Val McDermid

Val McDermid

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Winter: The Story of a Season (Non-Fiction) was the most recently released book by Val McDermid, on January 13th, 2026.

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Val McDermid Stats: The highest rated book by Val McDermid on Book Notification is The Wire In The Blood, the 2nd novel in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series. The second-highest rated book is Out of Bounds (Inspector Karen Pirie #4).

The most read book by Val McDermid on Book Notification is The Distant Echo, the first novel in the Inspector Karen Pirie series. The second most read book is The Mermaids Singing (Tony Hill/Carol Jordan #1).

Below is a complete list of Val McDermid books in publication and chronological order, broken down by series. The most popular series by Val McDermid is the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan Series.

List of Allie Burns Books in Publication Order

In 1979 Glasgow, reporter Allie Burns teams up with a colleague to expose Scottish extremists, but their investigation leads to deadly corruption.

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
7.3
1979
2021
Go
2
6
1989
2022
Go

List of Inspector Karen Pirie Books in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
7.8
The Distant Echo
2003
Go
2
7.5
A Darker Domain
2008
Go
3
8
The Skeleton Road
2014
Go
4
8.7
Out of Bounds
2016
Go
5
7.6
Broken Ground
2018
Go
6
7.6
Still Life
2020
Go
7
7.3
Past Lying
2023
Go
8
6.6
Silent Bones
2025
Go

List of Kate Brannigan Books in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
7.1
Dead Beat
1992
Go
2
8.3
Kick Back
1993
Go
3
8
Crack Down
1994
Go
4
8
Clean Break
1995
Go
5
7.8
Blue Genes
1996
Go
6
6.7
Star Struck
1998
Go

List of Lindsay Gordon Books in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
4
Report For Murder
1987
Go
2
5.3
Common Murder
1989
Go
3
8
Final Edition / Open and Shut / Deadline for Murder
1991
Go
4
8
Union Jack / Conferences Are Murder
1993
Go
5
7.3
Booked For Murder
1996
Go
6
8
Hostage To Murder
2003
Go

List of Tony Hill/Carol Jordan Books in Publication Order

A criminal profiler and a detective hunt serial killers, confronting personal demons and professional peril.

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
7.7
The Mermaids Singing
1995
Go
2
8.8
The Wire In The Blood
1997
Go
3
7.7
The Last Temptation
2002
Go
4
8.1
The Torment of Others
2004
Go
5
8.6
Beneath the Bleeding
2007
Go
6
8.4
Fever of the Bone
2009
Go
7
8
The Retribution
2011
Go
8
8.3
Cross and Burn
2013
Go
9
8.2
Splinter the Silence
2015
Go
10
7.7
Insidious Intent
2017
Go
11
8.5
Footloose (With: Peter James)
2019
Go
12
7.6
How the Dead Speak
2019
Go

List of Standalone Novels in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
8.2
A Place of Execution
1999
Go
2
8.4
Killing the Shadows
2000
Go
3
7.8
The Grave Tattoo
2006
Go
4
7.7
Trick of the Dark
2010
Go
5
8.1
The Vanishing Point
2012
Go

List of Short Stories/Novellas in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
Cleanskin
2006
Go
2
Life's Too Short
2010
Go

List of Short Story Collections in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
Writing on the Wall and Other Stories
1997
Go
2
8
Stranded
2004
Go
3
6.5
Christmas is Murder
2020
Go

List of Graphic Novels in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
5
Resistance
2021
Go

List of Picture Books in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
My Granny Is a Pirate
2012
Go

List of Non-Fiction Books in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
A Suitable Job for a Woman
1994
Go
2
8.5
Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime
2014
Go
3
My Scotland
2019
Go
4
Winter: The Story of a Season
2026
Go

List of Austen Project Books in Publication Order

Various authors reimagine the classic novels of Jane Austen.

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
10
Sense & Sensibility ( By: Joanna Trollope)
2013
Go
2
5.5
Northanger Abbey
2014
Go
3
6.7
Emma ( By: Alexander McCall Smith)
2014
Go
4
7
Eligible (By: Curtis Sittenfeld)
2016
Go
Show All Books in this Series

List of The MatchUp Collection Books in Publication Order

The MatchUp Collection is a series of short stories where famous authors team up their well-known characters, such as Temperance Brennan and Jack Reacher in the same story.

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
Honor & ... (By: C.J. Box, Sandra Brown)
2017
Go
2
8.7
Deserves to Be Dead (By: John Sandford, Lisa Jackson)
2017
Go
3
9
Getaway (By: Lisa Scottoline, Nelson DeMille)
2017
Go
4
Midnight Flame (By: Christopher Rice, Lara Adrian)
2018
Go
5
Short Story (By: Karin Slaughter, Michael Koryta)
2019
Go
6
Past Prologue (By: Diana Gabaldon, Steve Berry)
2019
Go
7
7.6
Faking a Murderer (By: Lee Child, Kathy Reichs)
2019
Go
8
10
Dig Here (By: Charlaine Harris, Andrew Gross)
2019
Go
9
Taking the Veil (By: J.A. Jance, Eric Van Lustbader)
2019
Go
10
10
Rambo on Their Minds (By: Gayle Lynds, David Morrell)
2019
Go
11
8.5
Footloose (With: Peter James)
2019
Go
Show All Books in this Series

List of Murderous Christmas Stories Books in Publication Order

A collection of holiday-themed mystery tales involving crimes and detective work.

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
Murder under the Christmas Tree
2016
Go
2
Murder on Christmas Eve
2017
Go
3
A Very Murderous Christmas
2018
Go
4
Murder at Christmas
2019
Go
5
Murder in Midwinter
2020
Go
6
Murder on a Winter's Night
2021
Go
7
Murder in the Falling Snow
2022
Go
Show All Books in this Series

Anthology series.

List of Darkland Tales Books in Publication Order

ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
7.5
Rizzio (By: Denise Mina)
2021
Go
2
8
Hex (By: Jenni Fagan)
2022
Go
3
Nothing Left to Fear From Hell (By: Alan Warner)
2023
Go
4
Columba's Bones (By: David Greig)
2023
Go
5
9
Queen Macbeth
2024
Go
6
Benbecula (By: Graeme Macrae Burnet)
2025
Go
Show All Books in this Series

List of Val McDermid Anthologies in Publication Order

#ReadTitle Avg.YearBook Link
1
12 Days: A Modern Twist on The Twelve Days of Christmas
2000
Go
2
6
Naked Came the Phoenix
2001
Go
3
7
The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 3
2002
Go
4
Tart Noir
2003
Go
5
6.3
Like a Charm
2004
Go
6
The Adventure of the Missing Detective and 19 of the Year's Finest Crime and Mystery Stories
2005
Go
7
Magnetic North
2005
Go
8
Crime Scenes Revisited: Scottish Popular Fiction
2006
Go
9
A Merry Band of Murderers
2006
Go
10
Criminal Tendencies
2009
Go
11
The Sounds Of Crime
2010
Go
12
8
The Library Book
2012
Go
13
The Killer Cookbook
2012
Go
14
6.9
Inherit the Dead
2013
Go
15
OxCrimes: 27 Killer Stories from the Cream of Crimewriters
2014
Go
16
Out There: An Anthology of Scottish LGBT writing
2014
Go
17
Crime Writers: A Decade of Crime
2016
Go
18
6.9
MatchUp
2017
Go
19
8
Exit Wounds
2019
Go
20
Bloody Scotland
2019
Go
21
Murder in Midwinter
2020
Go
22
7.8
Marple: Twelve New Mysteries
2022
Go
Show All Anthologies
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Val McDermid

Val McDermid was born on June 4th, 1955 and is currently 70 years old. Val McDermid was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. McDermid attended St Hilda's College, Oxford where she studied English and University of Sunderland where she received an Honorary Doctorate.

Val McDermid is the author of the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series which currently consists of 12 novels. The Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series started in 1995 with the novel The Mermaids Singing. The most recently released novel in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series was How the Dead Speak which was released in 2019. There are no upcoming novels for the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series.

Val McDermid has also written the Inspector Karen Pirie series which has 8 books including The Distant Echo and A Darker Domain.

Val won a Sherlock Award for Best Crime Novel for the book The Distant Echo in 2004.

Val was shortlisted for the 2022 Dead Good Reader Award in The New Kid on the Block Award for Best New Series category for the Allie Burns series.

Val McDermid: Awards & Accolades

Val McDermid has won multiple awards including: The Crime Thriller Awards, ITV3 Writer's Award for Favourite Crime Genre Author, in 2009, Crime Writer's Association Award, Diamond Dagger Award, in 2010 and Theakston's Old Peculier, Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction, in 2016.

Many of Val McDermid's books have won awards, including:

  • The Mermaids Singing won the Crime Writer's Association Award, Gold Dagger Award, in 1995.
  • A Place of Execution won the Barry Award, Best British Crime Novel, in 2000 as well as the Los Angeles Times Book Prize - Best Mystery/Thriller in 2000, Anthony Award - Best Mystery Novel in 2001, Dilys Award - Best Mystery Novel in 2001, Macavity Award - Best Mystery Novel in 2001.
  • The Distant Echo won the Barry Award, Best British Crime Novel, in 2004.
  • The Torment of Others won Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year, in 2006.
  • Fever of the Bone won the Barry Award, Best Paperback Original, in 2011.
  • The Skeleton Road won The Dead Good Reader Award, The Reichenbach Falls Award for Most Epic Ending, in 2015.
  • Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime won the Anthony Award, Best Non-Fiction Book, in 2016.

The following novels by Val McDermid were also nominated for these awards:

  • Crack Down: Crime Writer's Association Award, Gold Dagger Award (1994). Anthony Award, Best Mystery Novel (1995).
  • A Place of Execution: Crime Writer's Association Award, Gold Dagger Award (1999). Edgar Award, Best Mystery Novel (2001).
  • Killing the Shadows: Barry Award, Best British Crime Novel (2002).
  • The Torment of Others: Crime Writer's Association Award, Gold Dagger Award (2004).
  • The Distant Echo: Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year (2005).
  • The Grave Tattoo: British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2008).
  • Beneath the Bleeding: Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year (2009).
  • A Darker Domain: Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Best Mystery/Thriller (2009). CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award (2009).
  • Trick of the Dark: British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2011).
  • Cross and Burn: CrimeFest, eDunnit Award (2014).
  • Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime: Goodreads Awards, Best Science and Technology (2015). Macavity Award, Best Mystery Critical/Biographical (2016). Edgar Award, Best Fact Crime (2016).
  • Splinter the Silence: The Dead Good Reader Award, The Papercut Award for Best Page Turner (2016). RUSA Awards, Mystery Award (2017).
  • Out of Bounds: Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year (2017).
  • Insidious Intent: Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year (2018).
  • Broken Ground: Theakston's Old Peculier, Crime Novel of the Year (2019).
  • How the Dead Speak: British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2020).
  • 1979: Macavity Award, Best Mystery Novel (2022). British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2022).
  • Past Lying: Edgar Award, Sue Grafton Memorial Award (2024).

Val McDermid: Lists & Other Mentions

  • A Place of Execution has made several lists including:
    1. Dead Good Books: 100 Best Crime Books Of All Time Selection in 2020.
    2. The Guardian: 50 Great Thrillers by Women Selection in 2019.
    3. The Daily Mail: A Hundred Novels to Change Your Life Selection in 2019.
    4. Time Magazine: The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time Selection in 2023.
  • The Mermaids Singing was a The Guardian: 50 Great Thrillers by Women Selection in 2019 and a Telerama: The 100 Best Thrillers Selection in 2024.

Related Authors

Fans of Val McDermid also enjoy these authors:

  1. Stuart MacBride, author of the Logan McRae Series.
  2. Helen Fields, author of the D.I. Callanach Series.
  3. Jane Harper, author of the Aaron Falk Series.
  4. Ian Rankin, author of the Inspector Rebus Series.
  5. Dervla McTiernan, author of the Cormac Reilly Series.
  6. Ragnar Jónasson, author of the Dark Iceland Series.
  7. Angela Marsons, author of the D.I. Kim Stone Series.
  8. Jonathan Kellerman, author of the Alex Delaware Series.
  9. J.A. Jance, author of the Joanna Brady Series.
  10. Adrian McKinty, author of the Detective Sean Duffy Series.

Val McDermid: F.A.Q

When was Val McDermid Born? How old is Val McDermid?

Val McDermid was born on June 4th, 1955. Val McDermid is currently 70 years old.

Where was Val McDermid Born?

Val McDermid was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland and is Scottish.

What awards has Val McDermid won?

Val McDermid has won the following awards: ITV3 Writer's Award for Favourite Crime Genre Author at the Crime Thriller Awards (2009), Diamond Dagger Award at the Crime Writer's Association Award (2010) and the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction at Theakston's Old Peculier (2016).

What book awards has Val McDermid won?

The Mermaids Singing: Crime Writer's Association Award Gold Dagger Award (1995).
A Place of Execution: Barry Award Best British Crime Novel (2000), Los Angeles Times Book Prize Best Mystery/Thriller (2000), Anthony Award Best Mystery Novel (2001), Dilys Award Best Mystery Novel (2001), Macavity Award Best Mystery Novel (2001).
The Distant Echo: Barry Award Best British Crime Novel (2004).
The Torment of Others: Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (2006).
Fever of the Bone: Barry Award Best Paperback Original (2011).
The Skeleton Road: The Dead Good Reader Award The Reichenbach Falls Award for Most Epic Ending (2015).
Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime : Anthony Award Best Non-Fiction Book (2016).

What was the first book Val McDermid wrote?

The first book written by Val McDermid was Report For Murder, published in 1987.

What was the most recent book Val McDermid wrote?

Her most recently released work was Winter: The Story of a Season on January 13th, 2026.

What is the most popular book by Val McDermid?

Based on the number of readers on Book Notification, the most popular Val McDermid book is The Distant Echo. Here are her most popular books:
  1. The Distant Echo (7.83)
  2. The Mermaids Singing (7.67)
  3. A Darker Domain (7.5)
  4. Still Life (7.55)
  5. The Wire In The Blood (8.8)

Are there upcoming new books by Val McDermid?

Val McDermid does not have any upcoming books with a set publication date within the next few months at this time.

Click and we will notify you via e-mail when Val McDermid next book gets announced.

How many books has Val McDermid written?

Val McDermid has written 54 books across 16 series, excluding contributions to anthologies.
  • 2 books in the Allie Burns Series
  • 8 books in the Inspector Karen Pirie Series
  • 6 books in the Kate Brannigan Series
  • 6 books in the Lindsay Gordon Series
  • 12 books in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan Series
  • 5 Standalone Novels
  • 2 Short Stories/Novellas
  • 3 Short Story Collections
  • 1 Graphic Novels
  • 1 Picture Books
  • 4 Non-Fiction Books
  • 1 book in the Austen Project Series
  • 1 book in The MatchUp Collection Series
  • 2 books in the Murderous Christmas Stories Series
  • 1 book in the Darkland Tales Series

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