Val McDermid: Common Murder (UK 2026)

From the Publisher:
From the no.1 bestseller Val McDermid comes a gripping mystery starring journalist Lindsay Gordon
A women's protest peace camp comes under fire when Rupert Crabtree is found murdered on the grounds.
Rupert was a solicitor leading a campaign against the camp, and the police suspect the protesters, but journalist Lindsay Gordon isn't so sure.

When a woman at the camp is attacked, Lindsay races to find Rupert's true killer, before they strike again.

Praise for Val McDermid
'McDermid remains unrivalled... Brilliant' -- Observer
'Val McDermid is a born storyteller... absorbing reading' -- Sunday Telegraph

Val McDermid: Common Murder. Lindsay Gordon Crime Series, Book 2. Hemlock Press / HarperCollins, ISBN 9780008757960 (April, 2026), 336 p., £9.99.

Val McDermid: Report for Murder & Common Murder (USA 2018)

From the Publisher:
Now available in paperback for the first time, the Lindsay Gordon novels set internationally bestselling writer Val McDermid on the path to becoming the world-class crime writer she is today.

The Lindsay Gordon novels are the series that set internationally bestselling writer Val McDermid on the path to becoming the world-class crime writer she is today, collected into three volumes and now available as Grove Press paperbacks for the first time. In Report for Murder, we meet self-proclaimed "cynical socialist lesbian feminist journalist" Lindsay Gordon -- McDermid's pioneering character -- as she investigates the vicious murder of the headliner at a fundraising gala who is found garroted with her own cello strings. These books take Lindsay from a murder at a women's protest for which Lindsay's former lover is the chief suspect; to the death of a union boss for which Lindsay must prove her innocence; with stops along the way in the buzzy journalism world and the seething rivalries of London publishing; and all the way to St. Petersburg to retrieve the kidnapped son of a local car dealer. Longtime fans will be delighted to see the Lindsay Gordon series back in print, and for readers who have never encountered McDermid before, these books are a thrilling introduction to "Britain's Queen of Crime" (Times, UK).

Val McDermid: Report for Murder & Common Murder. Lindsay Gordon Mysteries #1 and #2. Grove Paperback, ISBN 9780802127761 (March, 2018), 496 p., $17.00, eBook $10.49.

Val McDermid: Common Murder (USA 2005)

From the Publisher:
A protest group hits the headlines when unrest at a women's peace camp explodes into murder. Already on the scene, journalist Lindsay Gordon desperately tries to strike a balance between personal and professional responsibilities. As she peels back the layers of deception surrounding the protest and its opponents, she finds that no one -- ratepayer or reporter, policeman or peace woman -- seems wholly above suspicion. Then Lindsay uncovers a truth that even she can scarcely believe.

Val McDermid: Common Murder. A Lindsay Gordon Mystery. Bywater Books, ISBN 1932859071 (September, 2005), 224 p., $12.95.

Val McDermid: Common Murder (UK 2004)

From the Publisher:
'A WELL-PITCHED AND TOPICAL MYSTERY' -- Sunday Times
A protest group hits the headlines when unrest at a women's peace camp explodes into murder. Already on the scene, journalist Lindsay Gordon desperately tries to strike a balance between personal and professional responsibilities. As she peels back the layers of deception surrounding the protest and its opponents, she finds that no one ratepayer or reporter, policeman or peace woman seems wholly above suspicion. Then Lindsay uncovers a truth that even she can scarcely believe.

'MCDERMID'S SNAPPY, OFTEN COMIC, PROSE KEEPS THE STORY HUMMING' -- Publishers Weekly

Val McDermid: Common Murder. A Lindsay Gordon Mystery. HarperCollins, ISBN 0007191758 (November, 2004), 311 p., £6.99.

Val McDermid: Common Murder (USA 1995)

From the Publisher:
Ace reporter and lesbian socialist Lindsay Gordon is once again in the thick of events when an alleged assault at a women's peace encampment north of London turns deadly. After a former lover of Gordon's is first accused of attacking, and then murdering, prominent citizen and vocal anti-Brownlow Common activist Rupert Crabtree, Gordon finds herself embroiled in an investigation with far-reaching implications. These extend far beyond the women's peace movement, all the way up to the highest levels of Her Majesty's government.

In the course of solving a crime that some authorities are determined to pin on a community of women activists, Gordon is forced to confront all the contradictions in her life: her personal loyalties as a friend and a lover, her political convictions as a working-class lesbian, her professional responsibilities as a journalist, and her civil obligations as an English subject.

As she works her way through the tangle of personal conflicts and state secrets that led to Crabtree's murder, Lindsay Gordon discovers, sometimes to her own surprise, what concessions she can make in her life and what things are beyond compromise.

"Val McDermid is an important writer-witty, never sentimental and taking us through Manchester's mean streets with the dexterity of a Chandler." - Sara Paretsky, Tunnel Vision

"With a heroine like Lindsay Gordon -- who's got a heart of gold, and a nose for trouble -- Val McDermid's Common Murder is a plot driven story that leaves you wanting more." - Randye Lordon, Sister's Keeper

Val McDermid: Common Murder. The Second Lindsay Gordon Mystery. Spinsters Ink, ISBN 1883523087 (October, 1995), 250 p., $12.95.

Val McDermid: Common Murder (UK 1994)

From the Publisher:
'This is murder', Lindsay Gordon complained. 'I can't bear it when there's nothing doing.'
When Lindsay Gordon, journalist and reluctant sleuth, gets a tip-off about trouble at a women's peace camp, she goes to investigate not for one minute expecting the can of worms she's about to open.

Rupert Crabtree, Chairman of the local opposition to the camp, has reported an assault by a member of the peace camp. When Lindsay turns up she realises the accused is Deborah, an old friend, and immediately gets drawn in to the enquiries.

The situation takes a turn for the worse when Crabtree's body is found and Deborah is hauled away for questioning. Torn between her job as a journalist, helping the women at the camp and loyalty to her old friend, Lindsay is plunged in to an investigation with far-reaching political implications in which no one -- ratepayer or reporter, policeman or peacewoman - is safe, or above suspicion...

Val McDermid is the author of Crackdown, Kickback and Deadbeat.

Val McDermid: Common Murder. Severn House, ISBN 0727847090 (December, 1994), 195 p., £14.99.

Val McDermid: Common Murder (UK 1989)

From the Publisher:
An original publication from The Women's Press
Common Murder finds journalist Lindsay Gordon at the peace camp on Brownlow Common, reporting a case of alleged assault by Deborah, a peacewoman, on Rupert Crabtree, Chairman of the local opposition to the camp.

Then the body of Crabtree is found on common ground, victim of a vicious attack, and Deborah is accused of murder: Lindsay is plunged into an investigation with far-reaching political implications, in which no one - be they ratepayer or reporter, policeman or peacewoman - is wholly above suspicion.

Val McDermid's previous mystery featuring sleuth Lindsay Gordon is Report for Murder, published by The Women's Press in 1987.

About Report for Murder:
'A rattling good yarn, wittily written, with an irresistible, if infuriating, heroine' -- The Journalist
'A dash of Dorothy Sayers, a jot of Josephine Tey, a nuance of Nancy Drew, an amplification of Amanda Cross' -- City Limits

Val McDermid: Common Murder. The Women's Press, ISBN 0704342065 (September, 1989), 195 p., £4.99.