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A Darker Domain | 
| Author: Val Mcdermid
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £18.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 644
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.4
ISBN: 0007243294
EAN: 9780007243297
ASIN: 0007243294
Publication Date: September 1, 2008
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Amazon.co.uk
1984. The National miners' strike is dividing the country, and in a struggling coal-mining town, the miners and their families are living at the edge of their resources. They have no money, and there is no food or heating. On the 14th of December, five miners break ranks to travel to Nottingham and work. For those who stay behind, this is an unforgivable betrayal, and the men are branded as scabs. 23 years later, a young woman is asking the police to trace her missing father: miner Mick Prentice vanished, never to be seen again, although money has been sent to his family; he was widely considered to be one of the scabs. Soon, D I Karen Pirie and DS Phil Parharta find themselves investigating a forgotten disappearance. This is the provocative premise of Val McDermid's latest novel, A Darker Domain, and this utterly compelling book is further proof that McDermid is determined to stretch the parameters of what crime fiction is supposedly capable of. McDermid has always been prepared to freight serious issues into her work, and this novel -- which, in many ways, is an examination of the conditions that produced the Britain we live in today -- demonstrates the continuing high level of her ambition. In fact, Karen Pirie, when taking on this new assignment, is already involved in a case of kidnapping that took place 22 years earlier (in which a woman was killed during a bungled handover of money). Journalist Bel Richmond makes a startling discovery concerning the MacLennan kidnapping while on holiday in Tuscany, and as the three protagonists dig deeper into ever-more labyrinthine mysteries, they are to make some remarkable discoveries -- discoveries which throw light not just on the crimes involved, but on the whole of British society. As all of this might suggest, the stakes here are as high as one is likely to find in a crime novel, and Val McDermid demonstrates that she is as capable as ever of integrating the demands of the page-turning crime narrative with a discussion of the things that make society tick. McDermid fans who may be lamenting the fact that this is not another novel featuring Dr Tony Hill will quickly change their minds as A Darker Domain exerts its cobra-like grip. --Barry Forshaw
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 A Dumbing Down October 14, 2008
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
I've always thought that Val McDermid's has a journalist's grasp of the chapter as a literary form but until now she has always compensated with good storylines and interesting characters.
As well as being lacking in literary style, this book contains all the psychological agonies of the Brannigan novels plus the snappy humour of the Tony Hill novels, which together with a weak plot make it one of her poorest novels to date.
I think Ms McDermid has been watching far too much TV.
I got 'A Darker Domain' from the library and wouldn't bother buying it for my McDermid collection until it arrives in paperback at the nearly-new shop.
Maybe it will improve on a second reading.
Another great McDermid read September 29, 2008
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
It's great to see McDermid back to form after the terrible Grave Tattoo. A gripping read which neatly merges two cases. A bit of a rushed conclusion and the tying up of ends stretches credibility somewhat, but a good way to spend a rainy evening nonetheless.
 Brilliant - Buy It! September 25, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Satisfying, intriguing and beautifully crafted thriller. One of those books you want to gobble up in one sitting, because you want to know what happens next, but at the same time, want to go on for ever. A wonderful sense of place, whether she's writing about the bleak NE coast, or the sun hazed Tuscan hills and olive groves. I can't recommend this highly enough, superlatives fail me!
A Darker Domain September 8, 2008
2 out of 10 found this review helpful
Nearly finished it, and completely engrossed. Val McDermid occupies quite a large space in my bookcases, and all her books are brilliant.
 Starts with a bang, ends with a whimper September 5, 2008
15 out of 18 found this review helpful
Val McDermid is best known for her gory serial-killer thrillers featuring Dr Tony Hill, but personally I have always preferred her stand-alone novels such as 'A Place Of Execution.' In these she tones down the violence of her other work and focuses more on the psychology of her characters, which I find far more engrossing than the wince-inducing torture and depravity Tony Hill and Carol Jordan regularly face - although I do enjoy the Hill books too. This, her latest, doesn't altogether count as a stand-alone novel, as it is a sequel of sorts to an earlier book, 'A Distant Echo' (and anyone who intends to read that book should do so before this one, as 'A Darker Domain' reveals its predecessor's ending), but in style and tone this is very much one of her slow-burning psychological thrillers.
In fact, for the majority of the book it represents the author at her best: the characters are believable, the dialogue convincing and the plot gripping. The story concerns two cold cases which originated within a few weeks of each other at the end of 1984 and beginning of 1985. One is the disappearance of a striking miner, the other is the kidnapping of the daughter and grandson of a wealthy and influential businessman. Gradually new evidence is uncovered which suggests there may have been a link between the two events, and it's up to DI Karen Pirie and journalist Bel Richmond to uncover the long-buried truth. The Miners Strike forms a backdrop to the story; Val McDermid grew up in a mining community and her passionate anger as she describes the hardships suffered brings home just how devastating the consequences were for the miners and their families. It all adds up to a rich, thought-provoking read.
However, a couple of major flaws emerge towards the end. Firstly, the solution to what exactly happened in the past and how the two cases are linked is actually quite obvious. Not all the details, but the main points. I kept expecting a big twist to turn the plot on its head, but it never came; there is a minor surprise at the very end, but nothing to make the reader gasp in shock. The second flaw, the one which came close to ruining the book for me, was the ending. The solution of the cases and the tying up of loose ends takes place in just TWO pages. It's almost as if the author ran out of time, or simply lost interest and decided to wrap things up as quickly as possible. One minute the investigation seems doomed - two pages later and it's all over. I can't remember the last time I was so disappointed with a novel's ending. Over three hundred pages gradually building to a climax and then a few bald paragraphs as the payoff.
Val McDermid is undoubtedly a talented writer who has produced some excellent thrillers over the years. 'A Darker Domain' starts so well I really thought it was destined to be another, but I ended up feeling disappointed and rather cheated. It's still worth 3 stars, because the majority of the book is highly enjoyable, but prepare yourself for a damp squib of a conclusion.
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