Because of her deep friendship with teacher Paddy Callahan, journalist Lindsay Gordon accepts the assignment to write an article about the fundraiser at Derbyshire House Girls’ School. The school must raise $50,000 to keep their playing fields and the highlight of the Gala evening is to be a performance by graduate and famous cellist Lorna Smith-Cooper. However, before the evening ends, Smith-Cooper has been murdered and Lindsay has become the school press contact for the media. After Paddy is arrested and the police believe the case is closed, Lindsay and new friend Cordelia Brown begin their own investigation to free their friend.

Report for Murder was first published in 1987. It is fascinating to discover how Val McDermid’s writing has evolved but how little it has changed. Her complex plotting and characterizations are the same, with the expected twists. Her more recent mysteries are longer with more attention paid to descriptions of settings and locations. However, anything written by Val McDermid deserves 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK and Val McDermid for this ARC.