When a skeleton is discovered hidden at the top of a crumbling, gothic building in Edinburgh, Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie is faced with the unenviable task of identifying the bones. As Karen's investigation gathers momentum, she is drawn deeper into a dark world of intrigue and betrayal.

Meanwhile, someone is taking the law into their own hands in the name of justice and revenge -- but when present resentment collides with secrets of the past, the truth is more shocking than anyone could have imagined . . .

This is the third Karen Pirie novel by Val McDermid and I am reading them in sequence. There are so many Tony Hill/Carol Jordan novels that the prospect of trying to catch up on them in correct order is too daunting!!!

I have no doubt from any of her books that I have read, that VM is one of the very best crime writers in terms of plot construction, character development, psychological insight and page turning entertainment!

This is no exception. Without giving too much away, the catalyst for what happens in this novel are the Balkan Wars in the former Yugoslavia. Terrible, terrible things happened during these conflicts, the worst of humanity, and not really that long ago or far away from the ‘civilised’ world. VM is thought provoking here on what ‘ordinary’ people might become when the power of love and the desire for revenge and justice collide.

I like Karen as a character, we learn more about her and the people in her life. She’s not psychologically complex but intelligent, insightful and dogged in getting to the truth of the cold cases she works on. Go Karen!

Gripping and suspenseful, maybe the ending a little rushed. I enjoyed this but it did leave me thinking about human nature and not in a good way