A Darker Domain

Last updated

A Darker Domain
A Darker Domain.jpg
First edition
Author Val McDermid
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Subject UK miners' strike of 1984–1985
Genre Crime novel, psychological thriller
Publisher HarperCollins
Publication date
2008

A Darker Domain is a 2008 psychological thriller novel by Scottish crime writer Val McDermid. Reviewers often noted the fast paced style of the novel as it flashes back and forth between two plot lines, a contemporary crime in 2007 and the investigation of a cold case from 1984. The novel is set during the UK miners' strike of 1984–1985 in Fife. Her accounts of the strike are particularly pointed, exploring the effects of the strikes on the emotions of the people involved and their community. McDermid was raised in Fife, and one reviewer credits her accurate review of the strikes to her experiences earlier in her life. The reviews of the book were generally good, many of the reviewers comparing the book to her previous novels. The New York Times named the book one of the "Notable Crime Books of 2009." [1]

Contents

Synopsis

During the infamous UK miners' strike of 1984–1985, a wealthy young heiress and her infant son are kidnapped in Fife, before a botched payoff leaves her dead and the child missing. Twenty-two years later, DI Karen Pirie, an expert on cold cases, interviews a journalist who may have found a clue to the enigma while on vacation in Tuscany. However, she soon becomes preoccupied with another missing persons case from about the same time. Fellow mine workers and even his own wife believed that Mick Prentice notoriously broke ranks and left to join a group of 'scab' strike breakers far south in Nottingham, but recent evidence suggests that his disappearance might not have been as simple as that. Moreover, Mick's grown daughter Misha desperately needs to find her estranged father for critical reasons of her own. DI Pirie soon finds herself stumbling through a darker domain of violence, greed, secrets and betrayal.

The novel jumps back and forth between the time of the key events of both cases during the miners' strike and the current day. The flashbacks provide scattered, nonsequential background for the facts in the order that Pirie and present-day others discover them or relate them. This structure allows the author to present intricate plotlines and reveal facts in a manner that sustains the suspense. Because the plot is convoluted, however, and McDermid didn't offer the readers graphics to help them orient themselves in the local landscape, readers may want to glance at maps of the Fife area and Tuscan countryside where the plot locations are noted.

Themes

The UK miners' strike and the disintegration of community that followed because of the suffering the miners and their families had to endure are central to the plot. [2] Particularly pointed are the depictions of neighbours turning against each other and families having to wait in long lines for food because of the poverty caused by the year-long strike. [3] Instead of just examining the effects upon the communities, however, McDermid also explores the characters' emotions during the two periods examined. [4] One reviewer pointed to McDermid's childhood in Fife as the reason she was so good at depicting the effects of the strike. [4]

Style

Like McDermid's other mystery novels, A Darker Domain is fast paced. The flashbacks between the time of the disappearances in 1984 and 1985 and the current investigation by DI Pirie help keep the novel moving. [2] One reviewer felt that the fast paced flashbacks sometimes made the plot confusing, saying that it is a complicated, and sometimes convoluted, plot. [3] The New York Times noted that the author's parallel plots created too much "weight" for the story to stand on its own. [5]

McDermid's word choice allows her to build tension throughout the narrative, never making coincidence unbelievable in propelling the plot along. [3] McDermid uses "gallows humour" throughout the book to keep readers entertained, despite the gruesome scenes that she often describes. [2] The New York Times calls her style "a gruff eloquence." [5]

Critical reception

Anne Marie Scanlon in the Irish newspaper The Independent called the novel " an outstanding return to form for Val McDermid, one that far surpasses expectations" noting that McDermid's previous successes had kept expectations for her future work high for her following. [2] Similarly the British newspaper The Times , called A Darker Domain "[a]n absorbing novel, one of her best." [4] Brandon Robshaw of British newspaper The Independent called the book "cleverly told" and "smoothly readable," adding that the only drawback was that McDermid "likes her heroine a bit too much ... [d]umpy and unglamorous on the outside, but sexy and with a razor-sharp mind." [6] Fordyce Maxwell of the Scotsman proclaimed the book a great read despite its end, which ties together all the loose ends too neatly. [7]

Kim Sweetman of The Courier Mail was less enthusiastic, observing that "compared with some of the other work of this master writer, it can be a little slow and convoluted" though it was still a good crime novel. [3] Marilyn Stasio of The New York Times had a similar problem with A Darker Domain, remarking that although McDermid is talented, the multiple plot lines were simply too much. [5]

TV Adaptation

In February 2023, ITV announced that a second series of the Karen Pirie adaptation had been commissioned, and would be based on A Darker Domain. [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Northanger Abbey</i> 1818 novel by Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey is a coming-of-age novel and a satire of Gothic novels written by the English author Jane Austen. Although the title page is dated 1818 and was published posthumously in 1817 with Persuasion, Northanger Abbey was completed in 1803, making it the first of Austen's novels to be completed in full. From a fondness of Gothic novels and an active imagination distorting her worldview, the story follows Catherine Morland, the naïve young protagonist, as she develops to better understand herself and the world around her.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Val McDermid</span> Scottish author

Valarie McDermid, is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of novels featuring clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill, in a sub-genre known as Tartan Noir.

Lynda Suzanne Robinson is an American writer of romance fiction under the name Suzanne Robinson and mystery novels under the name Lynda S. Robinson. She is best known for her Lord Meren series of historical mysteries set in Ancient Egypt during the reign of Tutankhamun.

Karen Kijewski is an American writer of mystery novels, known for her Kat Colorado series.

<i>Wire in the Blood</i> British television crime drama series (2002–2008)

Wire in the Blood is a British crime drama television series, created and produced by Coastal Productions with Tyne Tees Television and broadcast on ITV from 14 November 2002 to 31 October 2008. The series is based on characters created by Val McDermid, including a university clinical psychologist, Dr Anthony "Tony" Valentine Hill, who is able to tap into his own dark side to get inside the heads of serial killers. Working with detectives, Hill takes on tough and seemingly impenetrable cases in an attempt to track down the killers before they strike again.

David Pirie is a screenwriter, film producer, film critic, and novelist. As a screenwriter, he is known for his noirish original thrillers, classic adaptations and period gothic pieces. In 1998, he was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Drama Serial for his adaptation of Wilkie Collins's 1859 novel The Woman in White into "The Woman in White". His first book, A Heritage of Horror: The English Gothic Cinema 1946–1972 (1973), was the first book-length survey of the British horror film. He has written several novels, including the Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes trilogy which includes The Patient's Eyes (2002), The Night Calls (2003), and The Dark Water (2006).

<i>A Place of Execution</i> 1999 crime novel by Val McDermid

A Place of Execution is a crime novel by Val McDermid, first published in 1999. The novel won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the 2001 Dilys Award, was shortlisted for both the Gold Dagger and the Edgar Award, and was chosen by The New York Times as one of the most notable books of the year.

<i>The Mermaids Singing</i>

The Mermaids Singing (1995) is a crime novel by Scottish author Val McDermid. The first featuring her recurring protagonist, Dr. Tony Hill, it was adapted into the pilot episode of ITV1's television series based on McDermid's work, Wire in the Blood, starring Robson Green and Hermione Norris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Last Temptation (novel)</span>

The Last Temptation (2002) is a crime novel by Scottish author Val McDermid, the third in her acclaimed Dr. Tony Hill series, which has been adapted into the ITV television drama Wire in the Blood, starring Robson Green. This particular novel served loosely as the basis for recent episode Falls the Shadow.

Emer Kenny is a British actress and screenwriter. She is best known for playing Zsa Zsa Carter in EastEnders and its spin-off EastEnders: E20, Danielle Reeves in Pramface and Penelope "Bunty" Windermere in Father Brown.

Matthew Beynon Rees is a Welsh novelist and journalist. He is the author of The Palestine Quartet, a series of crime novels about Omar Yussef, a Palestinian sleuth, and of historical novels and thrillers. He is the winner of a Crime Writers Association Dagger for his crime fiction in the UK and a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award for fiction in the US. His latest novel is the international thriller China Strike, the second in a series about an agent with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

David Stout was a journalist and author of mystery novels, two of which have been turned into TV movies, and of non-fiction about violent crime. For his first novel, Carolina Skeletons, he won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fever of the Bone</span> Book by Val McDermid

Fever of the Bone is a novel written by noted Scottish crime author Val McDermid. It was published by Little, Brown in Great Britain (2009) and HarperCollins for the United States and Canada (2010), and is the sixth novel in the series featuring psychologist Dr. Tony Hill and Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan. Several of the books in this series have been adapted into the television series Wire in the Blood, starring Robson Green as Tony Hill and Hermione Norris as Carol Jordan.

<i>The Girl Next Door</i> (Rendell novel)

The Girl Next Door is a novel by British crime author Ruth Rendell which was published in 2014. It was the last of her novels published in her lifetime.

<i>Out of Bounds</i> (McDermid novel) 2016 crime drama novel by Val McDermid

Out of Bounds is a 2016 crime drama novel by Scottish crime writer Val McDermid. The novel is set during 2016 but because the main detective is in the Historic Case Unit (HCU) the crimes being investigated were actually committed in 1994 and 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauren Lyle</span> Scottish actress

Lauren Lyle is a Scottish actress best known for her recurring role as Marsali MacKimmie Fraser in the Starz television drama Outlander, and peace protester Jade Antoniak in the BBC drama Vigil. Lyle also plays the leading role in the ITV crime thriller Karen Pirie.

Cathleen McCarron is a Scottish film, television, theatre and audiobook actor and professional voice coach.

<i>The Glorious Heresies</i> 2015 novel by Lisa McInerny

The Glorious Heresies is a novel by Irish author Lisa McInerney, published in 2015 by John Murray. The novel is set in Cork, Ireland. The plot explores drug and alcohol abuse, religion and organised crime.

Karen Pirie is a British crime drama television series based on the Inspector Karen Pirie series of novels by Val McDermid. The first series began on ITV on 25 September 2022 and concluded on 9 October 2022. A second series has been commissioned.

<i>The New Iberia Blues</i> 2019 novel by James Lee Burke

The New Iberia Blues is a crime and mystery novel by American author James Lee Burke. It is the twenty-second installment in the Dave Robicheaux series and is set in Louisiana. It was named one of the best crime novels of 2019 by The New York Times Book Review.

References

  1. ↑ Stasio, Marilyn (3 December 2009). "The Notable Crime Books of 2009". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Scanlon, Annie Marie (2 November 2008). "Darker Domain shows McDermid has form". Independent (Ireland). Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Sweetman, Kim (13 October 2008). "Val McDermid jumps through time in A Darker Domain". The Courier-Mail . Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 "Marcel Berlins on new books by Ian Rankin, James Lee Burke, Val McDermid and Kathy Reichs". The Times. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 Stasio, Marilyn (19 February 2009). "Death of a Cadet". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  6. ↑ Robshaw, Brandon (17 May 2009). "A Darker Domain, By Val McDermid" . The Independent (UK). Archived from the original on 18 May 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  7. ↑ Maxwell, Fordyce (24 August 2008). "Book review: A Darker Domain". The Scotsman. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  8. ↑ ITV recommissions Karen Pirie, starring Lauren Lyle and adapted by Emer Kenny ITV. 21 February 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.