book with SO much to discuss, which I will do in this Review of Past Lying by Val McDermid.
Past Lying by Val McDermid: Overview
- Past Lying (Karen Pirie #7) by Val McDermid
- Published on November 14, 2023 by Atlantic Monthly Press
- 464 pages
- 4.4 Goodreads rating (wow, right?)
- I read this book in November 2023. Thanks to the publisher for an advance copy for review.
Past Lying: Jen’s Quick Take
- Those who love the soothing, methodical pace of police procedurals (me!)
- Fans of The Plot
- Those who enjoy podcasts about cold cases
- People who love (or have always wanted to visit) Edinburgh
- Readers who don’t mind a book set in the pandemic (give me a chance to defend this choice!)
- Okay there’s one more but I WANT you to read this book, so I’ll explain below!
Review of Past Lying by Val McDermid
What is Past Lying About?
As the book begins, an archivist contacts the police about something she found in the donated papers of a famous thriller author who recently passed away.
What did she find? A written blueprint for a murder that seems more fact than fiction. In fact, it seems like a plan for a crime that’s eerily similar to a real local case that has since gone cold.
Karen and her team dig deeper and find evidence that the writer of this blueprint might have designed the perfect crime and then committed the it to frame his literary rival.
Okay, THAT got me interested.
Why I Loved Past Lying
Past Lying is both entertaining and diabolically. The Edinburgh setting was atmospheric and evocative.
I find procedurals soothing. I liked Karen Pirie and her team and enjoyed watching them go around the city trying to solve this mystery. As the book was set in 2020, the investigation happens during the pandemic and the team is constantly having to be creative to get their job done (more on the pandemic angle below.)
This murder blueprint case was SO compelling to me. I love meta-thrillers that reference writing thrillers, books like The Plot.
I also love mysteries that have a story within a story, like the books on this list.
I’m also a big fan of suspenseful books about literary rivals, like this one.
In fact, I made a whole list of mysteries and thrillers featuring writers as characters!
So this was 100% a Jen book. But I want to help you decide if it’s right for you.
Elements of Past Lying that could be downsides for some readers:
Past Lying is book number seven in an ongoing series. And, I must confess, it’s a series that I wasn’t crazy about. In fact, after loving this book, I went back and re-tried Karen Pirie book one and then book two and … they didn’t grab me.
But I absolutely loved this book and didn’t mind not knowing all the characters’ backstory. I might try the Karen Pirie series on Britbox and do a comparison post.
Past Lying is quite long for a procedural. I’m not sure why and I (obviously) didn’t mind, but just putting it out there.
As mentioned above, the story is set in 2020, during the pandemic. I know this is a big downside for some readers. Maybe you’re saying “too soon, Jen” but it also didn’t bother me. The pandemic is mostly discussed as it hinders the investigation, and one character is personally impacted.
Overall, I was a HUGE fan of Past Lying. It was a pleasure to read and I enjoyed every page. Will you try it? Tell me in comments!