A Darker Domain

A Darker Domain, by Val McDermid, is a well-written mystery set in modern day that reflects on the miner's strike that rocked Great Britain in 1984. Though not overly political, the author does allow some shots to be taken, particularly at Margaret Thatcher, through the mouths of some of her characters.

There are two mysteries at play here. One involves a miner, Mick Prentice, who went missing during the strike. Everyone, including his family, assumed he went south to join scabs, and wrote him off. But his daughter, now grown, has a son that needs a marrow transplant and is hoping to track her father down. DI Karen Pirie, a detective in the cold cases department of the Fife, Scotland, constabulary, takes her case.

Pirie is also presented with a much more sensational case, a twenty-year-old kidnapping. The daughter of the local business titan and her baby son were kidnapped and held for ransom. The daughter died and the baby went missing. A journalist on vacation in Tuscany, Bel Richmond, finds a piece of evidence that she turns over to the titan, Brodie Grant, who requests Pirie get on the case. Investigating separately and at odds, Pirie and Richmond get to the bottom of the kidnapping.

McDermid tells the story with frequent use of flashbacks, prefacing each section with the date and location, a helpful aid. She also is a nimble writer, providing just enough pop culture references without overdoing it. Pirie is not a typical heroine--she's admittedly dumpy, though harbors a crush on her partner, Phil Parhatka, and a disdain for her boss, who is unaffectionately called the "Macaroon." The character of Grant is bit more obvious, the absurdly rich man who is used to getting his way, but McDermid gives him extra dimensions.

The one element of the book that is strained is that of course Pirie's two cases will end up becoming intertwined. This is understood, given the genre of the book, and there's a certain satisfaction in patiently waiting to see how that will happen. I read the last fifty pages or so in a blur, as the mysteries resolved and justice, in a sense, is done. For fans of British detective novels, I highly recommend A Darker Domain.