Dead Beat

What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.

What this book is about

Kate Brannigan is a Manchester private investigator who specializes in security work for the music industry. When a rock band she's working for is blackmailed with a video, the investigation into the blackmailer leads to a murder. Val McDermid's first Kate Brannigan novel is her most direct entry into the tradition of the female private detective — Kate is competent, funny, and comfortable in the world she works in — and the rock music setting gives it a texture different from the author's darker Tony Hill books. Light by McDermid's standards but sharply constructed.