Let's make this birthday one to remember.

69 years old (Born on June 04, 1955)

Happy Birthday, Val McDermid! Here's hoping your special day is filled with suspense (of the cake-related variety), mystery gifts hidden better than Tony Hill's quirkiest clues, and fewer shocking plot twists than you've given us in "The Mermaids Singing" or “Beneath the Bleeding.”

Over countless novels from Fife to forensic chills, you’ve made sleepless nights a strangely delightful pastime—thankfully far less dangerous for readers’ heart rates compared to Carol Jordan’s escapades. May this birthday be thrillingly peaceful: full of good friends rather than fictional foes looking for Retribution!

Thanks for keeping our blood pressure up; here’s wishing yours stays down today!