Winter - by Val McDermid (Hardcover)

About the Book

First published in Great Britain in 2025 by Hodder Press--Title page verso

Book Synopsis

"The perfect little book to get you through winter's doldrums . . . a warm look at a dark time."--Washington Post

In this radiant work of creative nonfiction, internationally beloved novelist Val McDermid delivers a dazzling ode to a lost world, ruminating on a single winter in her life as she journeys into the heart of the season's ever-evolving community-based traditions

Val McDermid has always had a soft spot for winter: the bitter clarity of a crisp cold day, the crunch of frost on fallen leaves, and the chance to be enveloped in big jumpers and thick socks.

In Winter, McDermid takes us on an adventure through the season, from the frosty streets of Edinburgh to the windblown Scottish coast, from Bonfire Night and Christmas to Burns Night and Up Helly Aa. Recalling in parallel memories from her own childhood--of skating over frozen lakes and carving a "neep" (rutabaga) for Halloween to being taken to see her first real Christmas tree in the town square--McDermid offers a wise and enchanting meditation on winter and its ever-changing, sometimes ephemeral, traditions.

A hygge-filled journey through winter nights, McDermid reminds us that it is a time of rest, retreat and creativity, for scribbling in notebooks and settling in beside the fire. A treat for the hunkering-down, post-holiday reading season, Winter is a charming and cozy celebration of the year's idle months from one of Scotland's best-loved writers.

Review Quotes

Praise for Winter:

An NPR Book of the Day

"The perfect little book to get you through winter's doldrums . . . [in which] the prolific mystery writer Val McDermid offers a warm look at a dark time . . .Winter is more than her memories; it is a celebration of all things cold, dark and Scottish . . . Winter is about winter, of course, and about Scottish winter specifically, but it is mostly about the things that inspire McDermid and make her happy. It is a memoir of her heart."--Laurie Hertzel, Washington Post

"An ode to memories of winters past and a heartfelt appreciation of all the season has to offer."--NPR

"It's a lovely, gentle little book, a warming meditation on the coldest, darkest time of the year. Winter celebrates how local Scottish traditions take the bite out of short, frosty days and long, windblown nights."--Heller McAlpin, Christian Science Monitor

"[A] celebration of the season that is part memoir, part guide to our festive traditions and seems tailor-made for the Christmas market."--Vikki Reilly, The Scotsman (UK)

"Reflective but never maudlin . . . This warm, eclectic book can be read in one sitting--preferably in front of a toasty fire."--Anne Cassidy, Washington Independent Review of Books

"Tartan noir master McDermid (Past Lying) flexes her talent for evocative description in this appealing collection . . . a satisfying collection of literary amuse-bouches."--Publishers Weekly

"An endearing panorama of Scottish winters, told by a crime novelist on holiday from horror."--Kirkus Reviews

"McDermid's writing is lyrical, often profound, and thoroughly enjoyable. The perfect holiday gift for all lovers of nature tales and things Caledonian and for McDermid's fans, who will appreciate the insights into her creative process and the environment within which her brilliant novels are often set."--Jane Murphy, Booklist

"In Winter, McDermid shows her ability to write entertaining anecdotes without the bloody corpses of her 'tartan noir' books."--Andrea Geary, Winnipeg Free Press

"A love letter to the year's coldest season, arguing that the frigid interlude between autumn and spring is worth embracing . . . Winter, a series of brief essays about the joys of bundling up for outdoor adventures or snuggling inside by the fire . . . [is] like long chat with a good friend near a blazing hearth . . . Winter hints that the season is as much a state of mind as a spot on the calendar. It's all the more reason to enjoy this charming book long after winter has passed."--The Advocate

"In this warm collection of essays, bits of history, memoir, and meditations -- on solstice and soup, good books, hungry birds and bonfires -- [McDermid] encourages us all to 'raise a glass to the joys of winter.'"--Orion Magazine

"Captures life as a series of refrains, and in such cycles we carry ourselves into eternity . . . McDermid is the laureate of the lascivious . . . Winter teems with gorgeous sentences . . . Winter suggests that rather than read our way out of our surroundings, we instead look anew at the quotidian. We are steeped in old, strange stories, and often they merely need some new syntax."--Nick Ripatrazone, The Bulwark

"Supple prose, engaging regional descriptions, and thought-provoking observations, tinged with sparkling humor."--Robert Allen Papinchak, Shelf Awareness

"An absolute treat . . . altogether a charming book with much to offer fellow lovers of Winter."--Desperate Reader

"Nostalgic and gently, sweetly humorous in places, and it offers some insight to a writerly life."--Bookworm Sez

"A warm hug of a book. I felt like I was sitting by a roaring winter fire and Val was talking to me directly, sometimes singing."--Jackie Kay, author of Red Dust Road

"Rich, ruminative, and deeply, dazzlingly rousing . . . If winter wasn't your favorite season already, that's about to change."--Michael Pedersen, Edinburgh Makar

"Lyrical reflections on a land especially suited to the colder months."--Benjamin Riley, New Criterion

"If you're looking for a way to deepen your understanding of the seasons, and maybe even connect with the rituals and traditions of the past, you will find yourself immersed in this highly evocative and readable book."--David Barton, A Life More Creative

"Reading it felt less like opening a book and more like settling down for a long, fireside chat with an old friend who happens to love the very things I've started to resent--the iron-cold air, the early dark, the whole damp Scottish midwinter package. McDermid writes with the ease of someone talking across the kitchen table . . . If you've ever loved winter and fallen out with it, this gentle, funny, beautifully made little book is the reconciliation you didn't know you needed."--Pattie Tierney, Book 'Em

"McDermid's prose here is controlled but unshowy, alert to detail without lingering over it. She knows when to stop. The sentences trust the reader, and the book benefits from that restraint . . . Winter is a small book that knows what it wants to be. It will not change anyone's mind about the season, and does not aspire to. Instead it offers a record of attention shaped by weather, habit and place. In January, that feels generous, and enough."--Philip Martin, Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Praise for Val McDermid:

"Clear-eyed, vigorous, unpretentious and mesmerizing."--Seattle Times, on Forensics

"McDermid has not lost her early journalistic genius for telling a good story plainly and with passion."--Times Saturday Review (UK), on Forensics

"McDermid is at the top of her game and readers will be highly rewarded for taking this new journey at her side."--CrimeReads on Still Life

"McDermid remains unrivalled . . . brilliant."--Observer (UK) on How the Dead Speak

About the Author

Val McDermid's bestselling novels have won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller, and the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger and Cartier Diamond Award for outstanding achievement. The Karen Pirie novels have been adapted into an Edgar Award-nominated ITV/BritBox show. She is also a five-time finalist for the Edgar Award, including Fact Crime nominee Forensics and most recently the Sue Grafton Memorial Award nominee Past Lying. She lives in Scotland.