Match Up

Val McDermid is a No.1 bestseller whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages, and have sold more than sixteen million copies. She has won many awards internationally, including the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year. She was inducted into the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame in 2009, was the recipient of the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger in 2010. Val writes full time and lives in Edinburgh and the East Neuk of Fife.

PETER JAMES is a UK No.1 bestselling author, best known for his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series.

Much loved by crime and thriller fans for his fast-paced page-turners full of unexpected plot twists, sinister characters, and accurate portrayal of modern day policing, he has won over 40 awards for his work including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award and Crime Writers' Association Diamond Dagger. In 2024, it was announced that he is the creator of Her Majesty Queen Camilla's favourite fictional detective.

To date, Peter has written an impressive total of 21 Sunday Times No. 1s, sold over 24 million copies worldwide and been translated into 38 languages. ITV's primetime adaptation of the Grace novels, starring John Simm, continues to delight audiences with significant ratings growth, and series seven is currently in production. On stage seven of Peter's Grace novels have been adapted as plays, earning his work the reputation of being the most successful stage franchise since Agatha Christie.

In 2026, Peter was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in His Majesty The King's Birthday Honours List, in recognition of his services to literature and to charity. Peter is a supporter of many of charities reflecting his concerns and interests, including as Co-Patron of the Sussex Police Charitable Trust; as a Patron of the RSPCA and the Samaritans; and as an ambassador for The Reading Agency and for the National Year of Reading 2026, among many others.

Gayle Lynds has been a reporter for the Arizona Republic, editor in chief of Santa Barbara magazine and a think-tank editor with ‘Top-Secret’ clearance. Mosaic is her second novel.

Michael Koryta is the New York Times bestselling author of twelve suspense novels. His books have won or been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Edgar® Award, Shamus Award, Barry Award, Quill Award, International Thriller Writers Award, and the CWA Gold Dagger. Michael has written for the screen in both feature film and television, writing scripts for Fox, Universal, and Amazon Studios.

Charlaine Harris is a multiple #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author who has been writing for forty years, and has been named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America - the field’s highest honour. Her books have sold over 40 million copies worldwide, been translated into over 35 different languages, and have achieved the rare feat of having three separate series adapted for television: HBO’s True Blood, NBC’s Midnight Texas, and Aurora Teagarden on Hallmark Mystery.

Andrew Gross is the author of the New York Times and international bestsellers Everything to Lose, No Way Back, 15 Seconds, Eyes Wide Open, Reckless, Don't Look Back, The Dark Tide, and The Blue Zone. He is also coauthor of five number one bestsellers with James Patterson, including Judge & Jury and Lifeguard. His books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages.

When asked what has inspired her to write more than 50 novels brimming with adventure, intrigue, hot passion, and high emotion, bestselling Oregon author, Lisa Jackson gets a mischievous smile on her face. Then the words flow as fast as her fingers fly on her computer keyboard when she writes. Her eyes sparkling with memories, she tells stories of her youth, stories of a Huckleberry Finn childhood in the small lumber town of Molalla and on her grandparents' nearby farm in the hilly region of western Oregon.

There in the old growth timber, Lisa rode bareback and raced along the ages-old sheep, cattle and deer trails. In the nearby river, she skinnydipped and caught crawdads in her bare hands. An inventive child, she sneaked out of the house and rode her bicycle or horse in the moonlight and dreamed up childish pranks that would have done Tom Sawyer proud.

"Nobody could have had a better childhood," Lisa remarks, her twinkling eyes and got-away-with-something-grin giving her a youthful appearance that defies the fact that she is in her mid-40s and the mother of two college-age sons. "My childhood was enchanted. We were a small, tightly knit family. My mum and dad were and still are my greatest supporters."

Why then does Lisa write lousy dads and conniving relatives into the plots of books that regularly earn berths on such national bestseller lists as USA Today's and Waldenbooks'?

"I think the deepest angst people can experience is what can develop among family members, because our emotions run so deep there," Lisa replied. "Deep down, we care about these people, but being related doesn't mean we think alike or want the same things. I also think manipulative people are fascinating. Characters like those help me to keep the readers' interest. I love it when readers write me to complain that they didn't get any sleep the night before because they had to finish my book."

Lisa studied English Literature at Oregon State University for two years before she married. In 1981, when her younger son was a year old, she began writing novels. But she decided she needed a steady income and landed a nine-dollar-per-hour bank job. Before she could begin work, however, her supervisor was arrested for embezzling. "About then I sold my first book, A Twist of Fate, which — guess what! — was about a woman suspected of bank embezzling. It was purely coincidental. The story came out of my background in banking," Lisa provided. "But I guess you could say, if not for a bank embezzler, I might not have made it as an author."

In addition to suspenseful contemporary page-turners, Lisa also delivers medieval romances set in eleventh and twelfth century Wales. "I enjoy doing these medieval period pieces, because women were so trod upon then. By nature of their lot in life, I can generate empathy or sympathy for the medieval heroines. They're underdogs from the get-go. Tell me what woman doesn't root for the underdog!"

Britannia Roads, a creative Lansing, Michigan tour packager, read the first in Lisa's medieval trilogy and loved her writing so much that she designed a tour of Wales, with Lisa as the featured guest. Tour members will visit some of Princess Diana's favourite places to stay in Ruthin Castle. They'll be in for a treat when Lisa regales them with author stories during the tour, for she is as talented at public speaking as she is at writing novels.

When not writing, Lisa enjoys spectator sports, reading, watching The X-Files and socialising now that she's a single mum. Her favourite authors include Pat Conroy, Nelson DeMille, Stephen King, Patricia Cornwell, Dick Francis, and other authors who also write compelling page-turners.

Lara Adrian is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of the Midnight Breed vampire romance series, with nearly 4 million books in print and digital worldwide and translations licensed to more than twenty countries. Visit her online at LaraAdrian.com.

Lisa Scottoline is a #1 bestselling and award-winning author of more than thirty-two novels. She also co-authors a bestselling non-fiction humor series with her daughter, Francesca Serritella. There are more than thirty million copies of Lisa's books in print in more than thirty-five countries. She lives in Pennsylvania with an array of disobedient but adorable pets.

Nelson DeMille was the author of twenty-four novels, seven of which were #1 New York Times bestsellers. His novels include The Maze, The Cuban Affair, Word of Honor, Plum Island, The Charm School, The Gold Coast, and The General’s Daughter, which was made into a major motion picture starring John Travolta and Madeleine Stowe. With his son Alex DeMille, he cowrote The Deserter, Blood Lines, and The Tin Men. Nelson DeMille was a combat-decorated US Army veteran; a member of Mensa, Poets & Writers, and the Authors Guild; and a past president of the Mystery Writers of America. He was also a member of the International Thriller Writers, which honored him as 2015 ThrillerMaster of the Year. He passed away in 2024.

J. A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the J. P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, the Ali Reynolds series, six thrillers about the Walker Family, and one volume of poetry. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, she lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington.