Hostage to Murder, the long-awaited sixth Lindsay Gordon mystery, is a lightning-paced story spliced with crackling action and an intense emotional dimension. Spraining an ankle is rarely a stroke of luck, but for Lindsay Gordon, jobless in Glasgow, the injury is her introduction to young freelance journalist Rory McLaren and the opening of a new chapter in her life. Rory's invitation to work alongside her in her booth at the Cafe Virginia is irresistible. From there it is just a short step to political corruption and other juicy stories - all welcome distractions from Lindsay's problems at home, where her long-term lover Sophie has decided to heed the ticking of her biological clock and get pregnant. But when a local car-dealer's stepson is kidnapped, Lindsay and Rory are invited to trade journalism for detection. The trail leads them to St Petersburg and a dangerous snatch-back operation. It's a journey that brings a whole new dimension of risk into Lindsay's life. Back in Glasgow, it becomes clear that Lindsay and Rory have stumbled into a bigger, more violent piece of business than either of them could have guessed - and one which will test Lindsay to her absolute limits.

* Originally published in the late '80s and '90s, these were groundbreaking crime thrillers about a lesbian investigative journalist set in Glasgow * Val McDermid is one of the hottest crime writers in contemporary crime fiction - her novels are consistent Top 10 Sunday Times bestsellers. * Television adaptation of Val McDermid's Karen Pirie series 2 is set to air next year Competition: In too Deep, midnight and blue, the Black Loch,What Night Brings, In a Place of Darkness. Lee Child; Stephen King; Ian Rankin; Peter May; Mark Billingham;James Patterson, Stuart MacBride,.