The second chapter features a young man who has mental issues, is fanatical about Southeast Asia, and paranoid when he’s off his meds. Each book in this series is driven by Karen. She’s been well developed, shown growth and depth, and matured. She’s not the only character to do so, though. Jason “the Mint” Murray is another wonderful character who has grown and is devoted to Karen. That was part of the point. She had chosen to move to Edinburgh precisely because it was unfamiliar. Deciding to live here had felt like a project. Learning the city one street at a time might take her mind off the grief and the pain.

Aye. We got a hit on the DNA database. I don't pretend to understand these things, but it wasn't a direct hit. Well, it couldn't have been, because it ties in with a twenty-year-old murder and this laddies only seventeen.' The rustle of paper. 'Apparently it's what they call a familial hit. Whoever left his semen all over a rape murder victim in Glasgow twenty years ago was a close male relative of a wee Dundee gobshite called Ross Garvie.'

Aye. One of the officers attending, it was his first fatal RTA. I doubt he'll get much sleep for a wee while. Anyway, the thing is, the driver's still alive. He's in a coma, like, but he's still hanging in there.' Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival. Meanwhile Karen finds herself irresistibly drawn to another case, one that she has no business investigating. And as she pieces together decades-old evidence, Karen discovers the most dangerous kinds of secrets. Secrets that someone is willing to kill for . . .

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Grove Atlantic via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Out of Bounds by Val McDermid for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.Out of Bounds is a 2016 crime drama novel by Scottish crime writer Val McDermid. The novel is set during 2016 but because the main detective is in the Historic Case Unit (HCU) the crimes being investigated were actually committed in 1994 and 1996. I personally really enjoyed Out of Bounds. It is a gripping book that chilled me however when I begun to think about how deceptive people really can be – fiction or otherwise.

DNA collected at a horrific traffic crash makes a hit on a closed 20 year old cold rape/murder case. There is a familial match to the unknown killer of Tina McDonald. This information hits the desk of Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie, head of the Historic Cases Unit. I love the name of the cold case division. It's perfect for Scotland. And head of the department? It's only her and one junior officer. Has she taken on too much? Will she ever find the answers she wants and needs? Can Karen finally admit that she is desperately lonely and doesn’t know how to deal with the pain? Set in and around Edinburgh, the reader is faced head on with secrets, betrayal, politics/power, loss and the over riding search for the truth and justice. The third chapter features an unnamed woman with insomnia who walks the streets of Edinburgh alone at night.This had it all - great characters - sympathetic, realistically flawed - I adore the relationship between Karen and her loyal offsider Jason, as well as cameos from some of her other protagonists like River. I lived in Edinburgh for ten years so loved the nostalgia trip of being able to picture all the streets, buildings and monuments. There’s a subplot about Syrian refugees that beautifully showcases Karen’s humanity and resolute practicality, and plenty of interesting scientific/forensic details. Here the whodunnit is less important than that “how will she catch them” and no less satisfying. McDermid is an experienced and confident enough writer to not feel the need to link all the cases together by infuriating coincidence, and neither do we have to endure the perpetrator’s POV. There’s no gratuitous violence but this is certainly no cosy mystery. An easy five stars from me.

It's been a long time since I read a McDermid book, perhaps 15 years. I read a number of the early Tony Hill/Carol Jordan books but gave up after 4 or so because there seemed to be a steady ratcheting up of violence and torture. Over the past three to four years I've read so many favorable comments about McDermid that when I finally heard of the Karen Pirie series I thought I'd give it a try. I started with the 4th and most recent book, "Out of Bounds" (OB) and enjoyed it very much. Still Pirie is fierce and jumps into the case with no holds barred. There are unusual twists that complicate the investigation. She also stumbles into another cold case, a small airplane bombed years ago supposedly by the IRA and all four passengers were killed. Pirie's investigation negates the Irish connection and leads to another murder just committed.

Delighted that DNA evidence has now borne fruit,Karen is surprised at the sudden twist the case takes and ponders if she will ever discover the real culprit responsible for Tina's death and bring him to justice. Without a doubt, this is a book all crime fans will love. It starts in a bizarre way and if you haven’t read any of the other novels in this series, it could be confusing but keep with it. This is a book that can be read in silo of the others because other than the story-line of how her boyfriend dies, nothing else is carried forward from what I can see, so don’t be afraid to read Out of Bounds as a standalone novel. ABOUT 'OUT OF BOUNDS': When a teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car and ends up in a coma, a routine DNA test reveals a connection to an unsolved murder from twenty-two years before. Finding the answer to the cold case should be straightforward. But it’s as twisted as the DNA helix itself. 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. Ross Garvie,a teenage joy rider,critically ill in hospital,the only survivor of the horrific accident that saw his three mates die,seems to hold the key to their investigation.