Val McDermid

Val McDermid

This is a complete list of Val McDermid books in publication and chronological order, broken down by series or category.

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List of Allie Burns Books in Publication Order

List of Inspector Karen Pirie Books in Publication Order

List of Kate Brannigan Books in Publication Order

List of Lindsay Gordon Books in Publication Order

List of Tony Hill/Carol Jordan Books in Publication Order

# ReadTitle Avg. Year Book Link
1
8
The Mermaids Singing
1995
2
9
The Wire In The Blood
1997
3
6
The Last Temptation
2002
4
8
The Torment of Others
2004
5
9
Beneath the Bleeding
2007
6
8.7
Fever of the Bone
2009
7
7
The Retribution
2011
8
10
Cross and Burn
2013
9
9.5
Splinter the Silence
2015
10
8.6
Insidious Intent
2017
11
Footloose (With: Peter James)
2019
12
8
How the Dead Speak
2019

List of Standalone Novels in Publication Order

List of Short Stories/Novellas in Publication Order

List of Short Story Collections in Publication Order

List of Graphic Novels in Publication Order

List of Picture Books in Publication Order

List of Non-Fiction Books in Publication Order

List of Austen Project Books in Publication Order

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

List of Murderous Christmas Stories Books in Publication Order

List of Val McDermid Anthologies in Publication Order

# ReadTitle Avg. Year Book Link
1
12 Days: A Modern Twist on The Twelve Days of Christmas
2000
2
6
Naked Came the Phoenix
2001
3
The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 3
2002
4
Tart Noir
2003
5
Like a Charm
2004
6
The Adventure of the Missing Detective and 19 of the Year's Finest Crime and Mystery Stories
2005
7
Magnetic North
2005
8
A Merry Band of Murderers
2006
9
Criminal Tendencies
2009
10
The Sounds Of Crime
2010
11
6
The Library Book
2012
12
The Killer Cookbook
2012
13
8
Inherit the Dead
2013
14
OxCrimes: 27 Killer Stories from the Cream of Crimewriters
2014
15
Out There: An Anthology of Scottish LGBT writing
2014
16
Crime Writers: A Decade of Crime
2016
17
Crime Plus Music
2016
18
6.4
MatchUp
2017
19
Exit Wounds
2019
20
Bloody Scotland
2019
21
Imagine A Country
2020
22
8.7
Marple: Twelve New Mysteries
2022
Show All Anthologies

Val McDermid: Biography

Val McDermid was born on June 4th, 1955 and is currently 68 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 Lindsay Gordon series which has 7 books including Report For Murder and Common Murder.

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 and the Theakston's Old Peculier, Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction, in 2016.

Val McDermid has won many awards including:

  • The Mermaids Singing won the Crime Writer's Association Award, Gold Dagger Award, in 1995.
  • A Place of Execution won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Best Mystery/Thriller, in 2000 as well as the Barry Award - Best British Crime Novel 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 the 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 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).
  • Trick of the Dark: British Book Awards, Crime and Thriller Book of the Year (2011).
  • Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime: Goodreads Awards, Best Science and Technology (2015). Edgar Award, Best Fact Crime (2016). Macavity Award, Best Mystery Critical/Biographical (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: Author Insights

The highest rated book by Val McDermid on Book Notification is Splinter the Silence, the 9th novel in the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series.

The most read book by Val McDermid on Book Notification is The Distant Echo, the 1st novel in the Inspector Karen Pirie series.

The most common authors followed by users who also follow Val McDermid are:

  1. Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch Series.
  2. Louise Penny, author of the Inspector Gamache Series.
  3. Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher Series.
  4. Harlan Coben, author of the Myron Bolitar Series.
  5. Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland Island 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 68 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) and the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction at the 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: Los Angeles Times Book Prize Best Mystery/Thriller (2000), Barry Award Best British Crime Novel (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 novel 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 Past Lying on October 12th, 2023.

Will there be any more books by Val McDermid?

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

How many books has Val McDermid written?

Val McDermid has written 52 books across 15 series.
  • 2 books in the Allie Burns Series
  • 7 books in the Inspector Karen Pirie Series
  • 6 books in the Kate Brannigan Series
  • 7 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
  • 3 Non-Fiction Books
  • 1 book in the Austen Project Series
  • 1 book in the The MatchUp Collection Series
  • 2 books in the Murderous Christmas Stories Series

Have a Question?

    Author Discussion


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    Austin D.
    Austin D.
    2 years ago

    Val is incredibly nuanced and sensitive with her characters yet still maintains a cracking pace. One thing I have struggled with when reading her work is being able to put them down in order to get some sleep.

    Have loved reading her stuff ever since I checked out The Mermaids Singing, her first Tony Hill/Carol Jordan novel.

    Val’s novel Still Life which is a well written book that has a clever plot and some characters that I love.

    Another great one of hers is How the Dead Speak and is one of my favorite novels from the Tony and Carol series.

    Edgar A.
    Edgar A.
    2 years ago

    Val McDermid writes psychological complex and taut works that I usually cannot put down once I start reading. She is a master at wrongfooting her readers that is second to none which is why I always find myself coming back to her novels.

    MerDermid is a master at writing crime fiction but more importantly she knows all about the dark side of women and men and how they can cause havoc in each other’s lives.

    One of his best novels is the standalone work Vanishing Point which has a shocking opening followed by violent actions scenes and edge of your seat unnerving moments. Thee is fear and panic in the smart taut and vivid writing that shows McDermid’s mastery of storytelling.

    Skeleton Road which has to be my favorite is an original, thought provoking and gripping novel. I always felt that the quality of her works dipped for sometime but it was in this work that Val is back to her best writing some riveting crime fiction.

    It is in this novel that she introduces my favorite character in Karen Pirie who has to be in the pantheon of the most memorable characters of crime fiction.

    Andrew M.
    Andrew M.
    2 years ago

    Thanks to this list of books by Val McDermid. She creates a clever and good read mystery story with my favorite heroine. Lindsay Gordon is daring, loyal, smart, and tenacious that’s why I found her lovable.
    McDermid’s characters are all lovable and real, and you can’t help but like them.
    In the inspector Karen Pirie series, I loved how the author created the story from the past to the modern-day.
    Her writing is sharp, crisp, and concise, and I had no more to ask for.
    I can’t say which book was my favorite, but I found the Lindsay Gordon series immensely interesting.
    Kate Brannigan’s series and the Trick of the Dark were also fascinating.

    Michael K.
    Michael K.
    2 years ago

    For the longest time, I thought Val McDermid was Scandinavian. I don’t know why. It was probably because I have a cousin who loves her, but all she reads is Scandinavian thrillers. Also, my friend told me that Val writes Tartan Noir. I don’t know what those words mean, but they sounded Scandinavian.

    When I finally read ‘The Mermaids Singing,’ I couldn’t wait to boast to anyone who would listen that I had finally completed my first Scandinavian thriller. But my cousin corrected me before I could make an ass of myself.

    I still haven’t encountered a Scandinavian author I like. But until I do, Val will keep me company. She tells the kinds of dark and twisted stories I like.

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