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. Lindsay Gordon, however, has other ideas. 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.
Soon Lindsay is embroiled in an investigation involving blackmail, stolen government documents and the vested interests of a group of people determined to keep her from finding the truth.
Union Jack
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.
"A timeless mystery, well-plotted with crisp dialogue and solid characterization."--Orlando Sun-Sentinel on Report for Murder
"There's a vividness and energy to this tale that makes it satisfying and convincing."--The Washington Post on Booked for Murder
"Val McDermid is an inspiration."--Herald (Scotland) on Common Murder
"Her real skills in creating compelling characters, as well as a mystery that is profoundly twisted and filled with enough legitimate red herrings to stock Fisherman's Wharf, blossom in this dark, chilling novel."--Bay Area Reporter on Final Edition
"A wonderful read--thrilling, scary and funny."--Evening Standard (UK) on Union Jack
"The writing is tough and colourful, the scene setting excellent."--Times Literary Supplement (UK) on Booked for Murder
"McDermid's snappy, often comic prose keeps the story humming."--Publishers Weekly on Common Murder
"The macho world of the whodunnit has never seen a sleuth like Lindsay Gordon."--Manchester Evening News (UK) on Booked for Murder
"Neatly constructed and splendidly sarcastic about the circus of union politics."--Daily Telegraph (UK) on Union Jack
"Full marks for plot, atmosphere, character, dialogue, politics, humour Oh hell, full marks for just about everything. I don't know how Val does it, but I'm bloody glad she does."--Crime Time on Booked for Murder