January 6, 2015

The Skeleton Road


The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid

Summary: Internationally best-selling crime writer Val McDermid is one of the most dependable professionals in the mystery and thriller business, whose acutely suspenseful, seamlessly plotted novels have riveted millions of readers worldwide. In The Skeleton Road, she delivers a gripping standalone novel about a cold case that links back to the Balkan Wars of the 1990s.

In the center of historic Edinburgh, builders are preparing to demolish a disused Victorian Gothic building. They are understandably surprised to find skeletal remains hidden in a high pinnacle that hasn’t been touched by maintenance for years. Who do the bones belong to, and how did they get there? Could the eccentric British pastime of free climbing the outside of buildings play a role? Enter cold case detective Karen Pirie, who gets to work trying to establish the corpse’s identity. And when it turns out the bones may be from as far away as former Yugoslavia, Karen will need to dig deeper than she ever imagined into the tragic history of the Balkans: to war crimes and their consequences, and ultimately to the notion of what justice is and who serves it.

The Skeleton Road is an edge-of-your-seat, unforgettable read from one of our finest crime writers.


Angie's Comments: Fantastic story about death and the Balkan Wars. The characters are complex, and you realize that even heroes have failings. I was able to guess who the murderer was early on, but not the motive until closer towards the ending. The book is more about the war, justice and relationships than it is about the mystery. The ending was abrupt, and I can’t say I liked the ending. However, I enjoyed reading the book and would recommend this to book to people who enjoy mysteries or political fiction. 



No comments: