Broken Ground by Val McDermid

 

Alice Sommerville and her husband can't believe they are finally here.  Alice was raised with the story of the Indian motorcycles her grandfather and his buddy had buried at the end of World War II on a remote farm in Scotland where they had been posted.  They always intended to go back and get them but somehow they never found the time.  But Alice is here and she has the map and she's sure they will find the treasure this time.

They find the spot and they find the motorcycles still in pristine shape.  But they also find something else.  Or someone.  That brings in DCI Karen Pirie.  The first task is to find out who is buried there. There is no identification except for a huge weight-bearing belt.  Who could have killed the man and why leave him there?

As the case unravels, it turns out that not only were the motorcycles valuable, but another man had stowed a fortune in diamonds in one of the saddlebags of one of the motorcycles.  Was the man killed over the diamonds?  The motorcycles?  Pirie is attracted to the man who owns the land where all of this occurs but doesn't trust his interest thinking he might be involved.  

Val McDermid is known as one of Scotland's best mystery writers.  This is the fifth in the Karen Pirie series, which has been made into a television series as well.  The way Pirie unravels the mystery while also handling a domestic abuse case back home and fighting off the stratagems of her overbearing boss is fascinating and fans of the DCI will be happy with another stellar mystery.  This book is recommended for mystery fans.