{"title":"Val McDermid","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"karen-pirie-series-val-mcdermid-6-books-collection-set-fiction-paperback","title":"Karen Pirie Crime Series by Val McDermid - 6 Books Collection Set - Fiction - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTitles in This Set\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Distant Echo\u003cbr\u003e\nA Darker Domain\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Skeleton Road\u003cbr\u003e\nOut of Bounds\u003cbr\u003e\nBroken Ground\u003cbr\u003e\nStill Life\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDetails\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Brand New\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Paperback\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: HarperCollins, Sphere\u003cbr\u003eGenre: Fiction \/ Crime, Thriller \u0026amp; Mystery\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOverview\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nDiscover the acclaimed Karen Pirie series by Val McDermid in this six-book paperback collection. Set largely in Scotland, these novels follow Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie as she works Scotland's Historic Cases Unit, reopening cold cases where new evidence finally surfaces after decades of silence. From a snow-covered Fife crime scene to a bog-preserved body in the Highlands and a war-scarred trail leading back to the Balkans, McDermid weaves forensic precision with slow-burn suspense. Perfect for readers who love intelligent, character-driven crime fiction, this set delivers six complete, atmospheric mysteries in one collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Books\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nAcross these six novels, Val McDermid builds one of modern crime fiction's most compelling investigators in Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie, a cold-case specialist whose instincts and empathy for victims drive every book forward. The Distant Echo introduces Karen as she reopens a decades-old murder tied to four former university friends, while A Darker Domain sends her chasing a ransom-drop mystery stretching from Scotland to Tuscany. The Skeleton Road pulls a forgotten sniper's skeleton into a case rooted in the Balkan wars, showcasing McDermid's talent for blending international intrigue with tight procedural detail. In Out of Bounds, a teenager's car crash unexpectedly reopens a twenty-year-old murder inquiry, testing Karen's resolve as old loyalties splinter and family secrets resurface. Broken Ground takes readers to the remote Scottish Highlands, where a body preserved in peat becomes tangled with a decades-old inheritance dispute, and Still Life closes the set with a body recovered from the sea that reopens a case everyone believed was long since settled. Throughout the collection, McDermid's hallmark strengths shine: meticulous procedural accuracy, richly drawn Scottish settings, and a persistent examination of how the past never truly stays buried. Karen Pirie's own steady evolution as a detective, balancing personal setbacks with professional tenacity, gives the series real emotional weight alongside its puzzle-box plotting, making the set as satisfying emotionally as it is intellectually.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKey Benefits\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComplete six-book paperback set featuring Detective Karen Pirie, McDermid's beloved cold-case investigator\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAtmospheric Scottish settings, from Fife to the Highlands\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCharacter-driven crime plots blending forensic detail with emotional depth\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIdeal for fans of tartan noir and slow-burn cold-case mysteries\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGreat gift for crime fiction readers, book clubs, or holiday gifting\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBook-by-Book Guide\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Distant Echo — Four college friends find a young woman's body in the snow, and a cold-case review decades later forces them to face that fateful night.\u003cbr\u003e\nA Darker Domain — A failed ransom drop and a decades-old disappearance collide when a Tuscan villa yields new evidence in a tangled inheritance case.\u003cbr\u003e\nThe Skeleton Road — A sniper's skeleton on an Edinburgh rooftop leads Karen Pirie down a trail rooted in the brutal wars of the Balkans.\u003cbr\u003e\nOut of Bounds — A teenager's joyride crash triggers a DNA match that reopens a twenty-year-old murder inquiry and old family secrets.\u003cbr\u003e\nBroken Ground — A body preserved in a Highland peat bog beside vintage motorcycles pulls Karen into a case of inheritance and betrayal.\u003cbr\u003e\nStill Life — A body pulled from the sea reopens a decade-old case everyone believed had long since been closed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nVal McDermid is a bestselling Scottish crime writer whose novels have been translated into more than forty languages worldwide. Best known for her Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series as well as the Karen Pirie novels, McDermid draws on her journalism background to bring authenticity and procedural detail to her fiction. Her Karen Pirie books are set primarily in Scotland and follow a cold-case detective whose empathy and persistence anchor every investigation. McDermid is widely regarded as a leading voice in contemporary crime fiction, earning a loyal international readership over several decades.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy You'll Love This Collection\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThis complete Karen Pirie paperback set is perfect for crime fiction fans, book club picks, or a thoughtful gift for the mystery lover in your life. Whether you're stocking a vacation reading pile, building a home library, or looking for a holiday season gift, this six-book collection delivers atmospheric Scottish crime writing at its finest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlease Note: This is the UK edition with the ISBN as listed; the cover may vary slightly from the image shown.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Val McDermid","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57259424612726,"sku":"MAN-9789123556595","price":72.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0575\/6587\/2211\/files\/karen-pirie-series-val-mcdermid-paperback.jpg?v=1785932568"},{"product_id":"kate-brannigan-series-val-mcdermid-6-books-collection-set-fiction-paperback","title":"Kate Brannigan Series by Val McDermid 6 Books Collection Set - Fiction - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTitles in This Set\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nDead Beat\u003cbr\u003e\nKick Back\u003cbr\u003e\nCrack Down\u003cbr\u003e\nClean Break\u003cbr\u003e\nBlue Genes\u003cbr\u003e\nStar Struck\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDetails\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nCondition: Brand New\u003cbr\u003e\nFormat: Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\n\nPublisher: HarperCollins\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOverview\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nVal McDermid's Kate Brannigan mysteries follow a whip-smart, wisecracking Manchester private investigator who mixes street savvy with a fierce sense of justice. This six-book paperback set gathers the complete run, from Dead Beat through Star Struck, as Kate builds her career untangling scams, thefts, and corporate deceit across 1990s Britain. Fans of character-driven crime fiction with sharp dialogue and genuine social bite will find plenty to love here. Perfect for weekend reading, commuting, or gifting to any mystery lover, this collection lets readers follow Kate's cases in order from her very first job to her final Manchester adventure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Books\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nAcross six novels published between 1992 and 1998, Val McDermid built Kate Brannigan into one of British crime fiction's most distinctive investigators. Kate runs her own detective agency out of Manchester, taking on missing-person searches, insurance fraud, art theft, and corporate scams that inevitably widen into something far more dangerous. What sets the series apart is McDermid's grounding of each case in real social texture: housing scams that prey on ordinary buyers, music-industry secrets, white-collar fraud rings, and the shifting economics of a post-industrial city. Kate herself is no hardboiled loner; she has a supportive partner, a network of friends and informants, a sharp legal mind for the loopholes of her trade, and a dry, self-deprecating wit that carries readers through even the tensest chapters. McDermid, who trained as a journalist before turning to fiction, brings a reporter's eye for procedural detail and a novelist's instinct for pace, and the results are lean, fast-moving mysteries that never sacrifice character for plot. Read in order, the six books trace Kate's growing confidence and expanding caseload, while each also works as a satisfying standalone mystery. Long out of print in some editions, this complete paperback set finally makes it easy to own and read the entire Brannigan arc together, in the sequence McDermid intended, as one of the defining female-led detective series of early-1990s British crime writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKey Benefits\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComplete six-book run of the Kate Brannigan series in reading order, from Dead Beat to Star Struck\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCharacter-driven crime fiction with sharp, witty dialogue and a strong sense of 1990s Manchester\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLightweight paperback format, ideal for commuting, travel, or bedtime reading\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA satisfying introduction for new readers and a complete collectible set for longtime McDermid fans\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGreat gift idea for mystery and thriller readers, birthdays, or holiday stocking stuffers\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBrand new condition, ready to read straight out of the box\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBook-by-Book Guide\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nDead Beat — Kate Brannigan takes on her first big case, tracking down a songwriter for a rock legend and uncovering a web of deception in the Manchester music scene.\u003cbr\u003e\nKick Back — Kate investigates a run of missing conservatory extensions, a seemingly small case that pulls her into a wider mortgage and housing fraud scheme.\u003cbr\u003e\nCrack Down — a computer fraud investigation drags Kate into a criminal network reaching well beyond Manchester, testing her nerve and her contacts.\u003cbr\u003e\nClean Break — when a Monet is stolen from a stately home, Kate chases the thieves across Europe while an old friend's troubles hit closer to home.\u003cbr\u003e\nBlue Genes — with her boyfriend's death notice printed in error and a fraud case unraveling, Kate has to sort out her personal life while chasing down the truth.\u003cbr\u003e\nStar Struck — the sixth and final entry in the series, closing out Kate Brannigan's Manchester-based investigative career.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nVal McDermid is a Scottish crime writer whose career began in journalism before she turned to fiction full time. Best known for her long-running Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series, later adapted for television as Wire in the Blood, she also created the Lindsay Gordon mysteries and the Kate Brannigan series featured in this set. McDermid's crime writing is known for sharp plotting, credible procedural detail, and a strong sense of place across Manchester and the wider British crime landscape. She has become one of the most translated and respected voices in contemporary crime fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy You'll Love This Collection\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThis complete Kate Brannigan set is a must for crime fiction fans who love sharp wit, strong female leads, and page-turning plots grounded in real social detail. Ideal as a birthday gift, holiday stocking stuffer, or summer reading pick, it's an affordable way to enjoy an entire acclaimed series in durable, brand-new paperback form.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlease Note: This is the UK edition with the ISBN as listed; the cover may vary slightly from the image shown.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Val McDermid","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57259425825142,"sku":"PLD9855","price":65.7,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0575\/6587\/2211\/files\/kate-brannigan-series-val-mcdermid-paperback.jpg?v=1785932763"}],"url":"https:\/\/skymartbooks.com\/collections\/val-mcdermid.oembed","provider":"Skymart Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}