A Darker Domain: A Novel [Hardcover]

Val McDermid (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 27, 2009

The superb new psychological thriller from Britain's most controversial crime writer mixes fiction with one of the most symbolic and exceptional moments in recent history. 1984, Fife: Heiress Catriona Maclennan Grant and her baby son are kidnapped. The ransom payoff goes horribly wrong. She is killed while her son disappears without trace. 2008, Tuscany: A jogger stumbles upon dramatic new evidence that re-opens the cold case. For Detective Sergeant Karen Pirie, it's an opportunity to make her mark. But it's an opportunity that comes with a high risk price tag. 1984, Fife: At the height of the politically charged national miners' strike, Mick Prentice abandons his family to join the strike-breakers down south. Labelled a blackleg scab, he might as well be dead as far as his friends and relatives are concerned. 2008, Fife: A young woman walks into a police station to report Mick Prentice missing. And since Karen Pirie's already immersed in 1984, another inquiry with a cold trail ends up on her desk. Past and present intertwine in a dark novel of psychological suspense that explores the intersection of desire and greed. / Requires internet-enabled mobile phone (3G recommended)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Michelle Gibson reports her father, Mick Prentice, missing at the start of McDermid's intricate but underwhelming stand-alone psychological thriller, Det. Insp. Karen Pirie, head of the Fife police Cold Case Review Team, isn't interested until Michelle reveals that Mick disappeared during the 1984 miners' strike. At the time, everyone believed Mick went scabbing in Nottingham. Later, Karen is summoned to the home of wealthy Sir Broderick Maclennan Grant, whose daughter, Catriona, and baby grandson, Adam, were abducted in 1985. A botched ransom hand-off left Catriona dead and Adam nowhere to be found. New evidence linked to the kidnapping has surfaced, and now Karen has two missing people to locate. McDermid tries to pack too much story into one book, and the connection she draws between the cases feels forced. Fans of the Scottish author may be better off waiting for the next outing of McDermid's series to feature psychologist Tony Hill (The Mermaid Singing, etc.). Author tour. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

McDermid’s latest is a stand-alone set in Fife, Scotland. Detective Inspector Karen Pirie, newly appointed head of the Cold Case squad, has a hard time with desk work, so when a woman reports her father missing and last seen in 1984, Pirie can’t resist. But her boss, a paper pusher known as the Macaroon, wants Karen in the office, at least until Bel, an investigative journalist, turns up new evidence in a 20-year-old heiress kidnap case. As Karen and Bel investigate, friends’ and family members’ memories of the missing people are delivered as flashbacks, resulting in short chapters, multiple viewpoints, and a moderately quick pace. As Karen’s two cases seem to converge, the complex and layered plotlines come together, and McDermid does an excellent job creating tension around a cold case. Sure to be a hit with McDermid’s large fan base, it should also appeal to those who read other Scottish police mysteries, such as Stuart MacBride’s (Flesh House, 2008). Those who enjoyed the cold-case aspect may also enjoy Johan Theorin’s Echoes from the Dead (2008). --Jessica Moyer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harper; First Edition edition (January 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061688983
• ISBN-13: 978-0061688980
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #958,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When the Past Cries Out For Justice, December 20, 2008

By 

Bicycle Day - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Darker Domain: A Novel (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Two families torn apart by violence; one that received major headlines and another that only became apparent many years later. They cannot be linked in any way....right?

Author Val McDermid utilizes a dual narrative with a backdrop of the British miner's strike in the 1980s for this psychological thriller that opens old and new wounds in the halls of influence and the rooms of those struggling each day just to make ends meet. Detective Inspector Karen Pirie is the central figure in the search for answers in a missing person's case that only came to many years after the "disappearance" nearly a quarter-century old and the mystery surrounding a kidnapping and murder that could easily carry the moniker of "the crime of the century."

The first involves mineworker Mick Prentice and his decision to travel to Nottingham in search of work; essentially betraying his friends and neighbors in a Scottish town as a "scab" laborer. It is winter - about six months into the strike - and there is little food on most tables and even less fuel for the homes. Prentice does "send" money to his family that stayed behind, but never encloses a note. Fast forward to the present to Prentice's daughter, Michelle Gibson, who desperately needs money - and other vital assistance - for the medical care of her severely ill son. Her quest to find her father yields no trace of him ever arriving in Nottingham.

Journalist Bel Richmond is on the trail of the high-profile case of the heinous kidnapping of the daughter and grandson of multi-millionaire Sir Broderick Grant, which ends in a ransom payment going terribly wrong and culminates in the murder of the woman and the disappearance of the young child. Richmond has taped together loose ends and found miniscule pieces on the fringes of the "official" story to have solid leads on the kidnappers and the answers to many questions that remained over the years. But the justice that cannot be served in the media could come from Pirie taking up this controversial quest to definitively find the "smoking gun."

Through the use of solid character development, flashbacks and social history, McDermid delves into crime and punishment that is caused by jealousies and hatred, while showing that old grudges will remain when the match is ignited by the high-octane fuel of betrayal. McDermid meticulously moves the plot down parallel trails and then brings things together for a dynamic conclusion.

The ambitious work shows there are times when the shadows of the past can yield a harsh reality and there are new victims from old stories that are being told with different endings.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not McDermid's best work, May 19, 2009

By 

Cowboy Bill "cowboybill" (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Darker Domain: A Novel (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

I started reading Val McDermid's novels featuring Dr. Tony Hill after watching the British T.V. drama "Wire in the Blood," which was initially based on that series of books. Even though those novels supplied more cruelty and gore than I would've normally liked, I enjoyed them overall because McDermid 1) presented interesting characters under unusual pressures and 2) kept the plot moving.

I like her latest, "A Darker Domain," but am not crazy about it, mainly due to the lack of her normal strengths -- interesting characters and narrative drive -- as the book progressed onward to a not-terribly-surprising ending.

This is not a Tony Hill novel but a D.I. Karen Pirie one. The present-day story revolves around two cold cases from the 1980s. The first: the disappearance of a striking (and strike-breaking?) miner; the second: a double kidnapping involving the family of a semi-titan of industry. It becomes evident as the novel progresses that the two cases are in fact tied together, and D.I. Pirie, with the help of reporter Bel Richmond, ultimately solves the puzzle.

I have read that McDermid grew up in a mining family and thus has some insight to share regarding the sufferings of the mining community in 1980s Britain. But it seems she might be too close to the topic as it sometimes gets her off course plot-wise and pulls her occasionally into political (and polemical) areas that don't suit the book.

Overall, I'd say if you like the author's previous works, you'll like this one. If you haven't yet read McDermid, I'd recommend starting with either the first Tony Hill novel, "The Mermaids Singing," or the non-Tony-Hill novel "A Place of Execution," which might just be her best so far.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Read with a Dissappointing Ending, March 25, 2009

By 

Amanda (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Darker Domain: A Novel (Hardcover)

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 police force isn't too interested in a 22-year-old cold case with no new evidence, Karen decides to investigate Prentice's disappearance without the department's approval.

Meanwhile, as part of an official investigation Karen meets with the wealthy and influential Sir Broderick Maclennan Grant, whose daughter, Catriona, and baby grandson, Adam, were abducted in 1985 by an anarchist group. A botched ransom hand-off left Catriona dead and Adam nowhere to be found. However, new evidence has surfaced in the case and Karen, the cold case guru, is asked to find yet another missing person.

McDermid's writing skills shine through in every sentence -every word of this beautifully written novel. Readers will feel like they are experiencing the turmoil and confusing of these two stories firsthand. Written against a fascinating backdrop and spanning over two decades, McDermid paints a perfect, realistic picture of the characters' lives and makes the miners' strike accessible to readers who are both familiar and unfamiliar with the event.

As the mystery unfolds, a link is forged between the two stories. However, this link feels forced and just a little too perfect. While the story is full of complex sleuthing and intelligent storytelling, the end came together just a little too well and, seemingly, in a way that was far too easy. After reading such a thoroughly thought out story, the ending hits the reader with an unexpected thud -just after they hit their stride.

Readers should also be aware that A Darker Domain is set up differently than the traditional novel. Instead of being separated into chapters, McDermid separates the novel by dates and locations -constantly jumping between current events, past events, the UK and Italy. This method can be a little confusing at first, but it definitely keeps readers on their toes. This just proves that to get the most of this book, you absolutely must pay attention.

I've never had the opportunity to read any of McDermid's other novels before, and I wouldn't say that this one has gotten me hooked. It was an enjoyable, wonderfully written read that started out with so much promise -but failed to adequately deliver on that promise at the end.