1989

Written by Val McDermid

Narrated by Katie Leung

The second thrilling novel in Val McDermid's new Sunday Times best-selling series

It's 1989, and Allie Burns is back.

Older and maybe wiser, she's running the northern news operation of the Sunday Globe, chafing at losing her role in investigative journalism and at the descent into the gutter of the UK tabloid media.

But there's plenty to keep her occupied. The year begins with the memorial service to the victims of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, but Allie has barely filed her copy when she stumbles over a story about HIV/AIDS that will shock her into a major change of direction.

The world of newspapers is undergoing a revolution, there's skulduggery in the medical research labs and there are seismic rumblings behind the Iron Curtain. When kidnap and murder are added to this potent mix, Allie is forced to question all her old certainties.

Praise for 1979

'McDermid is at her considerable best' GUARDIAN

'Irresistible' PATRICIA CORNWELL

'A brilliant novel by a supremo of the genre' PETER JAMES

'Outstanding' SPECTATOR

'Another masterpiece' DAVID BALDACCI

'Sensational. One of Britain's most accomplished writers' SUNDAY EXPRESS

• Language: English
• Publisher: W. F. Howes Ltd
• Release date: Oct 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781004084173

Val McDermid

VAL McDERMID is the internationally bestselling author of more than twenty crime novels. She has won the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; her novels have been selected as New York Times Notable Books and have been Edgar Award finalists. She was the 2010 recipient of the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Crime Writing. More than 10 million copies of her books have been sold around the world. She lives in the north of England. Visit her website at www.valmcdermid.com.

Reviews for 1989

[Alan Riles · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Preferred 1979!
Perhaps a reflection of 1979 being my last year in England before emigrating to Australia? Just somehow did not resonate to the same extent.
However the development of Ally Burns character, and her sexuality, is very well done. And the cut and thrust of journalism and the newspaper industry too.
Settings of Glasgow, Manchester, Berlin and Poland, plus what seems to be a hallmark of Val, a cameo appearance of NW Highlands and Islands, in this case a small island off Coll. An indulgence that is now starting to come across as a welcome idiosyncrasy!
Confirms her status as a great contemporary author.