In case you missed it Karen Pirie is officially back on our screens for series two, three years after we were introduced to the Scottish detective series in 2022.
The second series kicked off on 20 July and sees Lauren Lyle back in action as the titular detective Karen Pirie as she investigates the decades old disappearance of oil heiress Catriona Grant. After a dead body is discovered in a bog, it blows the once highly publicised case wide open, giving fresh hope to Catriona's parents their child and grandchild may still be alive.
And another thing you may not have realised is the ITV series is in fact based on a series of books by Scottish author Val McDermid. McDermid has sold over 19 million copies of her novels worldwide across the Karen Pirie series, the Dr Tony Hill series and her many other projects.
So far two of the books from the Karen Pirie novel series have been adapted into two seasons of show, but there's actually six more books in the series with plenty more cases for Karen and the team to solve. Curious to know what else is in store for Karen? Here's everything you need to know about all eight books in the Karen Pirie series.
What happens in every Karen Pirie book?
Book 1 - The Distant Echo (2003)
The first book in the series follows Karen as she investigates the 25-year-old murder case of Rosie, a young woman who was found raped, stabbed and dead in a graveyard. Four young students found her and were quickly put high up the suspect list.
However, in the present timeline when two of these students end up dead it seems someone is carrying out their own form of justice and it's a race against the clock to make sure the other two don't end up dead, as well as finding Rosie's killer.
Book 2 - A Darker Domain (2008)
Five years after the original novel was published Val McDermid returned with the second book in Karen's story.
This is the book the second ITV series is based on and follows a similar plot line. In the second book, Karen investigating the kidnapping of Catriona Grant and her young son, who went missing 25 years ago, amid political unrest and the miners' strike of 1984.
Book 3 - The Skeleton Road (2014)
Karen is put onto the case of identifying the remains of a skeleton discovered in a crumbling Edinburgh building.
As she delves further into the mystery person's identity, she finds herself in a world of intrigue, betrayal and someone else is taking the law into their own hands.
Book 4 - Out of Bounds (2016)
A teenager's car accident that ends in a coma is the catalyst that kicks off an investigation into a 20 year old cold case. The teen's DNA causes two historic investigations to be blown wide open, that of a rape and murder in 1996 and a plane crash in 1994.
Meanwhile things are not going well in Karen's personal life, as she deals with the death of a loved one. But it's not all doom and gloom as Karen makes it her mission to help the Syrian refugees.
Book 5 - Broken Ground (2018)
This time around Karen is called to investigate a body and unknown inheritance that are discovered in the Scottish Highlands. As Karen delves deeper into the case, it seems to bring up more questions than answers, with nothing being as it seems.
She also finds herself dealing with another case simultaneously that she thought she had already prevented.
Book 6 - Still Life (2020)
Still Life sees Karen once again have to balance two cases at once. The first is that of a dead body pulled out of the sea. The victim was the prime suspect in a decades long case in which a civil servant disappeared one day without a trace.
Meanwhile she's also investigating a skeleton that has been found in a campervan and Karen believes all the clues hint towards a killer who is still very much at large.
Book 7 - Past Lying (2023)
In the seventh novel of the series it's not a body that kicks off a cold case investigation. No it's an author's manuscript.
The manuscript is eerily similar to the case of Lara Hardie, a Edinburgh University student who disappeared years ago. The manuscript may be the key to solving the case, however its author never finished it.
Book 8 - Silent Bones (2025)
The next book in the Karen Pirie series is due to be released later this year in October and follows Karen as she investigates another cold case.
This time around a landslide on a motorway causes the discovery of a body that has been dead for 11 years. The body belongs to journalist Sam Nimmo who was the prime suspect in the murder of his fiancee, however, with them now both dead, who wanted Sam buried?
And back in Edinburgh there's another case to solve as the accidental death of a hotel manager is starting to look a more like murder. With a web of lies to untangle will Karen be able to find the answers?
Karen Pirie season two is available on ITV1 and ITVX
