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50th out of 175 books
—
34 voters
A Darker Domain
by
Val McDermid
Past and present intertwine in this rare stand-alone novel of taut psychological drama--a brilliant exploration of loyalty and greed from the bestselling mistress of suspense.
Fife, Scotland, 1985. Heiress Catriona Maclennan Grant and her baby son are kidnapped. The ransom payoff goes horribly wrong and Grant is killed. Her son disappears without a trace--until 2008, when a...more
Fife, Scotland, 1985. Heiress Catriona Maclennan Grant and her baby son are kidnapped. The ransom payoff goes horribly wrong and Grant is killed. Her son disappears without a trace--until 2008, when a...more
Hardcover, 371 pages
Published
by HarperCollins
(first published 2008)
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Apr 07, 2009
Michael
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery,
read-in-2009
It may have been a mistake to read "A Dark Domain" as close to the new Laura Lippman novel as I did. Lippman's stories always set my expectations bar high for mystery stories.
I really did think Val McDermid had it in her to compete with Lippman. I consumed "A Place of Execution" a few years ago, but I have to be honest that McDermid's novels since then have been rather hit or miss for me.
Chalk "A Dark Domain" up as a miss.
And it's got such an intriguing premise. A woman walks into the cold cas...more
I really did think Val McDermid had it in her to compete with Lippman. I consumed "A Place of Execution" a few years ago, but I have to be honest that McDermid's novels since then have been rather hit or miss for me.
Chalk "A Dark Domain" up as a miss.
And it's got such an intriguing premise. A woman walks into the cold cas...more
Val McDermid has tackled some social history that is obviously very dear to her own heart in A DARKER DOMAIN, and it has to be said, she's done it with considerable style. Not only does this book give you a fascinating glimpse into the social chaos and personal pain caused by the Miner's Strikes in early 1980's Britain, it carries the story of three unfathomable disappearances.
Cold Case squad detectives DI Karen Pirie and DS Phil Parhatka are initially looking into the disappearance of Mick Pren...more
Cold Case squad detectives DI Karen Pirie and DS Phil Parhatka are initially looking into the disappearance of Mick Pren...more
There was so much wrong with this book. While the plot started out promisingly, I wound up figuring out the truth halfway through the book which is never good. Then the characters, each of them so one dimensional and false. The dialogue effectively consisted of tired cliches which the author pointed out herself through the prose, leading me to wonder WHY she wouldn't change it if she knew she sounded like a bad television police procedural. Another issue was that I felt like I was reading the se...more
Selbst in einer schottischen Bergbaugegend geboren, kehrt Val McDermid in Nacht unter Tag (2008 erstmals erschienen) zu ihren Wurzeln zurück. Die Protagonisten sind auch nicht Teil der Reihe um ihre Ermittler Carol Jordan und Tony Hill.
Die Tochter und der Enkel des schottischen Großindustriellen Sir Broderick Maclennan Grant wurden vor Jahrzehnteen gekidnapped, wobei die Tochter erschossen wurde und der Enkel verschwand. Als Ermittlerin von ungelösten Fällen hat Detective Inspector Karen Pirie...more
Die Tochter und der Enkel des schottischen Großindustriellen Sir Broderick Maclennan Grant wurden vor Jahrzehnteen gekidnapped, wobei die Tochter erschossen wurde und der Enkel verschwand. Als Ermittlerin von ungelösten Fällen hat Detective Inspector Karen Pirie...more
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With A Darker Domain, Scottish author Val McDermid boldly steps away from her famous Tony Hill series to deliver a brand new stand alone psychological thriller/mystery filled with mystery, betrayal and darkness.
When Michelle Gibson reports that her father, Mick Prentice, is missing, it captures the attention of cold case P.I. Karen Pirie -especially when Michelle (aska Misha) explains that he father disappeared 22 years ago during the now-infamous 1984 miners' strike. Even though the rest of the...more
When Michelle Gibson reports that her father, Mick Prentice, is missing, it captures the attention of cold case P.I. Karen Pirie -especially when Michelle (aska Misha) explains that he father disappeared 22 years ago during the now-infamous 1984 miners' strike. Even though the rest of the...more
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I am a Val McDermid fan. She writes a couple of series featuring characters Tony Hill, Kate Brannigan and Lindsay Gordon. A Darker Domain is a stand alone title featuring Detective Inspector Karen Pirie of the Fife, Scotland Cold Case Squad. Karen is working simultaneously on the long delayed (over twenty years!) report of a missing father and a kidnapping gone tragic. Mick Prentice disappeared during a 1984 miners’ strike and was thought to have gone ‘scabbing’, but his daughter is now in need...more
Detective Sergeant Karen Pirie deals with cold cases.
Twenty-four years ago, a wealthy reclusive Scottish business man, Brodie Grant, lost his daughter in a botched kidnapping and never did find his grandson. Bel Richmond, an investigative reporter finds evidence of the kidnapping while on holiday in Tuscany. Bel goes directly to Grant who grants her access to himself and directs her investigations. Although Pirie is called in on the case, Grant only gives her minimal information and even orders...more
Twenty-four years ago, a wealthy reclusive Scottish business man, Brodie Grant, lost his daughter in a botched kidnapping and never did find his grandson. Bel Richmond, an investigative reporter finds evidence of the kidnapping while on holiday in Tuscany. Bel goes directly to Grant who grants her access to himself and directs her investigations. Although Pirie is called in on the case, Grant only gives her minimal information and even orders...more
Before reading A Darker Domain, I had only read Val McDermid's Tony Hill series of books which are some of the most accomplished, intelligent crime fiction available today.
A Darker Domain started so well; excellent characters, realistic and comfortable dialogue wound around a well paced and engaging thriller. But it soon became clear that the secrets of her plot were unravelling like wool. Was Val revealing the conclusion purposely because there were twists to come or had she taken her eye off...more
A Darker Domain started so well; excellent characters, realistic and comfortable dialogue wound around a well paced and engaging thriller. But it soon became clear that the secrets of her plot were unravelling like wool. Was Val revealing the conclusion purposely because there were twists to come or had she taken her eye off...more
Oct 09, 2009
Michael
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Englishe mystery fans, Peter Robinson fans
Recommended to Michael by:
Enjoy the author's writing.
Det Inspector Karen Pirie and Det Sgt Phil Parketak of the cold case squad are asked to find a person who had been missing for over 20 years.
Michelle "Misha" Gibson is searching for her father, Mick Prentice, who apparently became a strikebreaker in the 1984 minor's strike, and then disappeared. The reason Misha waited so long to report his absence is that both she and her mother felt that becoming a strikebreaker was equivalent to treason to the other minors and they wanted nothing more to do w...more
Michelle "Misha" Gibson is searching for her father, Mick Prentice, who apparently became a strikebreaker in the 1984 minor's strike, and then disappeared. The reason Misha waited so long to report his absence is that both she and her mother felt that becoming a strikebreaker was equivalent to treason to the other minors and they wanted nothing more to do w...more
While McDermid doesn't play all of her cards too early, A Darker Domain almost completely runs out of steam once everything is revealed. She attempts to inject some thrills into the last thirty pages but they are damp squibs in what was, up to them, a fairly compelling crime novel powered by two interesting protagonists acting both together and at cross purposes.
Using several of the same characters of The Distant Echo, A Darker Domain dredges up the ghosts of both the 1984 miner's strike and a b...more
Using several of the same characters of The Distant Echo, A Darker Domain dredges up the ghosts of both the 1984 miner's strike and a b...more
The location is Fife, Scotland. Back in the eighties, a man by the name of Mick Prentice left his family. He was a miner. He joined the strikebreakers and was never seen or heard from again. Now twenty-three years later, someone is reporting Mick missing.
The year was 1985. Something terrible happened then. Heiress Catriona Maclennan Grant and her baby boy get kidnapped. It was all suppose to be simple. The ransom was to be paid and everyone would be safe. For whatever reason, something went wro...more
The year was 1985. Something terrible happened then. Heiress Catriona Maclennan Grant and her baby boy get kidnapped. It was all suppose to be simple. The ransom was to be paid and everyone would be safe. For whatever reason, something went wro...more
I am a big fan of McDermid's Tony Hill books and only recently began reading her non-series books. I was a little disappointed with The Grave Tattoo, but A Darker Domain was a great return to form. Not as graphic as the Tony Hill books (which explore very dark places), A Darker Domain is a fairly straight-forward police procedural with extras. But what makes it fascinating is it's depiction of a time and place (1984 and the Miners Strike in Scotland) and it's structure - flashbacks centering aro...more
This is another standalone from the talented Val McDermid, who as usual is able to weave together many threads to produce one compelling narrative. By the time I got to the end of the book I couldn't stop reading it. The main character is Detective Karen Pirie, a cold case detective in Fife, Scotland. She gets two cases that are real heartbreakers: one is the case of a young woman looking for her long missing father - she hopes his bone marrow can help save her gravely ill son. The other is the...more
Mar 04, 2012
Stuart
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
crime-mystery,
scottish
Excellent book. Set in Fife, Scotland, twenty years after the 1984/1985 miner’s strike, the book follows the investigation of a kidnapping that took place in that environment and the disappearance of a miner at the same time. Two events in the current era spark the activation of these two cold cases. First a young boy needs a bone marrow transplant and his presumed scab miner father is a potential donor, but has apparently been missing since 1985, when he had been thought to have moved to Englan...more
I had not read any books by Val McDermid before but saw this one on a shelf in Waterstones and decided I was in the mood for a good thriller - the book did not disappoint!
Right from the start I was hooked, it's set in 2007 and also 1984/5 during the miners strike. I was 12/13 then and whilst I do of course remember it on the news I wasn't really aware of the hardships endured during those times. The book flits between the two time frames very well and manages to describe the times as well. It's...more
Right from the start I was hooked, it's set in 2007 and also 1984/5 during the miners strike. I was 12/13 then and whilst I do of course remember it on the news I wasn't really aware of the hardships endured during those times. The book flits between the two time frames very well and manages to describe the times as well. It's...more
Set in Fife, the story is based in the mid 1980s but happening in 2007. A man is reported missing after 20 years, having been thought to be scabbing, and a DI is assigned a cold case of a ransom gone wrong which resulted in the death of the adult hostage and the other going missing.
If, like me, you were separated from the effects of the strike either by time or geography, this can give you some insight into what it was actually like for the miners and their families, the desperation it caused, a...more
If, like me, you were separated from the effects of the strike either by time or geography, this can give you some insight into what it was actually like for the miners and their families, the desperation it caused, a...more
Not as great as Val McDermid's other works (Wire in the Blood series). About halfway through the book, I figured out the mystery behind the kidnapping/murder. Given the sheer number of thrillers I have read/seen, it wasn't a huge accomplishment. I am sure I have come across something like this in the past.
However, these were a couple of twists at the end that caught me by surprise...in a good way. Hence, the three stars in the review!
I definitely liked the style of writing. There wasn't really...more
However, these were a couple of twists at the end that caught me by surprise...in a good way. Hence, the three stars in the review!
I definitely liked the style of writing. There wasn't really...more
2008. A cold missing persons case in a Scottish mining town reopens an unsolved twenty-two year old kidnapping and murder and leads Detective Inspector Karen Pirie to a pair of "unrelated" disappearances which altogether unravel the complex relationship between the miners and the most powerful man in Scotland.
If that sounds like a huge story, it is. We've got: Class warfare. Gender warfare. Abuse of power. Press connivance. Provincialism. Nationalism. Union busters and scabs. Art versus commerc...more
If that sounds like a huge story, it is. We've got: Class warfare. Gender warfare. Abuse of power. Press connivance. Provincialism. Nationalism. Union busters and scabs. Art versus commerc...more
Val McDermid delivers consistently good mystery fiction. Her series with Tony Hill is excellent throughout & I have yet to read a standalone of hers that wasn't also wonderful.
McDermid writes wonderfully complex & twisty characters & plots. I also really enjoy her settings - typically the North of England or Scotland - places we all tend to read less about.
Born into a coal mining family in Scotland, this novel (which covers the disappearances of 3 people during the time of the miner'...more
McDermid writes wonderfully complex & twisty characters & plots. I also really enjoy her settings - typically the North of England or Scotland - places we all tend to read less about.
Born into a coal mining family in Scotland, this novel (which covers the disappearances of 3 people during the time of the miner'...more
Despite my displeasure with Beneath the Bleeding I thought I'd go ahead and give McDermid another try. Quite pleased I did. She lays off alot of the stupid sexual tension between her star-crossed polis/lovers and, while they do eventually hook up, she keeps the details quiet. Not a romance novel here and I'm happy about that. Good mystery where the past comes calling, just like in A Place of Execution. Back in the 80's the daughter and grandson of a wealthy Scots industrialist is kidnapped and t...more
Reminiscent of the work of Reginald Hill with its skillful weaving of past and present, this is Val McDermid at the top of her game. Set in her native Fife, there is a strong sense of place as well as a vivid depiction of the impact of the miners' strike on the lives of ordinary people. Though she clearly did ample research for this book - much of it of a clearly personal nature, given her roots in Scottish mining culture - the facts form a rich backdrop to the story, never overwhelming the taut...more
A novel spanning two periods, the Miner's Strike 1984 and a Cold Case investigation 2007. There are two investigators, DI Karen Pirie, and investigative journalist Bel Richmond. The journalist wants access to the reclusive Sir Broderick Maclennan Grant whose daughter Catriona and grandson Adam were kidnapped in 1984, his daughter dying during a bungled hostage exchange. DI Pirie is asked to find the whereabouts of a miner who went missing in 1984, as his daughter is anxious for a near match bone...more
Pas une mais deux intrigues, pas une mais deux héroïnes, deux pays et deux époques différents. Pourtant tout fini par s'imbriquer de manière implacable. Val McDermid joue avec les codes du roman à énigmes, en inscrivant le récit dans un contexte social fort(la grève des mineurs en Grande-Bretagne sous le règne de Thatcher) et ses conséquences sur les individus, même dizaines années après. Elle confronte le monde ouvrier à celui de la noblesse écossaise parvenue. Les coupables ici ne sont pas des...more
This is the first Val McDermid book I have read and I really enjoyed it. The story is set in Val McDermid's childhood backyard, which is the backyard in which I grew up and still live, with the context of the 1984 miners' strike and some of the social issues that accompanied the strike. My father was one of those striking miners and the subject is one with which I am very familiar. McDermid captures the setting and context well, to such an extent that I began to think that Newton of Wemyss did r...more
This is the first Val McDermid book that I've read. The premise of this book is interesting, a 20-year old kidnapping/murder case that was recently (re)opened because an investigative journalist found a poster/painting that connects to the old crime. At the same time a mom on a mission to save her dying son is looking for her father who she thought walked away from his family around the same time the kidnapping/murder happened. I thought it was pretty good until late in the story towards the end...more
A Darker Domain is a thrilling roller coaster ride, full of twists and turns and moments that catch you off-guard. The two main storylines culminate in a multi-part resolution which might seem too coincidental if Val McDermid had not so carefully—and for the most part logically--crafted the narrative.
Some might argue that an event which appears in the latter third of the book is just short of being a cheap deus ex machina. However, it's tough--to this reader anyway--to imagine how the details p...more
Some might argue that an event which appears in the latter third of the book is just short of being a cheap deus ex machina. However, it's tough--to this reader anyway--to imagine how the details p...more
The most interesting part of this mystery for me was the background relating to a Scots mining village near the coast and details concerning a major miners strike in 1984. A miner goes missing and is assumed to have gone off elsewhere to "scab". Years later, his family which has never forgiven his disappearance discovers he is really missing and goes to the police. Unfortunately, this part of the plot is overtaken by an investigation of a cold case involving the kidnapping of a millionaire's dau...more
I've only read one previous McDermid, and it was just a little bit too gory. Fantastic, but too gory.
It was because of the setting of this book that I decided to give it a go: or rather, the setting of one of the cold cases it involves - the National Miners Strike in the UK in 1984. I know very little about it, but the idea did interest me.
Certainly it was less gory than I remember the other one being. I don't believe this is a series for McDermid, which is rather a pity, as I liked Karen - and...more
It was because of the setting of this book that I decided to give it a go: or rather, the setting of one of the cold cases it involves - the National Miners Strike in the UK in 1984. I know very little about it, but the idea did interest me.
Certainly it was less gory than I remember the other one being. I don't believe this is a series for McDermid, which is rather a pity, as I liked Karen - and...more
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Val McDermid was born and schooled on the east coast of Scotland and then Oxford Universtiy after which she became a journalist.
Her first book, Report for Murder was published in 1987 and since then she has gone on to have 25 more books published.
She lives in Manchester and Northumberland with 3 cats.
Series:
* Tony Hill & Carol Jordan
* Lindsay Gordon
* Kate Brannigan
More about Val McDermid...
Her first book, Report for Murder was published in 1987 and since then she has gone on to have 25 more books published.
She lives in Manchester and Northumberland with 3 cats.
Series:
* Tony Hill & Carol Jordan
* Lindsay Gordon
* Kate Brannigan
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