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. Tensions are running high over the school's financial problems; the fact that school alumna and reknowned musician Lorna Smith-Couper, will return to the school to perform at a benefit concert only exacerbates anxieties. 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 the murderer among a long list of suspects.

Second novel in the series featuring reporter Lindsay Gordon. When her former lover is accused of murder in a women's peace camp, Lindsay must bring all of her expertise as an investigative reporter into play. 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.

Lindsay Gordon, Scottish journalist and amateur sleuth, was the first creation of international bestseller Val McDermid. Report for Murder introduced the United Kingdom’s first lesbian detective, and the series has been perennially popular ever since. Lindsay is tenacious to the point of stubbornness, intrepid to the point of stupidity, and loyal to the point of laying her life on the line. With the support of friends, family, and lovers, she takes on the world with wit and brio, unraveling criminal conspiracies and unmasking murderers. She’s feisty, feminist, and funny. Each novel plunges Lindsay into a different milieu. Report for Murder is set against the backdrop of an exclusive girls’ boarding school; Common Murder features a women’s peace protest, where feelings run deadly; Deadline for Murder forces Lindsay to confront the darker side of her own world of journalism; Conferences Are Murder explores the deadly underbelly of trade unionism; Booked for Murder lifts the lid on publishing, showing it’s no longer a gentleman’s game; and Hostage to Murder brings Lindsay face-to-face with child custody battles and the gangsters who inhabit the world of terrorism. The hallmark of McDermid’s novels is a compassionate understanding of human relationships and a shrewd insight into contemporary society. The Lindsay Gordon novels have been published to great critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Booked for Murder, the fifth Lindsay Gordon mystery, was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. McDermid has been praised for the way her storytelling interweaves the various elements of the novel into a seamless, balanced whole. “I don’t write about issues, I write about characters,” McDermid says. The books have won a wide general readership among fans of the mystery genre. Val McDermid grew up in a Scottish mining community and read English at Oxford. She lives in northern England.

Fourth in the series featuring investigative journalist Lindsay Gordon. When union leader Tom Jack falls to his death from her bedroom window after a spectacularly public row with Lindsay, it seems the only way to prove her innocence is to find the real culprit. Leaving her new home in California for a trade union conference in Sheffield, Lindsay Gordon finds herself in the company of old friends – and enemies, including Tom Jack. When this unethical union leader is found dead, having catapulted out of Lindsay’s tenth-floor hotel room, she is taken in for questioning by the police. Hoping to clear her name by finding the real killer, Lindsay searches among hundreds of unruly union delegates for a murderer who may have struck once before. Along the way she uncovers a seething cauldron of blackmail, corruption and abuse of power, all brought to the boil by her investigation.

Lindsay Gordon, Scottish journalist and amateur sleuth, was the first creation of international bestseller Val McDermid. Report for Murder introduced the United Kingdom’s first lesbian detective, and the series has been perennially popular ever since. Lindsay is tenacious to the point of stubbornness, intrepid to the point of stupidity, and loyal to the point of laying her life on the line. With the support of friends, family, and lovers, she takes on the world with wit and brio, unraveling criminal conspiracies and unmasking murderers. She’s feisty, feminist, and funny. Each novel plunges Lindsay into a different milieu. Report for Murder is set against the backdrop of an exclusive girls’ boarding school; Common Murder features a women’s peace protest, where feelings run deadly; Deadline for Murder forces Lindsay to confront the darker side of her own world of journalism; Conferences Are Murder explores the deadly underbelly of trade unionism; Booked for Murder lifts the lid on publishing, showing it’s no longer a gentleman’s game; and Hostage to Murder brings Lindsay face-to-face with child custody battles and the gangsters who inhabit the world of terrorism. The hallmark of McDermid’s novels is a compassionate understanding of human relationships and a shrewd insight into contemporary society. The Lindsay Gordon novels have been published to great critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Booked for Murder, the fifth Lindsay Gordon mystery, was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. McDermid has been praised for the way her storytelling interweaves the various elements of the novel into a seamless, balanced whole. “I don’t write about issues, I write about characters,” McDermid says. The books have won a wide general readership among fans of the mystery genre. Val McDermid grew up in a Scottish mining community and read English at Oxford. She lives in northern England.

Hostage to Murder, the long-awaited sixth Lindsay Gordon mystery, is a lightning-paced story spliced with crackling action and an intense emotional dimension. Spraining an ankle is rarely a stroke of luck, but for Lindsay Gordon, jobless in Glasgow, the injury is her introduction to young freelance journalist Rory McLaren and the opening of a new chapter in her life. Rory's invitation to work alongside her in her booth at the Cafe Virginia is irresistible. From there it is just a short step to political corruption and other juicy stories – all welcome distractions from Lindsay's problems at home, where her long-term lover Sophie has decided to heed the ticking of her biological clock and get pregnant. But when a local car-dealer's stepson is kidnapped, Lindsay and Rory are invited to trade journalism for detection. The trail leads them to St Petersburg and a dangerous snatch-back operation. It's a journey that brings a whole new dimension of risk into Lindsay's life. Back in Glasgow, it becomes clear that Lindsay and Rory have stumbled into a bigger, more violent piece of business than either of them could have guessed – and one which will test Lindsay to her absolute limits.

In one volume, the first two mysteries featuring a journalist who investigates murder, from the Diamond Dagger winner known as "Britain's Queen of Crime" (The Times). From the Edgar Award-nominated author of the DCI Karen Pirie series, this two-in-one volume Report for Murder Self-proclaimed cynical socialist-lesbian-feminist and 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 garroted with her own cello string moments before she is due on stage, Lindsay finds herself investigating a vicious murder. "A timeless mystery, well-plotted with crisp dialogue and solid characterization."―Orlando Sun-Sentinel Common Murder When her former lover is accused of murder—at a women's peace protest, no less—Lindsay must bring all of her expertise as an investigative reporter into play—and uncovers a truth even she can scarcely believe. "McDermid's snappy, often comic prose keeps the story humming."―Publishers Weekly

Two mysteries in one volume featuring the investigating journalist, from the Diamond Dagger Award-winning author. Final Edition When Alison Maxwell, a well-known Glaswegian journalist with an irresistible sexual attraction to both sexes, is found murdered, the police look no further than the owner of the scarf used to strangle her. Reporter Lindsay Gordon, however, suspects there's more to the story. Maxwell was a serial seductress who kept a secret record of her encounters, including one with Lindsay herself. Recalling the threats that followed the end of the relationship, Lindsay knows all too well the feelings of rage, fear, and passion that Alison Maxwell could invoke—and she will be stepping into a sordid world of lies to solve the case. Union Jack When unethical union leader Tom Jack falls to his death from the window of Lindsay Gordon's tenth-floor hotel room after a spectacularly public row between the two of them, it seems the only way to prove her innocence is to find the real culprit. But that will requireuncovering a seething cauldron of blackmail, corruption and abuse of power, all brought to the boil by her investigation.