Mystery Books

Mystery Movies

Mystery Authors

Val McDermid biography

 

 

Val McDermid

(1955 - )

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, where she was the first student from a state school in Scotland (Kirkcaldy High School), and became President of the Junior Common Room. 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's notable characters are a lesbian 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. It is stated that Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird" is her favourite novel. McDermid considers her work to be Tartan Noir. As well as her novels, McDermid contributes to several British newspapers and often broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Scotland.[2] Her novels, in particular the Tony Hill series, are known for their graphic depictions of violence and torture.

Information source: wikipedia