Not many writers can stand toe to toe with Val McDermid. For decades, she has put forth a catalogue of outstanding and cleverly plotted mysteries and thrillers that have been the force behind both bestselling novels and successful streaming series and films.

SILENT BONES is the latest release in McDermid’s Karen Pirie series, and it may be one of her best stories yet. Pirie leads Scotland’s Historic Cases Unit (a fancy way of saying cold cases). It might not be the most glamorous job, but it may be one of the most important units within the Scotland Police squad as the cases they solve bring closure to so many. In this novel, there are two different “historic cases” that end up converging on each other and creating a conspiracy that Pirie and her team never saw coming.

"SILENT BONES is so deviously plotted, with McDermid always in full command, that I read it while holding my breath practically the entire time. It is an exhilarating read and a worthy entry in this memorable series."

In the prologue, which takes place on New Year’s Eve 2013, a young woman is sexually assaulted by two high-profile men. This will foreshadow the cases that Pirie and her unit will work in ways that will completely blow readers away. At the start, Pirie is dealing with the news from her boss that the HCU will relocate to the unpopular site in Gartcosh, which is considered the Bermuda Triangle of Central Scotland. They are forced to make this work and don’t have much time to worry about it with everything they have on their plates.

A landslide off the motorway reveals the skeletal remains of a male figure, later identified as investigative journalist Sam Nimmo, who had gone missing years earlier after being accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend, Rachel Morrison, while he was in the midst of breaking open a controversial story.

Meanwhile, Drew Jamieson requests that the case involving his brother Tom’s accidental death be reopened based on some new video evidence. Tom had fallen down a famous outdoor staircase to his death, but the footage shows that the hotel magnate may have been followed by someone  --- soon to be identified as a well-known business figure --- who may have had a hand in his death.

When Pirie and her team begin to throw themselves into both cases, they turn up evidence that shows something much larger. Not only does it seem that Sam and Rachel were murdered, Tom might not have been the only “accidental” death that occurred at the hands of the same killer. Initially they have no indication that these cases might be connected, but their investigative skills shortly will take them down that road.

It's a road that leads to a men’s book club, Justified Sinners, which is made up of 12 wealthy and influential individuals who discuss far more than novels. They may be acting as a sinister cabal, seeking to change and influence events in their purview that may involve eliminating those they perceive to be threats.

This all eventually ties into the events outlined in the prologue in quite unexpected ways and had my head spinning. SILENT BONES is so deviously plotted, with McDermid always in full command, that I read it while holding my breath practically the entire time. It is an exhilarating read and a worthy entry in this memorable series.