"Vivid, strong, beautiful writing awaits in this crime thriller as it sets alight a gunpowder trail of an investigation into greed and exploitation."
So, so wonderfully readable I completely lost myself in this intelligent and penetrating thriller we have highlighted as a LoveReading Star Book. I have fallen in love with the new Allie Burns thriller series, starting with 1979 and setting the books 10 years apart creates an intensely intimate yet far-reaching energy. This second novel could easily be read as a standalone as it is so exquisitely concentrated in time, but if you’ve not yet visited, I recommend starting at the beginning. Reporter Allie’s life has expanded, she has a partner, a dog, a home, and a horrendous boss. As her home and work life has changed, so has the world around her and that is where the strength of this series lies. Each year feels so profoundly alive and real and touchable that it sits up front and centre, with Allie acting as the focus and allowing access. The themes on offer here by Val McDermid are hard-hitting, if you’ve lived through this time you’ll find yourself back in and examining your own memories. Things forgotten are suddenly crystal clear, and world events burn with a concentrated ferocity. The story moves from Scotland to Manchester and further afield into Eastern Europe. Allie is as headstrong as ever, rushing into situations, still attempting to prove her worth. There is an incredibly provocative power on offer here, even more so with the ending almost whispering its final words. Memorable and meaningful, 1989 demands attention, this series is one to put to the top of your reading lists.
| Primary Genre | Thriller and Suspense |
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Great reading.
This book gripes you right from the get go. It involves Allie, a journalist, who is trying to chase down a story about a pharmaceutical company moving clinical trials of a HIV drug from Edinburgh to East Germany so they could control the results. They were intending to falsify the results or massage the outcome, but a whistleblower came forward with information. This was to cost Allie dearly.
It also delves into the war, when Germany killed Jews. A murder happens but is not recorded as a murder, but a suicide. WHY???... Read Full Review
Val McDermid truly is the Queen of Crime. Even having not read the first book of the series, I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I am a sucker for crime dramas.
I have heard that Val McDermid’s books are always highly anticipated and I can see why after reading 1989.
Having not read the first book of the series, I was going into the book completely blind. Unlike past experiences where I can get lost while reading books that are continuations of another, that was not the case for 1989.
As reading the story of Allie Burns, it made me sit at the edge of my seat in a subtle way. And it is one of the best ways because you’re wondering what happens next, but at the same time you don’t worry about it so much that you forget to enjoy reading the book.
This book is also a reminder of how screwed up the world we live in is.... Read Full Review
Not just a crime novel but also a fascinating character study and a snapshot into the world of investigative journalism.
After relocating to Manchester, Allie Burns is searching for a story that will bring her career as an investigative journalist back into the limelight. She happens upon a lead about a drugs trial for HIV and once again she throws herself recklessly into a precarious situation.
1989 is not just a crime novel, or a book about a journalist determined to crack a case. This series, and the way we re-join Allie ten years after the events of the first novel, actually turns her into a fascinating character study.... Read Full Review
