Still Life

The breathtaking new DCI Karen Pirie thriller from number one bestseller and queen of crime, Val McDermid. When a body is pulled from the sea, Karen must reopen a case from a decade before, drawing her into a sinister world of betrayal and dark secrets. A skeleton discovered in an abandoned campervan points to a killer who never faced justice, still at large. As Karen tackles both investigations, she uncovers a network of lies that have gone unchallenged for years—and the danger that comes with exposing them. Praise for McDermid calls her “the queen of psychological thrillers,” with readers urged not to miss the twisty Karen Pirie entry in the series.

On a freezing winter morning, the sea reveals a man who had been the prime suspect in a decade-old disappearance. Karen was the last detective to review that file, and the revelation drags her back into a case saturated with suspicion and secrets. At the same time, a skeleton in the campervan raises fresh questions about a killer who evades justice, while a broader pattern of deceit threatens to consume everyone involved.

• DCI Karen Pirie reopens a decade-old disappearance case
• A body from the sea triggers new questions
• Skeleton in an abandoned campervan points to a killer
• A killer who never faced justice remains at large
• A web of lies and secrets drives the investigation
• Val McDermid writes the Karen Pirie series