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Fife-born crime writer Val McDermid started out as a journalist before her success of debut novel Report for Murder: The First Lindsay Gordon Mystery in 1987.
Since then she’s written over 40 novels, alongside a variety of collections of short stories, two children’s books, several works of non-fiction, and a graphic novel.
Her most popular characters include Tony Hill and Carol Jordan, who also feature in the television programme Wire in the Blood starring Robson Green, and Inspector Karen Pirie.
Her huge popularity around the world has seen her sell over 19 million books which have been translated into more than 40 languages.
With so many books to choose from, it’s hard for a Val McDermid beginner to know where to start.
To help out, we’ve had a look at how the millions of readers of book website Goodreads have rated her books.
Here are the top 10.
9. Beneath the Bleeding
The fifth in the Tony Hill & Carol Jordan series comes next, with 2007's Beneath the Bleeding scoring an average rating of 4.14 from 8,975 reviews. "The race is on to uncover the identity of a murderer with nothing to lose – and everything to kill for. When Robbie Bishop, star midfielder for the Bradfield Vics, is poisoned by a rare and deadly toxin, profiler Dr Tony Hill and trusted colleague DCI Carol Jordan have their work cut out for them. Robbie was adored, so the public want answers – but the answers aren't coming, and trails are running cold. Then a bomb explodes in the football stadium, causing massive casualties – and another man dies from poisoning. Is there a link between the cases? And what are the motives for these crimes? The clock is ticking for Tony and Carol – and the death toll keeps rising…" | Contributed
10. A Place of Execution
Completing our list if 1998 standalone novel A Place of Execution. It scores an average rating of 4.14 from 17,469 reviews. "In the Peak District village of Scardale, thirteen-year-old girls didn’t just run away. So when Alison Carter vanished in the winter of ’63, everyone knew it was a murder. Catherine Heathcote remembers the case well. A child herself when Alison vanished, decades on she still recalls the sense of fear as parents kept their children close, terrified of strangers. Now a journalist, she persuades DI George Bennett to speak of the hunt for Alison, the tantalizing leads and harrowing dead ends. But when a fresh lead emerges, Bennett tries to stop the story – plunging Catherine into a world of buried secrets and revelations." | Contributed