Porcini Restaurant in West Dulwich, London, will be the setting when Val McDermid sits down to dinner with a room full of crime fiction loving guests on Thursday 15 November. Hosted by Dulwich Books, the woman dubbed the Queen of Crime will be discussing her latest book, The Vanishing Point. She’ll also be answering questions from guests – a rare and intimate opportunity to pick her brains.

Tickets cost £25 which includes a two course Italian meal and coffee, but if you think you’ll be hungry, you might want to go for the £29.95 option which covers three courses plus coffee. For more information, click here.

Val McDermid is the creator of three series of crime novels including the Lindsay Gordon and Kate Brannigan books, and her Dr Tony Hill series was used as the basis for the ITV series Wire in the Blood. She’s also written a range of standalone novels. Outside writing, she sponsors a stand at Starks Park, the home ground of her favourite football club, Raith Rovers.