Star Struck. Val McDermid

      

      STAR STRUCK

      Val McDermid

       Copyright

      HarperCollinsPublishers

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      This ebook edition published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2019

      First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 1998

      Copyright © Val McDermid 1998

      Cover design by Micaela Alcaino © HarperCollinsPublishers 2019

      Cover photographs © Shutterstock.com

      Val McDermid asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      This is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books

      Source ISBN: 9780008344948

      Ebook Edition © NOVEMBER 2019 ISBN: 9780007327584

      Version: 2019-10-16

       Praise for Val McDermid

      ‘The queen of crime is still at the top of her game’

       INDEPENDENT

      ‘No one can tell a story like she can’

       DAILY EXPRESS

      ‘One of today’s most accomplished crime writers’

       LITERARY REVIEW

      ‘McDermid remains unrivalled’

       OBSERVER

      ‘Incredibly suspenseful’

       SUNDAY MIRROR

      ‘This is crime writing of the very highest order’

       THE TIMES

      ‘A gripping page-turner’

       METRO

      ‘A terrific read’

       DAILY TELEGRAPH

       Dedication

       For Tessa and Peps, the Scylebert Twins

       (aka Margaret & Nicky)

       Thanks for all the laughter – we’ll

      never feel the same about Isa.

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

      Copyright

      Praise for Val McDermid

      Dedication

      Prologue

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

Chapter 5

       Chapter 6

       Chapter 7

       Chapter 8

       Chapter 9

       Chapter 10

       Chapter 11

       Chapter 12

       Chapter 13

       Chapter 14

       Chapter 15

       Chapter 16

       Chapter 17

       Chapter 18

       Chapter 19

       Chapter 20

       Chapter 21

       Chapter 22

       Epilogue

       Acknowledgements

       Keep Reading …

       About the Author

       By Val McDermid

       About the Publisher

       Prologue

      Extract from the computer database of Dorothea Dawson, Seer to the Stars

      Written in the Stars for Kate Brannigan, private investigator.

      Born Oxford, UK, 4th September 1966.

      * Sun in Virgo in the Fifth House

      * Moon in Taurus in the Twelfth House

      * Mercury in Virgo in the Fifth House

      * Venus in Leo in the Fourth House

      * Mars in Leo in the Fourth House

      * Jupiter in Cancer in the Third House

      * Saturn retrograde in Pisces in the Eleventh House

      * Uranus in Virgo in the Fifth House

      * Neptune in Scorpio in the Sixth House

      * Pluto in Virgo in the Fifth House

      * Chiron in Pisces in the Eleventh House

      * Ascendant Sign: Gemini

       1

      SUN IN VIRGO IN THE 5TH HOUSE

      On the positive side, can be ingenious, verbally skilled, diplomatic, tidy, methodical, discerning and dutiful. The negatives are fussiness, a critical manner, an obsessive attention to detail and a lack of self-confidence that can disguise itself as arrogance. In the 5th House, it indicates a player of games.

      From Written in the Stars, by