Winter
Val McDermid
138 pages
Grove Atlantic
Published Jan 13th, 2026
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Winter is a novella-length set of essays by celebrated Scottish thriller writer Val McDermid, about what winter means to her – part memoir, part musings on her creative process and other interests. I was invited to read an Advance Review Copy by the publisher and had intended to read it in time for its release in January, but when it came to it, didn’t feel like it at the height of our Southern Hemisphere summer. Now that our nights are drawing in and the temperature is dropping, an homage to the cold months felt appropriate. It’s a delightful read, peppered with dry humour, and I was only sorry it wasn’t longer.
McDermid grew up in Fife but now lives in Edinburgh, which was my adopted home for ten years before I moved to New Zealand. Her descriptions made me nostalgic for my time there, even though my memories of the Scottish winter are more of freezing inside as a student too scared to run the heater, scraping ice off my car windscreen with a cassette box, horizontal rain, and not seeing daylight for days at a time working long hours indoors. I do though remember the beautiful crisp days and the occasional times it snowed properly, the hearty meals and warmth of the pubs, and how beautiful the city is at night. It made me feel like I missed out on a lot of experiences and places I should’ve visited while living there, but back then I was working hours that would be considered inhumane and nowadays and I never found the time. I’ll put them on the list for my next visit!
McDermid makes the observation that all the best celebrations are held in winter, from Halloween to Burns Night, which I’d never really thought about, and I particularly enjoyed her tales of guising – the forerunner of trick-or-treating – as a young child. Hogmanay was always my favourite night of the year, and Edinburgh certainly does it like nowhere else, although to be fair my last one there was Millenium Eve so it’s probably changed a bit. There are bits of history, foodie descriptions, and even a link to her favourite art collection – only displayed to the public in January when the light is dim enough to not damage the paintings.
The writing is wonderful – I will definitely come back to this for a slower reread when I have time, and the illustrations are beautiful. Whether or not you’re a fan of her crime fiction, as I am, this is recommended to anyone interested in modern Scottish culture. I was pleased to discover that there’s an audiobook version that she narrates herself – I listened to an excerpt as I was curious as to what she sounds like – actually much as I expected. Hopefully now she’ll feel inspired to write a follow-up for the other three seasons! Thanks to NetGalley & Grove Atlantic for the ARC.
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