Booked for Murder
Table of Contents
Praise
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
1996
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
V. L. McDermid
Copyright Page
Praise for V. L. McDermid
“One of my favorite authors, Val McDermid is an important writer—witty, never sentimental, taking us through mean streets with the dexterity of a Chandler.” Sara Paretsky
“If you haven’t discovered this award-winning trailblazer in lesbian detective fiction you’re missing out on a good one.”
Katherine V. Forrest
“There is no one in contemporary crime fiction who has managed to combine the visceral and the humane as well as Val McDermid . . . . She’s the best we’ve got.”
The New York Times Book Review
“Val McDermid is one of the bright lights of the mystery field.”
The Washington Post
“McDermid’s a skillful writer—comparisons with such American novelists as Sara Paretsky and Sue Grafton are appropriate.”
Chicago Tribune
“Lindsay Gordon has got a heart of gold and a nose for trouble.”
Randye Lordon
“Lindsay Gordon is smart, tenacious, daring, lusty, loyal, and class-conscious to the bone.” Barbara Neely
Also by Val McDermid
The Grave Tattoo
Stranded
The Distant Echo
Killing the Shadows
A Place of Execution
Lindsay Gordon novels
Report for Murder
Common Murder
Deadline for Murder
Conferences are Murder
Booked for Murder
Hostage to Murder
Kate Brannigan novels
Star Struck
Blue Genes
Clean Break
Crack Down
Kick Back
Dead Beat
Tony Hill and Carol Jordon novels
The Mermaids Singing
The Wire in the Blood
The Last Temptation
The Torment of Others
Non-fiction
A Suitable Job for a Woman
For Jai and Paula. They know why.
Acknowledgements
Readers often wonder how much research writers do in the pursuit of our plots. I used to think that the only way to do it was over a beer or a meal. That was before I discovered the Internet and the wonders of e-mail.
This time around, I’d like particularly to thank Kathryn Skoyles, whose knowledge of the seamy side of commerce was invaluable, and Janet Dawson and Chris Aldrich, who kindly prevented me from committing an assortment of transatlantic solecisms. Others who contributed in varying degrees, wittingly or unwittingly, were Lee D’Courcy, Frankie Hegarty, Brigid Baillie, David Byrne, Chaz Brenchley, Jai Penna and Sharon Zukowski.
Setting a book in the publishing industry holds certain dangers for an author. In a bid not to become what the Americans now term “dispublished,” I’m bound to say that none of the editors, agents or publishers depicted in these pages bears the slightest resemblance to the people I actually work with. Except the dog.
1996
Prologue
Murder, she felt fairly sure, was not the kind of “Purpose of Visit” calculated to speed her through the notoriously difficult US immigration channels. “Pleasure,” she ticked, deciding it might not be entirely a lie. At least no one would suspect the truth that lay behind the occupational description of “systems consultant.” In spite of the books and films that indicated otherwise, hers was not a job people expected to be carried out by a woman.