Category: Book Review

Winter: The Story of a Season by Val McDermid

This is a review of Winter: The Story of a Season, a soon-to-be-published book by Val McDermid.

Winter is not my favorite time of year. In fact I consider it the worst of all seasons but I found it interesting to read an opposite opinion from one of my favorite writers. I especially enjoy Val McDermid’s Karen Pirie and Allie Burns series.

But moving on to Winter, this is a book of relatively short essays on memories of growing up in Scotland, discussions of winter festivals in Scotland and of course the role of winter in her writing process.

I thank both Netgalley (https://www.netgalley.com ) and Grove Atlantic (https://groveatlantic.com/) for the chance to read this before publication. The book will be published on January 13, 2026.

I read this book, despite my dislike of the season. I’m glad I read it and I hope you will give it a try. Anyone with an interest is Scotland or the author would probably enjoy this book.

Silent Bones by Val McDermid

Silent Bones starts with a party.

This is the 8th novel in the Karen Pirie series  DCI Karen Pirie heads Police Scotland’s Historic Case Unit (HCU). We Americans would call it cold cases.  The Scots prefer the “Historic” designation.  I’ve read several in  this series and completely enjoyed each of them.

Val McDermid  has been called the “Queen of Crime” by the Scotsman.  In my experience her books have been wonderful.    I eagerly requested an Advance Reader’s Copy (ARC) when I saw one was available for Val McDermid’s latest novel.

Readers of recent books in the Karen Pirie series will  be familiar HCU team of Karen, Jason, and Daisy and will enjoy reading about them again.  But I believe this book also works as a stand-alone novel.

It is a complicated novel, reinvestigating several cases the police had closed without realizing that they were related.  A few words to get you started – body, motorway, party, stairs, and comedy.  And as usual in this type of book – murder.

Enjoy!

I thank both Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the chance to read this before publication. The book will be published on December 2.

We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution

I highly recommend “We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution” by Jill Lepore. In someways it overlaps with “How Democracies Die” and “Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point” but is more current and has a more historical perspective. It is also more directed to the current situation where interpretation of the U.S. Constitution is more of an issue.

This book is a great history of our Constitution which emphasizes the importance of both the amending process and interpretation. It is a fairly long (720 pages) and detailed book but well worth the effort if you are interested in the subject or just wish to understand current constitutional issues.