1989. The world is changing, and Allie Burns is still on the front line, covering the stories that count.
Although Allie is no longer an investigative journalist, her instincts are sharper than ever. When she discovers a lead about the exploitation of society’s most vulnerable, Allie is determined to give a voice to those who have been silenced.
As Allie edges closer to exposing the truth, she travels behind the Iron Curtain, to East Berlin on the brink of revolution. The dark heart of the story is more shocking than she ever imagined. And to tell it, Allie must risk her freedom and her life . . .
The latest Allie Burns thriller, set a decade after the bestselling first novel in the ground-breaking, iconic new series.
1989, by reigning queen of UK crime Val McDermid, is a sequel to her change-of-pace 1979 , the memorable beginning to a quintet of books set in a Glaswegian tabloid office . . . This is every bit as accomplished as its predecessor, with the same crisp sense of an increasingly distant era. ― Financial Times
One of Britain’s most successful crime novelists . . . The novel evokes glorious nostalgia for those who recall mobile phones like house bricks and laptops the size of suitcases.― Sunday Times
A book of many parts . . . [McDermid is] subverting the crime genre to her own ends. How the remaining three volumes will turn out is anyone’s guess.― The Times
There is a great deal to enjoy in this novel . . . McDermid remains a masterly setter of a scene and developer of a storyline. There is an agreeable warmth to much of the book, and the evocation of the world of journalism and politics of the late 20th century is convincing . . . [A book] that will be deeply enjoyed. ― Scotsman
Studded with a wealth of period detail . . . It whips along like bushfire.― Herald
McDermid convincingly recreates the grim era of AIDS, Lockerbie and Hillsborough while providing several juicy mysteries for the reader to gnaw on.― Daily Mirror
