Val McDermid: Report for Murder (UK 2026)

From the Publisher:
From the no.1 bestseller Val McDermid: Introducing journalist Lindsay Gordon who finds herself solving a murder after a musician is killed at a concert

Moments before she was due to appear on stage at school fundraising gala, star cellist Lorna Smith is found dead, garrotted with her own cello string.

Freelance journalist Lindsay Gordon was only covering the gala to make some quick cash, but when a friend is arrested for Lorna's murder, Lindsay is determined to prove her innocence.

With her friend's freedom at stake, Lindsay dives into Lorna's life, uncovering a world of secrets, lies and betrayal.

Praise for Val McDermid
'McDermid remains unrivalled... Brilliant' -- Observer
'Val McDermid is a born storyteller... absorbing reading' -- Sunday Telegraph
'A classic... McDermid pulls out all the stops. Impeccable' -- Guardian

Val McDermid: Report for Murder. Lindsay Gordon Crime Series, Book 1. Hemlock Press / HarperCollins, ISBN 9780008757953 (April, 2026), 368 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: Report for Murder (USA 2005)

From the Publisher:
Freelance journalist Lindsay Gordon is strapped for cash. Why else would she agree to cover a fund-raising gala at a girls' public school? But when the star attraction is found garrotted with her own cello string minutes before she is due on stage, Lindsay finds herself investigating a vicious murder.

Who would have wanted Lorna Smith Cooper dead? Who had the key to the locked room in which her body was found? And who could have slipped out of the hall at just the right time to commit this calculated and cold-blooded crime?

Val McDermid: Report for Murder. A Lindsay Gordon Mystery. Bywater Books, ISBN 1932859063 (September, 2005), 230 p., $12.95.

Val McDermid: Report for Murder (UK 2004)

From the Publisher:
"TOUGH, EXCITING, MOODY AND UNPREDICTABLE' -- The Times
Freelance journalist Lindsay Gordon is strapped for cash. Why else would she agree to cover a fund-raising gala at a girls' public school? But when the star attraction is found garrotted with her own cello string minutes before she is due on stage, Lindsay finds herself investigating a vicious murder.

Who would have wanted Lorna Smith-Couper dead? Who had the key to the locked room in which her body was found? And who could have slipped out of the hall at just the right time to commit this calculated and cold-blooded crime?

'MCDERMID IS FRESH AND FUNNY WITH A SPARKLING SENSE OF TIME AND PLACE' -- Literary Review

Val McDermid: Report for Murder. A Lindsay Gordon Mystery. HarperCollins, ISBN 000719174X (November, 2004), 343 p., £6.99.

Val McDermid: Report for Murder (UK 2000)

From the Publisher:
Freelance journalist Lindsay Gordon is strapped for cash. Why else would she agree to cover a fundraising gala at a girls' public school? But when the star attraction is garrotted with her own cello string, only moments before she is due on stage, Lindsay finds herself investigating a vicious murder.

Previous titles by Val Mcdermid from Severn House include Common Murder, Final Edition and Union Jack.

Val McDermid: Report for Murder. Severn House, ISBN 0727855549 (April, 2000), 196 p., £17.99.

Val McDermid: Report for Murder (USA 1998)

From the Publisher:
Lindsay Gordon, self- proclaimed "cynical socialist lesbian feminist journalist," is less than overjoyed at the prospect of spending a weekend at a posh girls' boarding school. But she has been commissioned to write a feature article on the school's fundraising efforts. Ever the consummate professional, Lindsay immerses herself in that insular world of class hierarchy and privilege she so heartily despises.

Lindsay soon finds that her weekend promises to be more than a social whirl of teas, plays, and recitals. Tensions are running high over the school's financial problems; the fact that school alumna and renowned musician, Lorna Smith-Couper, will return to the school to perform at a benefit concert only exacerbates anxieties. Plus, to make matters even more complicated, Lindsay meets best-selling author Cordelia Brown, and the sparks begin to fly.

When Smith-Couper is found strangled with her own cello string right before the concert, Lindsay and Cordelia find their new relationship tested in unique ways as they seek to find a murderer among a long list of suspects.

"... a clever mystery, a good read, and a heroine who is my kind of woman: Lindsay Gordon is smart, tenacious, daring, lusty, loyal, and class- conscious to the bone." -- Barbara Neely, author of the Blanche White series

"McDermid has created a complex and prickly detective whose working- class background sets her at odds with her companions, particularly ber new lover, Cordelia. The shifting relationship intertwines a realistic romance with a solid detective story." -- Publishers Weekly

Val McDermid: Report for Murder. Spinsters Ink, ISBN 1883523249 (April, 1998), 265 p., $10.95.

Val McDermid: Report for Murder (UK 1993)

From the Publisher:
AN ORIGINAL PUBLICATION FROM THE WOMEN'S PRESS
'Lindsay Gordon put murder to the back of her mind and settled down in the train compartment...'
Lindsay Gordon is somewhat bemused to find herself covering a gala fundraising concert at a public school in Derbyshire. But what the hell, as a socialist lesbian reporter, she likes to give a glance to the enemy now and then; and her old mate Paddy, somehow now a housemistress at the school, could do with a refreshing blast from the past. And then, of course, there's the nasty little situation with the Inland Revenue - no job with a cheque at the end of it is to be ignored.

But Gordon can't rest on her laurels for long - the show can't go on with its star attraction, cellist Lorna Smith-Couper, murdered in the wings, just instants before she is due on stage... The first Lindsay Gordon mystery has begun...

Val McDermid: Report for Murder. The First Lindsay Gordon Mystery. London: The Women's Press, 1993, ISBN 0743440801, 196 p., £?.??.