Silent Bones - Val McDermid

When it comes to presents for me its easy. Have there been any new McDermid or Rankin books published in the last year? If yes, then it's a safe bet that they will be appreciated (hint).

I flew through this as usual, McDermid is a top-master of readability, with plots that roll along at an enjoyable pace. And its nice to return to a familiar set of characters, despite what the recent TV series might have tried to do to Karen Pirie.

Did I find some faults? Sure, the argument with her boss felt a bit formulaic - the rebellious rogue detective needs to have an argument with their boss so we'll insert one. Following your stakeout of the meeting of the mysterious cabal of possibly powerful influence wielders by immediately ringing the door bell to tell them the police are interested in them didn't ring as sensible in any way.

And the story ended just too quickly. We had an historic case with what is probably the most common ending for many historic cases - we know what likely happened, but the chances of getting a conviction are sufficiently low its not worth the court time. Its a subject that deserved a lot more exploration, something that hasn't really been dealt with in any of the previous books featuring the Historic Cases Unit, but it is passed over in a brief couple of pages.