NOTE: the first paragraph is copied from an earlier (2020) review.

“I have a history with Val McDermid, and her wonderful protagonist Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie of Police Scotland. Back in 2016, I read and reviewed Out of Bounds by Val McDermid, #4 in the series with this feisty female protagonist. At that time, I said, “I’m not sure why I haven’t read Val McDermid before, or why I wanted to read this one, but I am so glad it happened…McDermid fans may already be familiar with Chief Inspector Karen Pirie of Police Scotland, as Out of Bounds is #4 in the series. I plan to read the first three in the series (The Distant Echo, A Darker Domain, and The Skeleton Road), but this story doesn’t require any prior knowledge, and functions as a standalone novel.” Then, in 2018, I read and reviewed Broken Ground, #5 in the series, and admitted I never got to the first three, but I definitely would since I had really enjoyed #5.”

So here we are in 2023, and Ms. McDermid has brought another winner! This is #7 in the series and, like prior ones in the series, it functions just fine as a standalone, so if you haven’t yet discovered Chief Inspector Karen Pirie, not to worry! Set in the lockdown era of 2020 in Edinburgh,  the story finds Karen enduring lockdown in her boyfriend Hamish’s penthouse, so she isn’t suffering too much…although having invited a co-worker to stay with her, she then has to listen to what feels like nonstop chatter. And although the city is totally locked down, that doesn’t prevent McDermid from writing a superb thriller with a twisty plot and intricately plotted unraveling of the mystery. I may have enjoyed this even more, as I had just returned from San Diego where I fulfilled a long-standing bucket list item by attending Bouchercon, the annual gathering of thousands of crime/mystery writers, readers, bloggers, podcasters, and just plain fans. Great fun! Same goes for this book. Five stars.