More Debut Novels
The first collection covered Christie, P.D. James, Ann Cleeves, Ian Rankin, Robert Thorogood, and Richard Osman. Here are four more authors whose current work looks nothing like where they started.
Report for Murder — Val McDermid
Years before Karen Pirie, McDermid's first novel introduced Lindsay Gordon, a Scottish journalist and one of the earliest openly gay detectives in British crime fiction. It's a much smaller-scale mystery than the Tartan Noir she'd later become known for, set at a girls' boarding school rather than a big city crime scene.
Now known for: Karen Pirie, adapted for ITV and streaming on BritBox
Start Reading →Behind the Scenes at the Museum — Kate Atkinson
Long before Jackson Brodie, Atkinson's first book was a literary family saga narrated by a girl who begins telling her own story at the moment of conception. It beat Salman Rushdie to win the Whitbread Book of the Year, a remarkable feat for a debut novelist, years before she turned to crime fiction at all.
Now known for: The Jackson Brodie series, adapted for BBC TV as Case Histories
Start Reading →Dead Letter Drop — Peter James
Roy Grace was still 24 years away when James published this Cold War spy thriller featuring undercover agent Max Flynn. James spent decades writing standalone thrillers before Brighton's most famous fictional detective ever appeared.
Now known for: The Roy Grace series, adapted for ITV as Grace
Start Reading →Down Cemetery Road — Mick Herron
Seven years before Slough House, Herron introduced Oxford private investigator Zoe Boehm in this debut about a missing child and a government conspiracy. The dry wit and sudden violence that define his Slough House novels are already fully present here.
Now known for: The Slough House series, adapted for Apple TV+ as Slow Horses
Start Reading →Explore More
More hand-picked recommendations from the editors of British TV Hub.
The first six debut novels — Christie, P.D. James, Ann Cleeves, Ian Rankin, Robert Thorogood, and Richard Osman.
Read Guide →
Peter James, Elly Griffiths, and Deborah Crombie — where their signature detectives began.
Read Guide →
Our full guide to British mystery books and the TV dramas behind them, with picks across every genre.
Read Guide →