Before Lindsay Gordon, there were sleuths who liked whiskey. And sleuths who liked cigarettes. And of course there were sleuths who liked women. The thing is, they were all men. Lindsay Gordon was the first lesbian. Out from the start, she strode fearlessly across the pages of British crime fiction. Trying to do the best and often getting into the worst. Her work as a reporter takes Lindsay into different worlds. Report for Murder finds her investigating a murder in a girls’ boarding school. It’s a new experience for this working class journalist. Common Murder finds her reporting on a women’s peace movement camped close to a Cruise missile base. In Deadline for Murder, her ex-lover has been murdered — but her sense of justice means that Lindsay tries to secure the release of the woman convicted for the crime. Conferences are Murder takes Lindsay into the world of trade unions, after a homophobic union boss is pushed from a window — and she is the prime suspect. It’s the publishing industry that comes under her gaze in Booked for Murder, when an author dies in circumstances described in her unpublished novel. And Hostage to Murder forces Lindsay to do what she must to rescue a child who has been kidnapped.
At the time that each book was written, the issues explored were current, and critics praised Val McDermid’s shrewd analysis. For fans, though, it’s Lindsay herself who’s most interesting. At various times, she works freelance, lectures on journalism — and ends up unemployed. And via her personal relationships McDermid charts two decades of lesbian life. Lindsay has always been out, but breaking up is never easy, and forming new relationships can be tricky. Particularly if your new partner is a lot younger,from a lesbian generation that has expectations very different to yours.
Val McDermid was herself a reporter when she wrote the first Lindsay Gordon mystery. She now writes full-time. With the fifth mystery, Booked for Murder, she was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. All six titles in the series are priced at $12.95
At fine bookstores everywhere or order directly from Bywater Books.
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