Val McDermid has written the work for Dundee University’s online forensic investigation course…
It has all the hallmarks of her blockbuster novels – a body on a hill, a mystery about its identity and a forensic expert who can solve it all.
But Val McDermid’s latest bestseller will not be hitting any bookshops after the crime writer penned the words for an online course in forensic investigation for Dundee University.
More than 16,000 people have registered for the free course, called Identifying The Dead: forensic science and human identification, ahead of its launch on Monday. However, organisers expect many more to sign up to discover how the case unfolds. Those who do will spend six weeks searching for clues and piecing the mystery together.
And Then There Were None is a fine book, but in its perfect construction and sly wit The Murder at the Vicarage shows the crime writer at her very best…
The people have spoken. The verdict is in. And Then There Were None has been voted the world’s favourite Agatha Christie novel.
As a fervent believer in democracy I hate to say this, but the world has got it wrong. Yes, the winning title is clever, cunning and compelling. But it’s too improbable for me. It’s the kind of locked-room mystery that I can admire but not love.
my vote still goes to The Murder at the Vicarage
When it comes to the best Christie, as opposed to the most popular, my vote still goes to The Murder at the Vicarage, the novel that introduces the estimable Miss Marple. Written at the height of Christie’s powers, it’s perfectly constructed, packed with red herrings and smart sub-plots; it’s shot through with sly humour; and it’s full of characters who may be stereotypical but whose motivations and responses we recognise, often with a wry smile.
It’s possible I may be biased in my assessment, for it was The Murder at the Vicarage that made me a crime writer.
SHE is better known for her novels but best-selling author Val McDermid will be entertaining fiction fans by singing at this year’s Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival.
McDermid, who is to sing The Twa Corbies, will be just one of the authors performing musical numbers at a ceilidh-type event during the festival.
There will also be a performance from the newly formed Slice Girls led by American author Alexandra Sokoloff, while Scottish novelist Doug Johnstone will be playing guitar and singing.
Other performers include Steve Cavanagh, Luca Veste, Mason Cross and Michael J Malone.
“Ian Rankin will be with us too but he’s not declared his hand as to whether he’ll be entertaining us,” said author Craig Robertson, who will compere the event. “All the authors at the festival are invited so I’m certain there will be other major names in attendance. There will be readings, songs, short stories and poetry from some of the best-known crime writers.
He added: “It will be all quite informal. I’m quite open to authors deciding on the night that they’d like to get up and do something so it will be flexible and open to change.”
The event is at the Curly Coo on the Saturday evening of the festival which this year takes place from September 11-13.
SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2015
Wednesday 2 September 2015 15.17 BST