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Val McDermid


Scotland (b.1955)

Val McDermid grew up in a Scottish mining community then read English at Oxford. She was a journalist for sixteen years, spending the last three as Northern Bureau Chief of a national Sunday tabloid. She is now a full-time writer and lives in South Manchester.
 

Awards: Theakston (2016), Barry (2011), CWA (2010), Macavity (2001)  see all

Genres: Mystery, Historical Mystery, Literary Fiction
 
New and upcoming books
March 2025

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1999
(Allie Burns, book 3)
October 2025

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Silent Bones
(Karen Pirie, book 8)
Series
Lindsay Gordon
   1. Report for Murder (1987)
   2. Common Murder (1989)
   3. Final Edition (1991)
     aka Open And Shut / Deadline for Murder
   4. Union Jack (1993)

     aka Conferences Are Murder

   5. Booked For Murder (1996)
   6. Hostage to Murder (2003)
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Kate Brannigan
   1. Dead Beat (1992)
   2. Kick Back (1993)
   3. Crack Down (1994)
   4. Clean Break (1995)
   5. Blue Genes (1996)
   6. Star Struck (1998)
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Tony Hill and Carol Jordan
   1. The Mermaids Singing (1995)
   2. The Wire In The Blood (1997)
   3. The Last Temptation (2002)
   4. The Torment of Others (2004)
   5. Beneath the Bleeding (2007)
   6. Fever of the Bone (2009)
   7. The Retribution (2011)
   8. Cross and Burn (2013)
   9. Splinter the Silence (2015)
   10. Insidious Intent (2017)
   11. How the Dead Speak (2019)
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Karen Pirie
   1. The Distant Echo (2003)
   2. A Darker Domain (2008)
   3. The Skeleton Road (2014)
   4. Out of Bounds (2016)
   5. Broken Ground (2018)
   6. Still Life (2020)
   7. Past Lying (2023)
   8. Silent Bones (2025)
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Allie Burns
   1. 1979 (2021)
   2. 1989 (2022)
   3. 1999 (2025)
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Novels
   A Place of Execution (1999)
   Killing The Shadows (2000)
   Naked Came the Phoenix (2001) (with others)
   The Grave Tattoo (2006)
   Trick of the Dark (2010)
   The Vanishing Point (2012)
   Inherit the Dead (2013) (with others)
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Collections
   The Writing on the Wall (1997)
   Stranded (2004)
   Magnetic North (2005) (with others)
   Cross Roads (2013)
   Gunpowder Plots (2013)
   Christmas is Murder (2020)
   Marple (2022) (with others)
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Novellas and Short Stories
   Ghost Writer (2013)
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Series contributed to
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Picture Books show
 
Graphic Novels show
 
Non fiction show
 
Omnibus editions show
 
Books containing stories by Val McDermid
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Exit Wounds (2019)
Nineteen Tales of Mystery from the Modern Masters of Crime
edited by
Paul Kane and Marie O'Regan
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Murder On Christmas Eve (2017)
(Vintage Murders, book 2)
edited by
Cecily Gayford

More books 


Awards
2016 Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award
2011 Barry Award for Best Paperback original : Fever of the Bone
2010 CWA Diamond Dagger
2006 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year : The Torment of Others
2004 Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel : The Distant Echo
2001 Macavity Award for Best Novel : A Place of Execution
2001 Dilys Award for Best Book : A Place of Execution
2001 Anthony Award for Best Novel : A Place of Execution
2000 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller : A Place of Execution
2000 Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel : A Place of Execution
1995 CWA Gold Dagger : The Mermaids Singing

Award nominations
2024 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlist) : Past Lying
2024 McIlvanney Prize (longlist) : Past Lying
2023 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlist) : 1989
2023 McIlvanney Prize (nominee) : 1989
2022 Macavity Award for Best Novel (nominee) : 1979
2022 British Book Award Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (shortlist) : 1979
2021 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlist) : Still Life
2021 McIlvanney Prize (nominee) : Still Life
2020 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlist) : How the Dead Speak
2020 McIlvanney Prize (nominee) : How the Dead Speak
2020 British Book Award Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (shortlist) : How the Dead Speak
2019 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlist) : Broken Ground
2019 McIlvanney Prize (nominee) : Broken Ground
2019 Edgar Award for Best Short Story (nominee) : Ancient and Modern
2018 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlist) : Insidious Intent
2017 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlist) : Out of Bounds
2017 McIlvanney Prize (nominee) : Out of Bounds
2016 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlist) : Splinter the Silence
2016 McIlvanney Prize (nominee) : Splinter the Silence
2014 CrimeFest: eDunnit Award (nominee) : Cross and Burn
2013 McIlvanney Prize (nominee) : The Vanishing Point
2012 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlist) : The Retribution
2011 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlist) : Fever of the Bone
2010 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlist) : A Darker Domain
2009 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlist) : Beneath the Bleeding
2009 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller (nominee) : A Darker Domain
2009 CrimeFest: Sounds of Crime Award (nominee) : A Darker Domain
2008 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlist) : The Grave Tattoo
2008 BCA Crime Thriller of the Year (nominee) : The Grave Tattoo
2005 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlist) : The Distant Echo
2004 CWA Gold Dagger (shortlist) : The Torment of Others
2002 Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel (nominee) : Killing The Shadows
2001 Edgar Award for Best Novel (nominee) : A Place of Execution
1999 CWA Gold Dagger (shortlist) : A Place of Execution
1995 Anthony Award for Best Novel (nominee) : Crack Down
1994 CWA Gold Dagger (shortlist) : Crack Down


Val McDermid recommends
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Five by Five (2024)
Claire Wilson
"A bloody good read."
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What Doesn't Kill Us (2024)
Ajay Close
"Vivid and visceral."
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Strange Sally Diamond (2023)
Liz Nugent
"It's compassionate and challenging, letting us imagine the lives that are forgotten when the news cycle moves on . . . a very special book."

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