VJ Books Presents Author Val McDermid!
 Val McDermid (born 4 June 1955) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of suspense novels starring her most famous creation, Dr. Tony Hill.
McDermid comes from Kirkcaldy, Fife, and was educated at St Hilda's College, Oxford. After graduation she became a journalist, and worked briefly as a dramatist. However, her first success as a novelist, Report for Murder: The First Lindsay Gordon Mystery, did not appear until 1987.
McDermid was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Sunderland in 2011.
McDermid's notable characters are a journalist, Lindsay Gordon; a private investigator, Kate Brannigan; and a psychologist, Tony Hill, who suffers from sexual dysfunction. Her books mainly fall into three series: Lindsay Gordon, Kate Brannigan, and, beginning in 1995, the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series, the first entry in which, The Mermaids Singing, won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of the Year. The Hill/Jordan series has been adapted for television under the name Wire in the Blood, starring Robson Green.
McDermid considers her work to be part of the "Tartan Noir" Scottish crime fiction genre. In addition to writing novels, McDermid contributes to several British newspapers and often broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Scotland.
She writes full time and divides her time between Cheshire and Edinburgh.
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Val McDermid Bibliography
Lindsay Gordon Series
- Report for Murder (1987)
- Common Murder (1989)
- Final Edition (1991) US Titles: Open and Shut, Deadline for Murder
- Union Jack (1993), US Title: Conferences are Murder
- Booked for Murder (1996)
- Hostage to Murder (2003)
Kate Brannigan Series
- Dead Beat (1992)
- Kick Back (1993)
- Crack Down (1994)
- Clean Break (1995)
- Blue Genes (1996)
- Star Struck (1998)
Tony Hill and Carol Jordan Series
- The Mermaids Singing (1995)
- The Wire in the Blood (1997)
- The Last Temptation (2002)
- The Torment of Others (2004)
- Beneath the Bleeding (2007)
- Fever of the Bone (2009)
- The Retribution (2011)
- Cross and Burn (2013)
The Austen Project
Other books
- A Suitable Job for a Woman (1994); non-fiction
- The Writing on the Wall (1997); short stories, limited edition of 200 copies
- A Place of Execution (1999)
- Killing the Shadows (2000)
- The Distant Echo (2003)
- Stranded (2005); short stories
- Crime in the Skin (2006)
- The Grave Tattoo (2006)
- A Darker Domain (2008)
- Trick of the Dark (2010)
- The Vanishing Point (2012)
- The Skeleton Road (2014)
Children's books
- My Granny is a Pirate (2012)
Non-Fiction
- Bodies of Evidence (2014)
Val McDermid Awards
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Crime Writers’ Association Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction – The Mermaids Singing - 1995
- Grand Prix des Romans d’Adventure (France) – Star Struck - 1998
- New York Times Notable Book of the Year – A Place of Execution - 2000
- Barry Award for Best British Mystery – A Place of Execution - 2000
- Mystery Readers of America Macavity Award – A Place of Execution - 2001
- Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Mystery/Thriller) – A Place of Execution - 2001
- Dilys Award – A Place of Execution - 2001
- Anthony Award for Best Novel – A Place of Execution - 2001
- Spoken Word Publishing Association Awards (Best Crime Novel) – The Distant Echo - 2004
- Sherlock Award for Best Crime Novel – The Distant Echo - 2004
- Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel – The Distant Echo - 2004
- Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year – The Torment of Others - 2006
- Portico Prize for Fiction – The Grave Tattoo - 2006
- Stonewall Writer of the Year – Beneath the Bleeding - 2007
- Alice B Award for sustained achievement - 2008
- Best P.I./Procedural Novel in the 2009 Romantic Times’ BOOK REVIEWS Reviewers‘ Choice Awards goes to A Darker Domain
- CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger 2010 – Winner in recognition of Val’s work over more than 20 years.
- Pioneer Award at 23rd Annual Lambda Literary Awards – May 2011
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