Kate Brannigan Series by Val McDermid 6 Books Collection Set - Fiction - Paperback

Titles in This Set
Dead Beat
Kick Back
Crack Down
Clean Break
Blue Genes
Star Struck

Details
Condition: Brand New
Format: Paperback
Publisher: HarperCollins

Overview
Val McDermid's Kate Brannigan mysteries follow a whip-smart, wisecracking Manchester private investigator who mixes street savvy with a fierce sense of justice. This six-book paperback set gathers the complete run, from Dead Beat through Star Struck, as Kate builds her career untangling scams, thefts, and corporate deceit across 1990s Britain. Fans of character-driven crime fiction with sharp dialogue and genuine social bite will find plenty to love here. Perfect for weekend reading, commuting, or gifting to any mystery lover, this collection lets readers follow Kate's cases in order from her very first job to her final Manchester adventure.

About the Books
Across six novels published between 1992 and 1998, Val McDermid built Kate Brannigan into one of British crime fiction's most distinctive investigators. Kate runs her own detective agency out of Manchester, taking on missing-person searches, insurance fraud, art theft, and corporate scams that inevitably widen into something far more dangerous. What sets the series apart is McDermid's grounding of each case in real social texture: housing scams that prey on ordinary buyers, music-industry secrets, white-collar fraud rings, and the shifting economics of a post-industrial city. Kate herself is no hardboiled loner; she has a supportive partner, a network of friends and informants, a sharp legal mind for the loopholes of her trade, and a dry, self-deprecating wit that carries readers through even the tensest chapters. McDermid, who trained as a journalist before turning to fiction, brings a reporter's eye for procedural detail and a novelist's instinct for pace, and the results are lean, fast-moving mysteries that never sacrifice character for plot. Read in order, the six books trace Kate's growing confidence and expanding caseload, while each also works as a satisfying standalone mystery. Long out of print in some editions, this complete paperback set finally makes it easy to own and read the entire Brannigan arc together, in the sequence McDermid intended, as one of the defining female-led detective series of early-1990s British crime writing.

Key Benefits

• Complete six-book run of the Kate Brannigan series in reading order, from Dead Beat to Star Struck
• Character-driven crime fiction with sharp, witty dialogue and a strong sense of 1990s Manchester
• Lightweight paperback format, ideal for commuting, travel, or bedtime reading
• A satisfying introduction for new readers and a complete collectible set for longtime McDermid fans
• Great gift idea for mystery and thriller readers, birthdays, or holiday stocking stuffers
• Brand new condition, ready to read straight out of the box

Book-by-Book Guide
Dead Beat — Kate Brannigan takes on her first big case, tracking down a songwriter for a rock legend and uncovering a web of deception in the Manchester music scene.
Kick Back — Kate investigates a run of missing conservatory extensions, a seemingly small case that pulls her into a wider mortgage and housing fraud scheme.
Crack Down — a computer fraud investigation drags Kate into a criminal network reaching well beyond Manchester, testing her nerve and her contacts.
Clean Break — when a Monet is stolen from a stately home, Kate chases the thieves across Europe while an old friend's troubles hit closer to home.
Blue Genes — with her boyfriend's death notice printed in error and a fraud case unraveling, Kate has to sort out her personal life while chasing down the truth.
Star Struck — the sixth and final entry in the series, closing out Kate Brannigan's Manchester-based investigative career.

About the Author
Val McDermid is a Scottish crime writer whose career began in journalism before she turned to fiction full time. Best known for her long-running Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series, later adapted for television as Wire in the Blood, she also created the Lindsay Gordon mysteries and the Kate Brannigan series featured in this set. McDermid's crime writing is known for sharp plotting, credible procedural detail, and a strong sense of place across Manchester and the wider British crime landscape. She has become one of the most translated and respected voices in contemporary crime fiction.

Why You'll Love This Collection
This complete Kate Brannigan set is a must for crime fiction fans who love sharp wit, strong female leads, and page-turning plots grounded in real social detail. Ideal as a birthday gift, holiday stocking stuffer, or summer reading pick, it's an affordable way to enjoy an entire acclaimed series in durable, brand-new paperback form.

Please Note: This is the UK edition with the ISBN as listed; the cover may vary slightly from the image shown.