The best TV crime series start with an exceptional author. Ann Cleeves wrote Burial of Ghosts long before Vera made her a household name. Lynda La Plante's Pure Evil predates Prime Suspect but carries the same forensic intelligence that made that TV unmissable. Val McDermid's Past Lying is from the writer who gave Wire in the Blood its blueprint - and who has been one of British crime fiction's most reliable pleasures for thirty years. Peter James's Roy Grace novels have filled Sunday night schedules for years and counting. These are writers who have earned their audiences the old-fashioned way: one outstanding book at a time. TITLES: Val McDermid, 'Past Lying' + Peter James, 'Dead Man's Grip' + Ann Cleeves, 'Burial of Ghosts' + FREE Lynda La Plante, 'Pure Evil'
