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BrokenTune's Reviews > A Darker Domain

A Darker Domain by Val McDermid
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really liked it
bookshelves: reviewed

Karen leaned back in her chair, not liking the answer she came up with, but knowing there would be nothing better coming from the man opposite her. ‘You were a right bunch of fucking cowboys in the old days, weren’t you?’ There was no admiration in her tone.

I don't know what I expected but I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. I gather from a lot of comments and other reviews that this is one of McDermid's weaker offerings but I actually really enjoyed the mix of interlinking stories, each of which had it's own element of suspense:

The search for a donor that is compatible with a sick child.
The disappearance of a man who seemingly one day walks out on his family in the midst of the 1984 miners' strikes.
The journalist in search of a story.
The business oligarch in search of his peace of mind.
And DI Karen Pirie searching for the solutions to all of these puzzles.

As mentioned before, I'm not keen on reading gory tales or scary thrillers, and I was pleasantly surprised that the suspense - and there are oodles of suspense in this - was built not on gory facts but on characters and atmosphere. The elements of forensic detail just helped piece the clues together and follow the investigation.

So, yes, my apprehension of reading this was totally unwarranted - and yes, it was all in my head. Just as well, because having read this one I look forward to reading more by McDermid. It's is not just her writing style that made me hungry for more but also the setting - Kingdom of Fife - and the historical snippets.
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Reading Progress

August 15, 2015 – Started Reading
August 15, 2015 – Shelved
August 15, 2015 – Finished Reading

Comments Showing 1-8 of 8 (8 new)

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message 1: by Karen· (new)

Karen· Hey, by happy coincidence here I am in the Kingdom of Fife at this very moment!

Rankin is what I'll pick up if I feel like a Scottish setting and a bit of merry mayhem, but it looks like I should investigate (!) McDermid.


BrokenTune ·Karen· wrote: "Hey, by happy coincidence here I am in the Kingdom of Fife at this very moment!

Rankin is what I'll pick up if I feel like a Scottish setting and a bit of merry mayhem, but it looks like I should..."


You are???!! How long for???


message 3: by Karen· (new)

Karen· Until next Tuesday.


message 4: by Karen· (new)

Karen· Actually, I just looked closer at your profile pic - that looks like the Firth of Forth.


BrokenTune ·Karen· wrote: "Actually, I just looked closer at your profile pic - that looks like the Firth of Forth."

Oooh, ... I'm looking to be in Fife this weekend. :)

Re profile pic, that actually was taken over at the other side, in Campbelltown. But the sheep are so ubiquitous it could be anywhere, really.


BrokenTune Are you Fringing?


message 7: by Karen· (last edited Aug 19, 2015 07:39AM) (new)

Karen· Noo, although I am thinking of going to a book festival event.

Visiting the Aged Parents. We took a trip down to Elie today. Sun!


Sharyn Simcox Trying to reside if I want to down load the audio book. The three reviews offered by Good reads are a big help as always. Thanks to everyone who takes time to write reviews they are a great help to us of limited means and unusual taste.


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