Author: Val McDermidCrime & mysteryPublished on 4 June 2026 by Little, Brown Book Group (Sphere) in the United Kingdom as part of 'the Karen Pirie' series.Paperback | 448 pages126 x 197 x 32 | 304g THE POWERFUL NEW THRILLER IN THE KAREN PIRIE SERIES, NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES'Beautifully structured, witty and twisty' ANN CLEEVES'A perfect crime novel' KATE MOSSE'Powerful, moving and wise' HARLAN COBEN'Full of humour, heart and trademark twists' CHRIS WHITAKER'A corkscrew twist at every turn' DAILY MAILThe truth is buried just beneath the surface . . .When torrential rain causes a landslide on a motorway in Scotland, it reveals a crime scene: someone hid a body in the tarmac eleven years before. Journalist Sam Nimmo had been the prime suspect in the murder of his fiancée when he disappeared, and now DCI Karen Pirie and her Historic Cases Unit must find out who buried him, and why.Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, new evidence reopens a closed case and the accidental death of a hotel manager starts to look like murder. But what did Tom Jamieson's book club have to do with his demise - and what will they do to keep their secrets?Karen and her team begin to untangle a web of lies, one that connects their murder cases with Scotland's rich and powerful. They will be tested to their limits - and possibly beyond . . .'Blends procedural tension with eerie rural isolation' I PAPER'Showcases the agile plotting that makes this among the best crime fiction series today' IRISH TIMES'Fiendishly elaborate plotting [and] it's fun to read too' SCOTSMAN
