THE FIRST IN A THRILLING NEW SERIES FROM THE NO.1 BESTSELLER
Karen Pirie returns . . . Pre-order Past Lying, the eagerly-awaited new Karen Pirie thriller, publishing October 2023
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She’s on the hunt for a killer story . . .
1979. It’s the winter of discontent, and Allie Burns is chasing her first big scoop. One of few women in the newsroom, she needs something explosive for the boys’ club to take her seriously.
Soon Allie and fellow reporter Danny Sullivan are making powerful enemies with their investigations – and Allie won’t stop there. When she discovers a terrorist threat close to home, she devises a dangerous plan to make her name.
But Allie is a woman in a man’s world . . . and putting a foot wrong could be fatal.
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‘A supremo of the genre at the height of her powers’ PETER JAMES
‘The Queen of Crime has delivered another masterpiece‘ DAVID BALDACCI
‘Allie is a fabulous character, I’ll go wherever she takes me’ MARIAN KEYES
‘A thrilling snapshot of a fascinating era’ JANE HARPER
‘McDermid at her nail-biting, heart-rending best‘ CHRIS WHITAKER
‘Her best book in years’ THE TIMES, BOOK OF THE MONTH
‘Allie Burns is off to a flying start, and well worth following‘ SCOTSMAN
‘A perfect snapshot of the social and political issues of the time’ LINWOOD BARCLAY
‘Full of wit, thrills and incisive social observation and features a marvellous new character‘ MICK HERRON
‘I have been reading Val McDermid for twenty-five years, so I am really saying something when I tell you I enjoyed this novel the most‘ CHRIS BROOKMYRE
‘The good news is that this excellent novel marks the start of a new series‘ GUARDIAN
‘Brilliant characters, masterful plotting‘ CHRIS HAMMER
‘An excellent opener to what promises to be an outstanding series‘ SPECTATOR
‘The fast-paced storytelling flows irresistibly‘ IRISH TIMES
‘Riveting‘ DAILY EXPRESS
‘Sensational. One of Britain’s most accomplished writers‘ SUNDAY EXPRESS
‘A nail-biting new series’ OBSERVER
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Reviews
A new series from Val McDermid promises to be an event - and 1979 delivers. It's full of wit, thrills and incisive social observation, and features, in Allie Burns, a marvellous new character to follow through the years to come
While "gripping" is an adjective over-used in book reviews, it's a fitting description of a sensational novel. A surefire bestseller from one of Britain's most accomplished writers
Allie is a gratifyingly multi-faceted character, and the sociopolitical elements here add a frisson
The Queen of Crime has done it again, this time with Allie Burns, a relentless investigative journalist who birddogs crime and terror back in the days of typewriters and smoke-filled newsrooms. Masterfully set in Edinburgh, 1979 transports us from the first page. Val McDermid's latest is more than just a compelling story. It's an irresistible and palpable journey that's especially gratifying in today's remote world
Val McDermid was a newshound at the time and it shows . . . This is her best book in years
A brilliant thriller, as well as a perfect snapshot of the social and political issues of the time. If there's a novel that better captures what working on a newspaper was like back in the day, I can't think of it
A pacey read
A brilliant novel by a supremo of the genre at the height of her powers. A cast of engaging new characters promise to make this an unmissable new series and a thrilling addition to the genre
The Crime Queen has done it again and created a character we will all come to know and love. A masterpiece
The work of a writer at the peak of her powers
Unrivalled. Unmissable. Unforgettable. 1979 is Val McDermid at her nail-biting, heart-rending best
Absolutely fantastic. I have been reading Val McDermid for twenty-five years, so I am really saying something when I tell you I enjoyed this novel the most. Immersive in its authenticity and pungently atmospheric . . . For someone who remembers the print newsrooms in their heyday, it was a trip into the past so realistic I could smell the fag smoke on my clothes
Packed full of Val McDermid's trademark brilliance, 1979 is a thrilling snapshot of a fascinating era
A tour-de-force by the amazing McDermid. From the very first pages she effortlessly transports us back in time . . . The plot and characters are remarkable and compelling. Hopefully, we will see the crackerjack Allie Burns back on the pages. The Queen of Crime has delivered another masterpiece
A novel as touching as it is gripping
McDermid is at her considerable best here . . . The good news is that this excellent novel marks the start of a new series
An engrossing read
A fast-paced triple whammy of a thriller, with all three plots, each credible, running simultaneously. It uses all the crime-writing skills she has honed over the years, and adds something else - a pin-sharp portrait of tabloid journalism in its messy, misogynistic 1970s heyday. Allie Burns is off to a flying start, and well worth following down the decades
A nail-biting new series
The fast-paced storytelling flows irresistibly, and McDermid marshals a wide-ranging cast of characters with aplomb
Praise for 1979
Her evocation of the Winter of Discontent is spare and skilful . . . allowing the characters, not the period, to take centre stage
Val McDermid is the absolute QUEEN. It's great that this is the first of a new series. Allie is a fabulous character, I'll go wherever she takes me and I'm dying to see what she does next
Brilliant characters, masterful plotting and a pitch-perfect evocation of the heyday of newspapers. I loved it
McDermid can do edge-of-seat suspense better than most novelists . . . An excellent opener to what promises to be an outstanding series
A fast-paced triple whammy of a thriller, with all three plots, each credible, running simultaneously. It uses all the crime-writing skills she has honed over the years, and adds something else - a pin-sharp portrait of tabloid journalism in its messy, misogynistic 1970s heyday. Allie Burns is off to a flying start, and well worth following down the decades
Captures the bleakness and misery of the era with pitch-perfect accuracy
A delightful throwback . . . McDermid looks back in anger - and with some measure of affection - at the vexed era she lived through that gave rise to her socially engaged mysteries
A superb evocation of the humiliations and triumphs of being a junior reporter, set against the backdrop of the broken Britain of 1979 . . . Riveting
There are all sorts of reasons to love this book, from the unvarnished truth about newsrooms in the late 70s, to glimpses into social history . . . Engrossing
