Praise
“McDermid has the ruthless psychological scalpel that forms part of the equipment of all good novelists, whatever their genre. And, fortunately for us, she knows just how to use it.” —Guardian (UK)
“Val McDermid is one of the bright lights of the mystery field.” —Washington Post
“One of the most accomplished crime novelists in the UK, Val McDermid has an acute reading of the psychology that lifts her out of the genre straitjacket. She delivers pulse-raising set pieces when necessary, but truthfulness of characterization is always more important than the exigencies of plot.” —Independent (UK), on The Vanishing Point
“Smooth. Confident. Deeply satisfying. What else can you say about McDermid’s writing?”
—Entertainment Weekly (editor’s choice), on The Torment of Others
“McDermid is a whiz at combining narrative threads, shifting to the viewpoints of her various characters . . . and ending chapters with cliffhangers that propel you to keep reading. . . . She’s the best we’ve got.” —New York Times Book Review, on Killing the Shadows
“To write one brilliant book is hard. To write 25 is a miracle. That is what Val McDermid has achieved over the course of her career and it’s why she is a much-loved legend in the literary world.” —Sunday Express (UK)
