Lindsay Gordon Books In Order

Publication Order of Lindsay Gordon Books

Lindsay Gordon is the name of the fictional character in the famous mystery series, Lindsay Gordon mysteries. The series is written by the noteworthy Scottish crime author, Val McDermid. The series comprises of a total of six interesting mystery novels published between the years 1987 and 2003. The novels of the series show the main character Lindsay Gordon as a freelance Scottish journalist and a lesbian by nature. Val McDermid has said that while doing the character description of Lindsay Gordon in the novels of the series, she used to think of herself as Lindsay Gordon and hence, the most of the behavior and nature of Lindsay Gordon resemble her. She has even described her as a lesbian just like herself. The novels of the series are set in Scotland, from where the author Val McDermid belongs herself. In the initial novels of the series, Lindsay Gordon is depicted as a freelance journalist, who goes on to become a private detective because of the strange turn of events in her life. The other famous characters depicted by the author in her other two famous mystery series’ are of Kate Brannigan, a private investigator and Tony Hill, who is a clinical psychologist. The first novel of the Lindsay Gordon series was published in the year 1987 by the Spinters Ink Books. The novel was titled ‘Report for Murder’. In this novel, the main character of Lindsay Gordon is introduced as a self-proclaimed, lesbian, socialist, cynical and a feminist journalist from a town in Scotland.

The whole plot of the novel is set around the lesbian and gay relationships among the characters of the novel, which turn into murderous plots in the later parts of the novel. In the opening sequence of the plot of the novel, Lindsay Gordon is very much happy to hear the news that she will be attending the posh girls’ boarding school and spending a week over there. She is asked to look into the problems that is prevalent in the school which has led to financial tensions over the school. Lindsay Gordon learns that the famous musician Lorna Smith-Couper, who is also an alumna of the school, is going to perform in a concert in order to raise some money for the school and benefit it in its financial crisis. The news of her concert performance has led to anxieties, all over the city. However, things take a suspenseful turn when Lorna Smith-Couper is found dead just before the start of the concert. She is found strangled with her own telephone string in her hotel room, which leads to more tensions in the city and the school. Lindsay Gordon and her companion Cordelia are asked to carry out the investigation and find the killer of Lorna Smith-Couper. During the course of the investigation, Lindsay and Cordelia come close to each other and indulge in a lesbian relationship, however, they find themselves tested on many occasions. They make a list of many people who seem to be the suspects in the murder, but they fail to find the real killer among the long list of suspects. The novel shows Lindsay Gordon as a smart, daring, class-conscious, clever, loyal, tenacious and lusty, which makes the readers addicted to the plot of the novel. Author Val McDermid was praised for her efforts in writing down a clever mystery, which turned out to be a good read because of the strong characterization of the main character and heroine, Lindsay Gordon.

The other novel of the series was published in the year 1997 by the Bywater Books. The novel was titled ‘Deadline for Murder’. This novel continues to show the amateur sleuth and the Scottish journalist Lindsay Gordon, who was very well described by the author Val McDermid in the first novel of the series, which helped her to become an international bestseller author. The series has been perennially popular right from the publication of the first novel in which Lindsay Gordon was described as a lesbian journalist for the first time. She has also been described by the author as a tenacious lady who is quite stubborn, intrepid, loyal, and sometimes stupid. She does not care to put her life on the line for solving the cases that she takes up. She is helped in her efforts by her family, friends and lovers, who encourage her to take on the criminals with all her Brio and wit. She keeps on unraveling different criminal conspiracies and several murderous plots. Her dedication and determination towards her work rightfully shows her to be feminist, funny and feisty. Each novel of the series makes Lindsay Gordon to deal with a different case, and more mysterious than the previous ones. In Deadline for Murders, she is made to deal with the darker side of her own profession of journalism. The other novels of the series also show her to be dealing with fighting for the women’s rights and peace. In one of the other novels of the series, she deals with the underbelly and deadly of trade unionism.

Lindsay even deals with child custody battles and also with the gangsters who spread terrorism in the city. Lindsay fights all the types of crimes with all her bravery and dedications. Other than the strong description of the character of Lindsay Gordon, author Val McDermid is also praised for her compassionate understanding of the relationships between humans. She has very depicted the shrewd insight of the contemporary society. It is her hard work and determination that has led her novels to be published with great critical acclaim. The fifth novel of the Lindsay Gordon mystery went on to be nominated for the Lambda Literary Award. The novels written by author Val McDermid depict her typical storytelling style, showcasing the various elements of the society in a balanced way. The author says that she does not write about the issues of the society, but about the strong characters that are present in the society to fight against the injustice. Because of her unique way of writing the novels, the author has become successful to develop a huge fan base in different parts of the world in the mystery genre.