Report for Murder

Report for Murder by Val McDermid

Spinsters Ink, 1998. 2nd ed. Originally published in 1987. 

Overview: Lindsay Gordon, a Scottish freelance journalist living from paycheck to paycheck, gets a call from a friend asking her to write a piece on a girls' school's fundraising efforts. She agrees with some reservations, but takes the gig. Not long after arriving, she finds herself at a murder scene--and her friend is the prime suspect! With the help of her new lover, Lindsay investigates the murder when it becomes apparent that the police are certain they've arrested the culprit.

My reaction: This was definitely the best of what I guess I could call "pulp" lesbian mystery: that is, I can read it in a few hours, and generally spend most of that time thinking that the detective is pretty stupid. Report fell into the first category,  but aside from one or two really stupid mistakes, Lindsay is a pretty good amateur detective. There was also a plethora of suspects, and all of them were known to the reader fairly early on, which was great. I hate mysteries where the reader doesn't have a chance to identify the criminal! It was also fun to read about a journalist-detective, since a good journalist has developed skills that are useful in detective work: Lindsay asks the right questions, is observant and thinks critically.  I read on Goodreads that McDermid becomes a much better writer later in her career (the opposite would be depressing...) so I'd be interested in checking out some of her later stuff.