A Place of Execution

First edition
Author	Val McDermid
Language	English
Genre	Thriller
Publisher	HarperCollins
Publication date	1999
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	408 pp
ISBN	0-670-88909-1
OCLC	41432064

A Place of Execution is a crime novel by Val McDermid, first published in 1999. The novel won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the 2001 Dilys Award, was shortlisted for both the Gold Dagger and the Edgar Award, and was chosen by The New York Times as one of the most notable books of the year.

The novel has two parallel storylines; the first, set in 1963, follows Detective Inspector George Bennett, who attempts to locate a missing girl in Derbyshire.^[1] The second, set in the present day, follows journalist Catherine Heathcote, whose plans to publish a story of the investigation are derailed when Bennett inexplicably stops cooperating and she attempts to find out why.

The novel was adapted for television by Patrick Harbinson and was made into a three-part drama shown on ITV 1 (first episode screened 22 Sept 2008). It was produced in the UK by Coastal Productions in collaboration with ITV. The series was nominated for The UK TV Dagger at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards, and star Juliet Stevenson was awarded Best Actress.^[2] It also aired as a three-part series in November 2009 in the US as part of the anthology series Masterpiece: Contemporary!.^[3] The teleplay won the 2010 Edgar Award for best television episode teleplay from the Mystery Writers of America.

• Dilys Award 2001 ^[4]
• Macavity Awards 2001 ^[5]
• Anthony Award 2001 ^[6]

• Podcast of Val McDermid talking about A Place of Execution on the BBC's World Book Club
• Place of Execution at IMDb
• Trailer, ITV production, "Place of Execution"
• Cast and credits, ITV production