Review by what_heather_loves - 1989

what_heather_loves 's review for:

1989 by Val McDermid

4.5

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

"The wind whistled in the sails and the water hissed along the hull yet they were no distractions from his thoughts. He'd been working out how to kill Wallace Lockhart for months, evolving and discarding plans one after the other till his researches had eventually led him to this. It matches his existing skills, it embraced elements of poetic justice, and it had the added beauty of not requiring an alibi. A man would die, but the timing was impossible to predict. Whenever it happened, his avenging angel would be far away. The only downside, as he lay dying, he would not know which of his inhumanities he was dying for."

Book two of the Allie Burns investigative journalist series, by this experienced and reliable Scottish crime fiction author starts with a mystery. Set in the titular 1989, against a backdrop of drugs, the Aids epidemic, homophobia, glasnost, peristroika, Lockerbie and Hillsborough, McDermid covers a lot of ground as plucky Allie gets stuck in to a number of investigations. From Manchester, Edinburgh and Sheffield to Berlin and Poland, her feet barely touch the ground as she fights the good fight to uncover the truth. Allie and her girlfriend and fellow journalist Rona, have some strong opposition, including feared newspaper baron Wallace 'Ace' Lockhart (a Rupert Murdoch-esque shadowy figure) and his determined but precocious daughter, Genevieve, head of Pythagoras Press, who are trying to take ground amongst the Green radicals of Berlin.

Pacy, detailed and ever-so readable, I enjoyed being back in Allie's world because she is such a strong woman - authentic and vulnerable, but strong - in a man's world. I can't wait to see where the next decade takes her!

Content Warnings