This was Val McDermid's first novel and for a mystery that's 25 years old, I thought it held up very well. I'm not a regular reader of traditional who-dun-its (I'm the sort that prefers to be hit over the head with a suspenseful thriller), but Report For Murder kept my interest. Having zero experience with private girls schools, it was fun to get a little peek into that world and into Gordon's life as a freelance reporter. I'll definitely read #2 in this series.
Posted a longer review on my blog http://wildmoobooks.blogspot.com/2012/02/report-for-murder-by-val-mcdermid.html ( )

This is one of Val McDermid's first books and as such, it's not bad. Not as great as her current novels are, but not bad. A prestigious girls school might have to close because a developer wants the land. The school sponsors a benefit weekend with a craft fair and concert. Lorna Smith-Couper, a noted cellist and school graduate is to perform. Lindsay Gordon, a friend of one of the school's teachers, Paddy Callahan, has been asked to cover the event for the publication.

Before Lorna can perform, however, she is brutally murdered, and Paddy is arrested. The fact that many people had opportunity and motive seems to make no difference. The school's headmaster asked Lindsay and noted novelist Cordelia Brown, another of Paddy's friends and also a graduate, to look into the murder, in hopes of freeing Paddy.

Can they save Paddy? The book has a good plot and lots of action. So, if you're interested in McDermid's early works, put this on the list. ( )

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/11392965/ ( )

Die freischaffende Journalistin Lindsay Gordon ist knapp bei Kasse. Warum sonst würde sie über eine Spendengala an einer öffentlichen Mädchenschule berichten? Doch als die Hauptattraktion Minuten vor ihrem Auftritt auf der Bühne mit ihrem eigenen Cello erdrosselt aufgefunden wird, findet sich Lindsay Gordon bei der Untersuchung eines bösartigen Mordes wieder.
Wer hätte Lorna Smith-Cooper tot sehen wollen? Wer hatte den Schlüssel zu dem verschlossenen Raum, in dem ihre Leiche gefunden wurde? Und wer könnte genau zur richtigen Zeit aus dem Flur geschlüpft sein, um dieses kaltblütige und kaltblütige Verbrechen zu begehen?

In her debut novel, Val McDermid puts a distinctly lesbian spin on a pair of well-tried mystery formulas: the "country house" murder associated with Agatha Christie, and the "locked-room" puzzles of John Dickson Carr. This one is set in a girls' boarding school in the Derbyshire moors. Clearly a formative work, but one which shows early promise of things to come.
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