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Allie Burns #2
1989
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.
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.
430 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 18, 2022
About the author
Val McDermid
337 books5,602 followersVal McDermid is a No. 1 bestseller whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages, and have sold over eleven million copies.
She has won many awards internationally, including the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year and the LA Times Book of the Year Award. She was inducted into the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame in 2009 and was the recipient of the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for 2010. In 2011 she received the Lambda Literary Foundation Pioneer Award.
She writes full time and divides her time between Cheshire and Edinburgh.
She has won many awards internationally, including the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year and the LA Times Book of the Year Award. She was inducted into the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame in 2009 and was the recipient of the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for 2010. In 2011 she received the Lambda Literary Foundation Pioneer Award.
She writes full time and divides her time between Cheshire and Edinburgh.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 696 reviews
September 2, 2022
Hard-Hitting
4.5 stars
1989 is a dark, thought-provoking read about a reporter investigating the AIDS epidemic in Scotland and England in the 1980s. In addition, the Lockerbie boming, East Berlin, media conglomerates, and militant environmental activists are linked to a mysterious murder.
This is book two in the Allie Burns series, taking place 10 years after book one (1979), and it can be read as a standalone.
While Allie’s personal life has changed for the good, her career has taken a turn for the worse, as she is now under the power of a media mogul who rivals Rupert Murdoch.
Perspectives alternate between various characters, but Allie’s voice is the most prominent. Allie’s character is well-developed, flawed, and raw. She feels like a real person.
The novel is told interestingly. The first chapter sets one up for the murder, but it isn’t until the last 20% of the book that the murder plays a central role. I actually forgot about the murder until this point in the novel, as I was caught up in the supporting storylines.
This book transported me back to the 1980s. As depressing as the topics explored, there are some lighter moments between Allie and her girlfriend, Rona, and the playlist is awesome. Themes of sexuality, social services, antisemitism, and homophobia are also explored.
While there are multiple storylines, McDermid weaves them together seamlessly. The pacing is slow, but the various threads kept me captivated. While I know a great deal about how the AIDS epidemic played out in America in the 1980s, I was both fascinated and horrified to learn what was happening in Scotland. I look forward to exploring the horrors of the 90s in the next book in the series.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Grove Atlantic in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 stars
1989 is a dark, thought-provoking read about a reporter investigating the AIDS epidemic in Scotland and England in the 1980s. In addition, the Lockerbie boming, East Berlin, media conglomerates, and militant environmental activists are linked to a mysterious murder.
This is book two in the Allie Burns series, taking place 10 years after book one (1979), and it can be read as a standalone.
While Allie’s personal life has changed for the good, her career has taken a turn for the worse, as she is now under the power of a media mogul who rivals Rupert Murdoch.
Perspectives alternate between various characters, but Allie’s voice is the most prominent. Allie’s character is well-developed, flawed, and raw. She feels like a real person.
The novel is told interestingly. The first chapter sets one up for the murder, but it isn’t until the last 20% of the book that the murder plays a central role. I actually forgot about the murder until this point in the novel, as I was caught up in the supporting storylines.
This book transported me back to the 1980s. As depressing as the topics explored, there are some lighter moments between Allie and her girlfriend, Rona, and the playlist is awesome. Themes of sexuality, social services, antisemitism, and homophobia are also explored.
While there are multiple storylines, McDermid weaves them together seamlessly. The pacing is slow, but the various threads kept me captivated. While I know a great deal about how the AIDS epidemic played out in America in the 1980s, I was both fascinated and horrified to learn what was happening in Scotland. I look forward to exploring the horrors of the 90s in the next book in the series.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Grove Atlantic in exchange for an honest review.
December 7, 2022
The second in Val McDermid's historical new series featuring her investigative journalist, Allie Burns, is a nostalgic look at the uncertainties that plagued the turbulent year of 1989, including a rapidly changing newspaper industry that has shed journalists like there is no tomorrow, the imminent fall of the Berlin Wall, and the horrors of the HIV and Aids crisis. I listened to this on audio, 12 hours long, mostly grippingly narrated by Katie Leung, although she relates some characters in a staccato fashion that grates a little. The novel begins with an unknown figure landing on media baron, Wallace 'Ace' Lockhart's remote island home and planting a deadly ticking time bomb of a fatal surprise in the future.
Allie is running Ace's northern news operation of the Sunday Globe, she is far from happy with the loss of her investigative role or the bleak descent of the tabloid media into the gutter. When she is covering the Pan Am Flight 103 memorial service, her boss Ace insists he feature in her report. She and her partner, Rona, a features writer, have moved to Manchester, significantly more gay friendly than Glasgow, and are enjoying living there. Allie has opened up about being gay to her parents, but they are horrified, not accepting like Rona's family. When she discovers shady goings on in the medical research on HIV/Aids, she cannot help but investigate, although she fails to forsee the betrayal that is set to come her way, but she is to continue to follow the story in Berlin. Allie begins to question her identity as a journalist after the trauma experienced during the harrowing scenes of death and terror that play out at Hillsborough. She finds herself looking into Ace's past life at the behest of his daughter, surprised at what she discovers.
McDermid draws on her personal history and career in journalism, this lends the events covered in 1989 a gripping vibrancy and urgency, the coverage of Hillsborough was particularly heartbreaking. This is a captivating read with a terrific central protagonist in an Allie working in a fast changing industry, and caught up in a world on the brink of great historical changes, including Mikhail Gorbachev in Russia, and the imminent break up of Eastern Europe. This was a wonderfully engaging read that took me back to a ground breaking year, the atmospheric narrative captures this historical period and key events so well that it all comes alive. I assume that McDermid will return with Allie Burns in 1999, I look forward to this with great anticipation! This is a great series which I think many readers will love.
Allie is running Ace's northern news operation of the Sunday Globe, she is far from happy with the loss of her investigative role or the bleak descent of the tabloid media into the gutter. When she is covering the Pan Am Flight 103 memorial service, her boss Ace insists he feature in her report. She and her partner, Rona, a features writer, have moved to Manchester, significantly more gay friendly than Glasgow, and are enjoying living there. Allie has opened up about being gay to her parents, but they are horrified, not accepting like Rona's family. When she discovers shady goings on in the medical research on HIV/Aids, she cannot help but investigate, although she fails to forsee the betrayal that is set to come her way, but she is to continue to follow the story in Berlin. Allie begins to question her identity as a journalist after the trauma experienced during the harrowing scenes of death and terror that play out at Hillsborough. She finds herself looking into Ace's past life at the behest of his daughter, surprised at what she discovers.
McDermid draws on her personal history and career in journalism, this lends the events covered in 1989 a gripping vibrancy and urgency, the coverage of Hillsborough was particularly heartbreaking. This is a captivating read with a terrific central protagonist in an Allie working in a fast changing industry, and caught up in a world on the brink of great historical changes, including Mikhail Gorbachev in Russia, and the imminent break up of Eastern Europe. This was a wonderfully engaging read that took me back to a ground breaking year, the atmospheric narrative captures this historical period and key events so well that it all comes alive. I assume that McDermid will return with Allie Burns in 1999, I look forward to this with great anticipation! This is a great series which I think many readers will love.
September 5, 2022
3.5 stars, rounded up
The second in the Allie Burns series has moved ten years ahead to 1989. Because of the large move forward in time, it can easily be read as a stand-alone.
Allie is now the northern editor of the decimated news operation at The Sunday Globe. The Globe is owned by a Murdoch rival as part of his huge media conglomerate. The Lockerbie Pan Am bombing has just happened. HIV/AIDS is a real issue with no cures yet. The Soviet Union is teetering.
I love this series for taking me back to a time when answers couldn’t be found by just googling. The newspaper library is still all paper. Reporters have to actually go out in the field to do their research.
McDermid does a great job of weaving real life front page events into the story. Allie wants to write a story about the treatment of Scottish AIDS patients, which turns into a lead about a pharmaceutical company moving a study on an antiretroviral drug to East Germany due to harmful side effects. Meanwhile, there’s a separate storyline about the daughter of this mogul trying to court the radicals that may be on the verge of wresting freedom for the Soviet satellite countries. Before you know it, these storylines have merged.
While I enjoyed this book for its entertainment value, It had a very disjointed feel to it. Storylines would be dropped only to reappear at the tail end. It’s a slow burn of a story and I was pleased that it didn’t rely on any wildly unbelievable plot points. There’s no real violence.
Allie was an interesting main character, with her own set of ethics. I’ll be curious to see where she goes next.
My thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown for an advance copy of this book.
The second in the Allie Burns series has moved ten years ahead to 1989. Because of the large move forward in time, it can easily be read as a stand-alone.
Allie is now the northern editor of the decimated news operation at The Sunday Globe. The Globe is owned by a Murdoch rival as part of his huge media conglomerate. The Lockerbie Pan Am bombing has just happened. HIV/AIDS is a real issue with no cures yet. The Soviet Union is teetering.
I love this series for taking me back to a time when answers couldn’t be found by just googling. The newspaper library is still all paper. Reporters have to actually go out in the field to do their research.
McDermid does a great job of weaving real life front page events into the story. Allie wants to write a story about the treatment of Scottish AIDS patients, which turns into a lead about a pharmaceutical company moving a study on an antiretroviral drug to East Germany due to harmful side effects. Meanwhile, there’s a separate storyline about the daughter of this mogul trying to court the radicals that may be on the verge of wresting freedom for the Soviet satellite countries. Before you know it, these storylines have merged.
While I enjoyed this book for its entertainment value, It had a very disjointed feel to it. Storylines would be dropped only to reappear at the tail end. It’s a slow burn of a story and I was pleased that it didn’t rely on any wildly unbelievable plot points. There’s no real violence.
Allie was an interesting main character, with her own set of ethics. I’ll be curious to see where she goes next.
My thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown for an advance copy of this book.
October 19, 2022
EXCERPT: He'd been working out how to kill Wallace Lockhart for months, evolving and discarding plans one after another till his researches had eventually led him to this. It matched his existing skills, it embraced elements of poetic justice, and it had the added beauty of not requiring an alibi.
ABOUT '1989': 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 for the victims of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, 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 skullduggery in the medical research labs and there are seismic rumblings behind the Iron Curtain. When murder is added to this potent mix, Allie is forced to question all her old certainties.
MY THOUGHTS: 1989 . . . I personally don't remember too much about that year. My sons were eight and eleven. I think that was the year we moved to a small acreage. I do remember some of the music - thanks to Val Mcdermid's playlist in the back of the book. I do remember the Berlin Wall coming down, but I couldn't have told you what year it was.
1989 follows on from the first book, 1979, following the life and career of investigative journalist Allie Burns, set against the background of real events.
The story is told from many perspectives, but the dominant one is Allie's. She is a character with a strong moral compass, she's a thinker, and not inclined to rush in where angels fear to tread - unless there's a good story in it. I loved her unconventional sense of justice.
There are multiple issues highlighted in the plot, ranging from homophobia to corporate fraud to well hidden war crimes to the power of big business behind politics.
McDermid does her usual stirling job of weaving real life events and news into the plot. Margaret Thatcher is in power. The Berlin Wall falls (or is pushed). The AIDS crisis is in full swing. The Hillsborough disaster.
She breathtakingly describes the living conditions in East Germany - the power of the Stasi, the fear, the drabness. She had my heart in her hands when Allie put her own freedom in jeopardy to smuggle someone out of East Berlin. And there's a very clever murder, the setup for which is where the book begins.
1989 is a slow burn, made even slower for me by my constant need to look up various events that occurred. But it is an interesting read with great depth and perception.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.4
#1989 #NetGalley
I: #valmcdermid @groveatlantic
T: @valmcdermid @groveatlantic
#crime #historicalfiction #mystery #series #thriller
THE AUTHOR: Val McDermid, FRSE, FRSL is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of novels featuring clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill in a grim sub-genre that McDermid and others have identified as Tartan Noir. At Raith Rovers football stadium, a stand has been named after McDermid.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Grove Atlantic via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of 1989 by Val McDermid for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
ABOUT '1989': 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 for the victims of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, 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 skullduggery in the medical research labs and there are seismic rumblings behind the Iron Curtain. When murder is added to this potent mix, Allie is forced to question all her old certainties.
MY THOUGHTS: 1989 . . . I personally don't remember too much about that year. My sons were eight and eleven. I think that was the year we moved to a small acreage. I do remember some of the music - thanks to Val Mcdermid's playlist in the back of the book. I do remember the Berlin Wall coming down, but I couldn't have told you what year it was.
1989 follows on from the first book, 1979, following the life and career of investigative journalist Allie Burns, set against the background of real events.
The story is told from many perspectives, but the dominant one is Allie's. She is a character with a strong moral compass, she's a thinker, and not inclined to rush in where angels fear to tread - unless there's a good story in it. I loved her unconventional sense of justice.
There are multiple issues highlighted in the plot, ranging from homophobia to corporate fraud to well hidden war crimes to the power of big business behind politics.
McDermid does her usual stirling job of weaving real life events and news into the plot. Margaret Thatcher is in power. The Berlin Wall falls (or is pushed). The AIDS crisis is in full swing. The Hillsborough disaster.
She breathtakingly describes the living conditions in East Germany - the power of the Stasi, the fear, the drabness. She had my heart in her hands when Allie put her own freedom in jeopardy to smuggle someone out of East Berlin. And there's a very clever murder, the setup for which is where the book begins.
1989 is a slow burn, made even slower for me by my constant need to look up various events that occurred. But it is an interesting read with great depth and perception.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.4
#1989 #NetGalley
I: #valmcdermid @groveatlantic
T: @valmcdermid @groveatlantic
#crime #historicalfiction #mystery #series #thriller
THE AUTHOR: Val McDermid, FRSE, FRSL is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of novels featuring clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill in a grim sub-genre that McDermid and others have identified as Tartan Noir. At Raith Rovers football stadium, a stand has been named after McDermid.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Grove Atlantic via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of 1989 by Val McDermid for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
August 27, 2022
4-5 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed 1979 but I think the latest instalment of investigative journalist Allie Burns was even better. Allie’s character felt more rounded and I loved the long-standing comfortable relationship with Rona. 1989 was a turbulent year, the novel started with Lockerbie and ended with the coming down of the Berlin wall. The main focus of the novel was the Aids/HIV crisis, the implications of Gorbachev and the impact of perestroika with everything in between. The novel centred around Ace Lockhart and his daughter Genevieve. Ace was a newspaper mogul (think Murdock, his arch rival) and became Allie’s new boss. He was a bully with a massive ego with few scruples who trimmed his news empire to the bone which had massive implications for Allie’s job. Allie latched on to an HIV/AIDS story, an investigation which led her into murky waters. Her research took her from Edinburgh to Berlin. This story connected to Genevieve who was also in the eastern bloc but for very different reasons.
This was a terrific read, some events broke my heart especially the Hillsborough disaster which was so well described. This one was personal to me as a Nottingham Forest fan and my father was there, good job on that one Val! However, it was a cracking read throughout as the author cleverly wove real events into Allie’s investigation and life. There were vivid scenes, plenty of tension, oodles of audacity and bravery on several fronts. Everything blended together so well, all felt very relevant especially in today’s world. The pacing was spot-on, and there were no dips in interest.
I hope this wasn’t the last Allie Burns there’s definitely room for more, I felt as if Val McDermid was just getting started!
Purchased copy from Amazon U.K.
I thoroughly enjoyed 1979 but I think the latest instalment of investigative journalist Allie Burns was even better. Allie’s character felt more rounded and I loved the long-standing comfortable relationship with Rona. 1989 was a turbulent year, the novel started with Lockerbie and ended with the coming down of the Berlin wall. The main focus of the novel was the Aids/HIV crisis, the implications of Gorbachev and the impact of perestroika with everything in between. The novel centred around Ace Lockhart and his daughter Genevieve. Ace was a newspaper mogul (think Murdock, his arch rival) and became Allie’s new boss. He was a bully with a massive ego with few scruples who trimmed his news empire to the bone which had massive implications for Allie’s job. Allie latched on to an HIV/AIDS story, an investigation which led her into murky waters. Her research took her from Edinburgh to Berlin. This story connected to Genevieve who was also in the eastern bloc but for very different reasons.
This was a terrific read, some events broke my heart especially the Hillsborough disaster which was so well described. This one was personal to me as a Nottingham Forest fan and my father was there, good job on that one Val! However, it was a cracking read throughout as the author cleverly wove real events into Allie’s investigation and life. There were vivid scenes, plenty of tension, oodles of audacity and bravery on several fronts. Everything blended together so well, all felt very relevant especially in today’s world. The pacing was spot-on, and there were no dips in interest.
I hope this wasn’t the last Allie Burns there’s definitely room for more, I felt as if Val McDermid was just getting started!
Purchased copy from Amazon U.K.
September 18, 2022
First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Val McDermid, and Grove Atlantic for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
Always eager to to read the works of Val McDermid, I readily reached for her latest novel. Allie Burns and her journalistic prowess are back for another adventure, using the backdrop of history to spin a story like no other. McDermid packs of punch with this novel, which explored a number of issues from 1989, both social and historical, while providing her reader with something well-worth their invested time. I can only wonder where McDermid will take things next, but am sure fans are in for another treat.
Allie Burns has come a long way in a decade. Now in a senior role within the Sunday Globe, Allie has come to terms that her passion for investigative journalism must be shelved as she tries to cater to readers with tabloid-style writing. Sent to cover the Lockerbie memorials after a plane exploded over the small Scottish town, Allie soon realises that she is meant to be a pretty face digging in the mud of societal grief.
After tripping upon a story about AIDS in Edinburgh, Allie discovers that there is more to it than labelling the city as the disease’s European hotspot . A drug trial aimed at stemming the effects of HIV is quickly stopped by UK authorities. As Allie digs a little deeper, she learns that trials for the drug continue in East Germany, though little is known about what’s going on. Allie vows to get answers and heads behind the Iron Curtain to get to the truth.
While in East Germany, Allie learns much about the pharmaceutical industry, but has another hot potato story land in her lap. The apparent suicide of a media magnate has ties to Nazi Germany and Allie is keen to get to the bottom of this as well. While she tugs on a string or two, Allie soon realises that she has unraveled quite true story and won’t stop until she gets to the truth. The world is changing around her, but Allie Burns is one woman who won’t watch it pass her by! Another stunning story by Val McDermid that will keep the reader flipping pages well into the night.
I have long enjoyed the work of Val McDermid, who never shies away from controversial things while highlighting the wonders of Scotland. There is so much going on in this piece that it is difficult to summarise with ease. McDermid encapsulates a great deal within the pages of this book and keeps the reader wanting to know more. Society and the world at large come under the microscope in this piece, which is both reflective and refreshing in equal measure.
McDemrid is able to develop a strong narrative from the outset, which serves to guide the story along for most of the ride. There are strong themes that resonate out of what McDermid has to say and she’s keen to address them in detail. Great characters offer the reader some entertainment throughout, though it is the depth to which they take the novel that is their greatest purpose. A few key plot twists, complementing the historic goings-on, prove to be the best part of the story and keep the reader learning as they make their way through this gripping tale. I wonder if there is more. to come and what year Mcdermid will choose next.
Kudos, Madam McDermid, for a great piece and wonderful collection of historical moments. You never ceases to amaze.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Always eager to to read the works of Val McDermid, I readily reached for her latest novel. Allie Burns and her journalistic prowess are back for another adventure, using the backdrop of history to spin a story like no other. McDermid packs of punch with this novel, which explored a number of issues from 1989, both social and historical, while providing her reader with something well-worth their invested time. I can only wonder where McDermid will take things next, but am sure fans are in for another treat.
Allie Burns has come a long way in a decade. Now in a senior role within the Sunday Globe, Allie has come to terms that her passion for investigative journalism must be shelved as she tries to cater to readers with tabloid-style writing. Sent to cover the Lockerbie memorials after a plane exploded over the small Scottish town, Allie soon realises that she is meant to be a pretty face digging in the mud of societal grief.
After tripping upon a story about AIDS in Edinburgh, Allie discovers that there is more to it than labelling the city as the disease’s European hotspot . A drug trial aimed at stemming the effects of HIV is quickly stopped by UK authorities. As Allie digs a little deeper, she learns that trials for the drug continue in East Germany, though little is known about what’s going on. Allie vows to get answers and heads behind the Iron Curtain to get to the truth.
While in East Germany, Allie learns much about the pharmaceutical industry, but has another hot potato story land in her lap. The apparent suicide of a media magnate has ties to Nazi Germany and Allie is keen to get to the bottom of this as well. While she tugs on a string or two, Allie soon realises that she has unraveled quite true story and won’t stop until she gets to the truth. The world is changing around her, but Allie Burns is one woman who won’t watch it pass her by! Another stunning story by Val McDermid that will keep the reader flipping pages well into the night.
I have long enjoyed the work of Val McDermid, who never shies away from controversial things while highlighting the wonders of Scotland. There is so much going on in this piece that it is difficult to summarise with ease. McDermid encapsulates a great deal within the pages of this book and keeps the reader wanting to know more. Society and the world at large come under the microscope in this piece, which is both reflective and refreshing in equal measure.
McDemrid is able to develop a strong narrative from the outset, which serves to guide the story along for most of the ride. There are strong themes that resonate out of what McDermid has to say and she’s keen to address them in detail. Great characters offer the reader some entertainment throughout, though it is the depth to which they take the novel that is their greatest purpose. A few key plot twists, complementing the historic goings-on, prove to be the best part of the story and keep the reader learning as they make their way through this gripping tale. I wonder if there is more. to come and what year Mcdermid will choose next.
Kudos, Madam McDermid, for a great piece and wonderful collection of historical moments. You never ceases to amaze.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
October 8, 2022
It’s tantalising to read what’s essentially an historical drama-thriller, but set in a time period one actually lived through. Weaving major events, music and technological references throughout the narrative, Val McDermid creates a vivid sense of the time.
In a gripping opening sequence, an unknown foe places a fatal trap for Wallace "Ace" Lockhart, at the media baron's isolated retreat in Scotland's outer Hebrides. This metaphorical ticking time bomb sits in the background for much of the novel, as events unfold around the main protagonists.
Meanwhile, our heroine - journalist Alison "Allie" Burns - is working hard covering news stories including the aftermath of the bombing of PanAm Flight 103 over Lockerbie, and later in the book the Hillsborough Stadium disaster in Sheffield. She's no longer working as an investigative journalist, after the takeover of the company by Ace Lockhart, but is working as the northern news editor of the Sunday Globe, based out of Manchester, where she and her partner Rona have relocated from Glasgow. She's finding her work frustrating and rather soul-destroying, and would love the opportunity to move out of the tabloid world and back into serious investigative journalism. We can imagine that author Val McDermid is drawing significantly on her own experience here, as prior to her fiction career taking off she also worked on national newspapers in Glasgow and Manchester, including as Northern Bureau Chief for a national Sunday tabloid.
In the wider world, 1989 was also a big year. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is running rampant among the UK's gay male community, raising judgemental attitudes in the conservative press and increasing pressure on health services. The break up of the Soviet Union is imminent, following upon the policies of glasnost and perestroika instituted by the USSR's last head of state, Mikhail Gorbachev.
A story lead takes Allie to East Berlin, where she's reluctantly persuaded to participate in a plan to allow her source's girlfriend to defect to the west. At the same time, Ace Lockhart's beloved daughter and heir, Genevieve, is also in Berlin establishing contacts with pro-democracy activists, and becomes embroiled in a caper of her own. Allie is called upon to put her superlative investigative skills to the test in bringing events to a dramatic climax.
I admit that my personal preference is for McDermid's police-based crime series (Tony Hill/Carol Jordan and Karen Pirie) and several of her standalones, however 1989 is still a great read, featuring the intricate plotting and nuanced characters for which the author is renowned. McDermid uses evocative settings, great characterisations and relationships and new perspectives on pivotal historic events to draw the reader into the world of her characters.
I'd enthusiastically recommend 1989 both to existing fans of Val McDermid's substantial body of work, and to new readers who are interested in "recent history" historical settings and tensely plotted crime-thriller narratives.
My thanks to the author, Val McDermid, publisher Grove Atlantic, Atlantic Monthly Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.
In a gripping opening sequence, an unknown foe places a fatal trap for Wallace "Ace" Lockhart, at the media baron's isolated retreat in Scotland's outer Hebrides. This metaphorical ticking time bomb sits in the background for much of the novel, as events unfold around the main protagonists.
Meanwhile, our heroine - journalist Alison "Allie" Burns - is working hard covering news stories including the aftermath of the bombing of PanAm Flight 103 over Lockerbie, and later in the book the Hillsborough Stadium disaster in Sheffield. She's no longer working as an investigative journalist, after the takeover of the company by Ace Lockhart, but is working as the northern news editor of the Sunday Globe, based out of Manchester, where she and her partner Rona have relocated from Glasgow. She's finding her work frustrating and rather soul-destroying, and would love the opportunity to move out of the tabloid world and back into serious investigative journalism. We can imagine that author Val McDermid is drawing significantly on her own experience here, as prior to her fiction career taking off she also worked on national newspapers in Glasgow and Manchester, including as Northern Bureau Chief for a national Sunday tabloid.
In the wider world, 1989 was also a big year. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is running rampant among the UK's gay male community, raising judgemental attitudes in the conservative press and increasing pressure on health services. The break up of the Soviet Union is imminent, following upon the policies of glasnost and perestroika instituted by the USSR's last head of state, Mikhail Gorbachev.
A story lead takes Allie to East Berlin, where she's reluctantly persuaded to participate in a plan to allow her source's girlfriend to defect to the west. At the same time, Ace Lockhart's beloved daughter and heir, Genevieve, is also in Berlin establishing contacts with pro-democracy activists, and becomes embroiled in a caper of her own. Allie is called upon to put her superlative investigative skills to the test in bringing events to a dramatic climax.
I admit that my personal preference is for McDermid's police-based crime series (Tony Hill/Carol Jordan and Karen Pirie) and several of her standalones, however 1989 is still a great read, featuring the intricate plotting and nuanced characters for which the author is renowned. McDermid uses evocative settings, great characterisations and relationships and new perspectives on pivotal historic events to draw the reader into the world of her characters.
I'd enthusiastically recommend 1989 both to existing fans of Val McDermid's substantial body of work, and to new readers who are interested in "recent history" historical settings and tensely plotted crime-thriller narratives.
My thanks to the author, Val McDermid, publisher Grove Atlantic, Atlantic Monthly Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.
November 19, 2022
I received an advanced copy of this novel. I like Val McDermid’s novels. I did not like this one. It is only tangentially a crime novel. It covers everything from LGBTQ; the AIDS crisis; Music; Drug trials; The Fall of the Soviet Union; Stasi; The Berlin Wall; Baader-Meinhof kidnapping; Rupert Murdock; World War II; War crimes and more. I could see the vast amount of research the author did and her attempt to cram it all in using a very loose plot. 1989 is suppose to be a novel not an annual. Too many stories; too many characters; too many plot lines; too much. Allie Burns is a likable character, but her adventures need to be more focused and streamlined. If Ms. McDermid is going to continue with 2009, please use only the events necessary to move the plot along. A talented writer but this novel was too much by half.
June 9, 2023
This is the second in the series featuring Allie Burns as an investigative journalist. This time she is covering key events for the year 1989.
Although 1989 touches on key moments such as the Lockerbie bombing, the Hillsborough disaster and Poll Tax protests, events that would be meaningful to the time, the prime focus is also on a media tycoon which has a passing resemblance to someone real.
Her character’s name is Ace Lockhart who owns the newspaper she works for, a decorated war veteran, a survivor of the Nazi regime, which wiped out his Polish village. These details will be important to keep in mind by the end of the book.
When the novel opens, a murderer is making their way to Lockhart’s remote Scottish island to lace his vitamin pills with cyanide. That scene is planted like a grenade, to explode at some point in the future. Thereafter the clock is ticking as the plot gathers momentum.
Although sometimes slowly.
The scope of the author’s novel is ambitious, there is a lot of headlines of the day to cover, but it is not wholly successful. Trying to place one journalist at the center of all of these events feels strained at times.
Still, it is McDermid and there are A LOT of headline stories here to resolve.
And then there was that mystery to solve.
But... was it a story that intrigued me as a reader? Or did it feel like an intellectual exercise?
The good news, was the ending. And for any investigative journalist, it is all about the headlines and cracking the case, right?
So, at least, there is resolution. 3.5 stars.
Although 1989 touches on key moments such as the Lockerbie bombing, the Hillsborough disaster and Poll Tax protests, events that would be meaningful to the time, the prime focus is also on a media tycoon which has a passing resemblance to someone real.
Her character’s name is Ace Lockhart who owns the newspaper she works for, a decorated war veteran, a survivor of the Nazi regime, which wiped out his Polish village. These details will be important to keep in mind by the end of the book.
When the novel opens, a murderer is making their way to Lockhart’s remote Scottish island to lace his vitamin pills with cyanide. That scene is planted like a grenade, to explode at some point in the future. Thereafter the clock is ticking as the plot gathers momentum.
Although sometimes slowly.
The scope of the author’s novel is ambitious, there is a lot of headlines of the day to cover, but it is not wholly successful. Trying to place one journalist at the center of all of these events feels strained at times.
Still, it is McDermid and there are A LOT of headline stories here to resolve.
And then there was that mystery to solve.
But... was it a story that intrigued me as a reader? Or did it feel like an intellectual exercise?
The good news, was the ending. And for any investigative journalist, it is all about the headlines and cracking the case, right?
So, at least, there is resolution. 3.5 stars.
October 10, 2022
1989 is the second book in the Allie Burns series about a determined Scottish journalist, inspired by the author’s own career and experiences before she became a bestselling crime writer. I had been quite disappointed by 1979, so was somewhat hesitant about having to read this one, but actually enjoyed it more, despite there being way too much going on for one book to cover properly. This would work as a stand-alone if you haven’t read the first book, and there are no major spoilers here for 1979.
Ten years on, Allie is living in Manchester, very much in love with Rona, and enjoying the freedom to be herself denied her in her native Scotland, but chafing from the limitations of her new role. She’s now the Northern editor of a London-based Sunday tabloid after the owner, a bullying egomaniacal press magnate, dismantled her investigations team and made most of her colleagues redundant. Covering the nations’ tragedies is taking its toll, however, and she longs for a big story that will restore her mojo, so when a friend mentions the tragedy of Scottish AIDS patients having to seek treatment in England and drug trials being moved behind the Iron Curtain, she’ll stop at nothing for the scoop.
In 1989 I was in my first year of university in Edinburgh, living in lodgings with no TV and no real interest in the news. I remember the Lockerbie bombing of course, partly because I was home for the holidays, but the other disasters featured here are ones I’ve mostly read about later rather than remembering as they occurred. This book uses them as a backdrop to her main story, which sets the scene, and gives us the context to Allie’s mid-career crisis, but I felt it tried to pack too much in raising major topics which are then barely mentioned. As with 1979, there is a murder here, but again it occurs very late, and the reveal of the killer is very much an afterthought in the overall plot. The pace is again slow, although there’s more action in this one. I still don’t like Allie as a character - as before, she takes stupid risks and will sacrifice anyone for a story, then feels sorry for herself when things go wrong. Rona remains the more likeable character and fortunately has a bigger role here.
I did like all the era-setting details - the first mobile phones, dial-up internet, the early clubbing scene, and having to go to a library when you wanted to know something, and the playlist at the end is superb - gosh I love 80s music, but for overall enjoyment I can stretch to 3 stars, no more, and doubt I’ll be continuing this series - I’m just hanging out for more Karen Pirie, & Tony and Carol books. Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC; I am posting this honest review voluntarily.
1989 is published today.
Ten years on, Allie is living in Manchester, very much in love with Rona, and enjoying the freedom to be herself denied her in her native Scotland, but chafing from the limitations of her new role. She’s now the Northern editor of a London-based Sunday tabloid after the owner, a bullying egomaniacal press magnate, dismantled her investigations team and made most of her colleagues redundant. Covering the nations’ tragedies is taking its toll, however, and she longs for a big story that will restore her mojo, so when a friend mentions the tragedy of Scottish AIDS patients having to seek treatment in England and drug trials being moved behind the Iron Curtain, she’ll stop at nothing for the scoop.
In 1989 I was in my first year of university in Edinburgh, living in lodgings with no TV and no real interest in the news. I remember the Lockerbie bombing of course, partly because I was home for the holidays, but the other disasters featured here are ones I’ve mostly read about later rather than remembering as they occurred. This book uses them as a backdrop to her main story, which sets the scene, and gives us the context to Allie’s mid-career crisis, but I felt it tried to pack too much in raising major topics which are then barely mentioned. As with 1979, there is a murder here, but again it occurs very late, and the reveal of the killer is very much an afterthought in the overall plot. The pace is again slow, although there’s more action in this one. I still don’t like Allie as a character - as before, she takes stupid risks and will sacrifice anyone for a story, then feels sorry for herself when things go wrong. Rona remains the more likeable character and fortunately has a bigger role here.
I did like all the era-setting details - the first mobile phones, dial-up internet, the early clubbing scene, and having to go to a library when you wanted to know something, and the playlist at the end is superb - gosh I love 80s music, but for overall enjoyment I can stretch to 3 stars, no more, and doubt I’ll be continuing this series - I’m just hanging out for more Karen Pirie, & Tony and Carol books. Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC; I am posting this honest review voluntarily.
1989 is published today.
January 2, 2023
As can be guessed from the title, the second novel featuring journalist Allie Burns takes place 10 years after the first. A time when the British press have not only been digitised but dumbed-down, the HIV/Aids epidemic is at its height and the Soviet Union is on the verge of collapse.
Unlike many of her colleagues, Allie has managed to keep her job at the Globe and Clarion, albeit in a reduced role. Most of her current work involves fluff pieces rather than the hard-hitting factual journalism she enjoys and is best at. When she discovers a lead to a story about pharmaceutical malpractice she takes a big risk by travelling into East Berlin and becomes unwittingly involved in an escape plan.
Meanwhile, her big boss, media magnate Wallace “Ace” Lockhart and his daughter Genevieve (a couple obviously based on Robert and Ghislaine Maxwell) are looking to exploit Gorbachov’s failing regime by investing in companies in Eastern Europe which will soon become independent.
With the action switching between Scotland, England, East Berlin and Poland, this is a thrilling novel set in a momentous year encompassing the Lockerbie crash, the Poll Tax, the Hillsborough disaster and culminating in the fall of the Berlin Wall. A worthy successor to “1979”. The Queen Of Crime is still firmly on her throne.
Unlike many of her colleagues, Allie has managed to keep her job at the Globe and Clarion, albeit in a reduced role. Most of her current work involves fluff pieces rather than the hard-hitting factual journalism she enjoys and is best at. When she discovers a lead to a story about pharmaceutical malpractice she takes a big risk by travelling into East Berlin and becomes unwittingly involved in an escape plan.
Meanwhile, her big boss, media magnate Wallace “Ace” Lockhart and his daughter Genevieve (a couple obviously based on Robert and Ghislaine Maxwell) are looking to exploit Gorbachov’s failing regime by investing in companies in Eastern Europe which will soon become independent.
With the action switching between Scotland, England, East Berlin and Poland, this is a thrilling novel set in a momentous year encompassing the Lockerbie crash, the Poll Tax, the Hillsborough disaster and culminating in the fall of the Berlin Wall. A worthy successor to “1979”. The Queen Of Crime is still firmly on her throne.
February 21, 2023
Ah, that lovely feeling of returning to a series where you like the premise and the characters, the plots are intriguing, and the writing hasn't gone stale as the author struggles to be creative. Val McDermid's Allie Burns series will probably be self-limiting since she is setting the books at 10 year intervals; having begun with 1979, there can only be 5 (unless she's still writing them in 2029!).
McDermid uses her crime fiction talents and her journalism background to weave Allie's investigations into the real-life events of the day. 1989 starts at the very beginning of the year, with the funerals of victims of the Lockerbie bombing, followed quickly by the M1 plane crash in Leicestershire. A few months later Allie is on the scene at the Hillsborough soccer disaster in Sheffield. [Aside: Until checking it out after reading this book, I was still under the impression that the 97 victims died as a result of rowdy fans mobbing the field. Not so. Decades later coroners' inquests confirmed that the cause was mismanaged crowd control by police, covered up at the highest levels.]
Against these events, Allie is pursuing a story of greater interest to herself, though not to the tabloid journal that has purchased the paper she writes for. She learns that trials of drugs designed to prevent HIV from turning into full-blown AIDS may have been manipulated, taking advantage of the desperation of those afflicted. Her investigations take her to East Berlin, still under the iron grip of the Stasi months before the fall of the Iron Curtain.
And that, dear reader, isn't all - there are more plot elements, one of which goes all the way back to WWII. Sounds like too much stuffed into one book, doesn't it? Fortunately, the way McDermid has redefined Allie's job means that she isn't deeply involved in most of the stories. Just enough to make her wonder, by the end of the book, whether she might be ready for a career change.
I wonder what she'll be doing in 1999?
p.s. As with 1979, there are frequent references to the pop music of the time. The epilogue to the book is "Allie's" top 50 tunes playlist. Can't say I recognized all of the names, but Allie and I do share a fondness for The Eurythmics. :-)
McDermid uses her crime fiction talents and her journalism background to weave Allie's investigations into the real-life events of the day. 1989 starts at the very beginning of the year, with the funerals of victims of the Lockerbie bombing, followed quickly by the M1 plane crash in Leicestershire. A few months later Allie is on the scene at the Hillsborough soccer disaster in Sheffield. [Aside: Until checking it out after reading this book, I was still under the impression that the 97 victims died as a result of rowdy fans mobbing the field. Not so. Decades later coroners' inquests confirmed that the cause was mismanaged crowd control by police, covered up at the highest levels.]
Against these events, Allie is pursuing a story of greater interest to herself, though not to the tabloid journal that has purchased the paper she writes for. She learns that trials of drugs designed to prevent HIV from turning into full-blown AIDS may have been manipulated, taking advantage of the desperation of those afflicted. Her investigations take her to East Berlin, still under the iron grip of the Stasi months before the fall of the Iron Curtain.
And that, dear reader, isn't all - there are more plot elements, one of which goes all the way back to WWII. Sounds like too much stuffed into one book, doesn't it? Fortunately, the way McDermid has redefined Allie's job means that she isn't deeply involved in most of the stories. Just enough to make her wonder, by the end of the book, whether she might be ready for a career change.
I wonder what she'll be doing in 1999?
p.s. As with 1979, there are frequent references to the pop music of the time. The epilogue to the book is "Allie's" top 50 tunes playlist. Can't say I recognized all of the names, but Allie and I do share a fondness for The Eurythmics. :-)
January 11, 2024
An absorbing tale that took me back in time!
Favorite quote:
"It was a death knock to the power of infinity. They'd gone from French farce to Greek tragedy in the space of a few minutes."
Favorite quote:
"It was a death knock to the power of infinity. They'd gone from French farce to Greek tragedy in the space of a few minutes."
August 31, 2022
Although this is the second book in a series, I didn't feel I'd lost out by not having read the first. This may be a personal one for McDermid seeing as she was an investigative journalist at that time, before she morphed into one of our most well respected crime writers, able to juggle several series at once and keep specific identities intact.
Allie Burns and her partner Rona live in Manchester, after finding it hard to come out in Glasgow. They felt they had "found their lost tribe," and were comfortably surrounded by friends, both working in the still vibrant world of print journalism. What McDermid has done so well in this book is to recreate a chaotic year that, given may have taken on a sheen of nostalgia, but at the time, there were world-changing events that presaged today's world of chaos. Put together, the events of Lockerbie tragedy, seemingly endless horror of AIDS, dissolution of the Soviet Union and what life was like in East Berlin under the Stassi. Tucked inside is a mystery, but as Tony Hillerman once said, if every plot he wrote didn't have padding, his books would only be 50 pages long. This was so good that I'm going to backtrack and read its predecessor, 1979.
Allie Burns and her partner Rona live in Manchester, after finding it hard to come out in Glasgow. They felt they had "found their lost tribe," and were comfortably surrounded by friends, both working in the still vibrant world of print journalism. What McDermid has done so well in this book is to recreate a chaotic year that, given may have taken on a sheen of nostalgia, but at the time, there were world-changing events that presaged today's world of chaos. Put together, the events of Lockerbie tragedy, seemingly endless horror of AIDS, dissolution of the Soviet Union and what life was like in East Berlin under the Stassi. Tucked inside is a mystery, but as Tony Hillerman once said, if every plot he wrote didn't have padding, his books would only be 50 pages long. This was so good that I'm going to backtrack and read its predecessor, 1979.
October 16, 2022
“On reflection, I think the 1980s were a dreadful, abysmal time.”
– Pete Burns
“When I look back at the 1980s I pinch myself. Did I really do all that?”
– Cynthia Payne
These diverging perspectives about the 1980s open the novel 1989. Val McDermid has been producing top-notch thrillers for years, but her latest takes on the dark spot of an otherwise fruitful, if somewhat over-indulgent, decade --- the HIV/AIDS crisis. This is done not through a slick crime drama, which we have come to expect from McDermid, but through the world of competitive journalism. The book’s protagonist is journalist Allie Burns, who we are seeing a full 10 years after her appearance in the appropriately titled 1979.
The prologue introduces us to a nameless man who bears an extreme hatred for media mogul and newspaperman Wallace Lockhart. He wants nothing more than to end his life and is hopeful that a little dose of cyanide will do the trick. While this passage may not make sense at first, it will become more than clear before the action of 1989 is over.
Allie begins the year with an assignment that is quite taxing on her mentally and physically: covering the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which rained down debris and body parts for miles and brought fields of fire to the area below. Meeting with and interviewing both eyewitnesses and families of victims takes a toll on Allie, who is eager to work on another story --- something with a different spin. She is about to get more than she ever imagined with her wish.
Throughout all of this, Allie has been able to keep her relationship with fellow journalist Rona a secret. As she puts it, she has stayed under the gaydar for years but knows this will change and feels the anti-gay resentment that the HIV/AIDS epidemic has created globally. The focus of her next story is the mass exodus of AIDS patients from Edinburgh to Great Britain and other parts of Europe so they can be treated. Edinburgh may be the AIDS hotbed of the area, but they are far from ably equipped to battle the disease.
While Allie puts together a comprehensive article with viewpoints from both Edinburgh and Great Britain that fully respects the medical practitioners involved, the rug is pulled out from under her when she loses the story and sees it released in an altered version that hides the heavy research and new facts she uncovered. Plus, she is horrified by the title of the piece: SICK SCOTS EXPORT AIDS TO ENGLAND.
Allie’s only recourse is to work with people she can trust, like Rona, so she can go deeper and find out what is really going on here. This quest will take her behind the Iron Curtain during a tumultuous time. She will learn about a large drug company and the controversial drug they are producing to battle HIV/AIDS. Of course, this treatment is not what everyone expected, which is what Allie plans to expose --- even if it means that her career and reputation are ruined in the process.
1989 is a great snapshot of a now-bygone era that is still eerily familiar. Allie Burns is a no-nonsense character, in much the same way as her creator, and the book pulls no punches whatsoever. McDermid firmly draws upon her own time spent as a journalist prior to writing fiction to deliver a novel that will both satisfy and anger those who read it. Unfortunately, we realize that corruption and hidden agendas always seem to win out at the cost of the innocent.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
– Pete Burns
“When I look back at the 1980s I pinch myself. Did I really do all that?”
– Cynthia Payne
These diverging perspectives about the 1980s open the novel 1989. Val McDermid has been producing top-notch thrillers for years, but her latest takes on the dark spot of an otherwise fruitful, if somewhat over-indulgent, decade --- the HIV/AIDS crisis. This is done not through a slick crime drama, which we have come to expect from McDermid, but through the world of competitive journalism. The book’s protagonist is journalist Allie Burns, who we are seeing a full 10 years after her appearance in the appropriately titled 1979.
The prologue introduces us to a nameless man who bears an extreme hatred for media mogul and newspaperman Wallace Lockhart. He wants nothing more than to end his life and is hopeful that a little dose of cyanide will do the trick. While this passage may not make sense at first, it will become more than clear before the action of 1989 is over.
Allie begins the year with an assignment that is quite taxing on her mentally and physically: covering the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which rained down debris and body parts for miles and brought fields of fire to the area below. Meeting with and interviewing both eyewitnesses and families of victims takes a toll on Allie, who is eager to work on another story --- something with a different spin. She is about to get more than she ever imagined with her wish.
Throughout all of this, Allie has been able to keep her relationship with fellow journalist Rona a secret. As she puts it, she has stayed under the gaydar for years but knows this will change and feels the anti-gay resentment that the HIV/AIDS epidemic has created globally. The focus of her next story is the mass exodus of AIDS patients from Edinburgh to Great Britain and other parts of Europe so they can be treated. Edinburgh may be the AIDS hotbed of the area, but they are far from ably equipped to battle the disease.
While Allie puts together a comprehensive article with viewpoints from both Edinburgh and Great Britain that fully respects the medical practitioners involved, the rug is pulled out from under her when she loses the story and sees it released in an altered version that hides the heavy research and new facts she uncovered. Plus, she is horrified by the title of the piece: SICK SCOTS EXPORT AIDS TO ENGLAND.
Allie’s only recourse is to work with people she can trust, like Rona, so she can go deeper and find out what is really going on here. This quest will take her behind the Iron Curtain during a tumultuous time. She will learn about a large drug company and the controversial drug they are producing to battle HIV/AIDS. Of course, this treatment is not what everyone expected, which is what Allie plans to expose --- even if it means that her career and reputation are ruined in the process.
1989 is a great snapshot of a now-bygone era that is still eerily familiar. Allie Burns is a no-nonsense character, in much the same way as her creator, and the book pulls no punches whatsoever. McDermid firmly draws upon her own time spent as a journalist prior to writing fiction to deliver a novel that will both satisfy and anger those who read it. Unfortunately, we realize that corruption and hidden agendas always seem to win out at the cost of the innocent.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
August 24, 2023
Eine außergewöhnliche Fortsetzung.....auch wenn der Krimi Moment etwas auf sich warten lässt....!
Der zweite Fall für die Journalistin Allie Burns zieht sich anfangs etwas....doch dann nimmt die Story erheblich Fahrt auf....und führt in das (noch) geteilte Deutschland und das im Aufbruch befindliche Polen....
Lesenswert!
Der zweite Fall für die Journalistin Allie Burns zieht sich anfangs etwas....doch dann nimmt die Story erheblich Fahrt auf....und führt in das (noch) geteilte Deutschland und das im Aufbruch befindliche Polen....
Lesenswert!
January 11, 2023
Val McDermid’s sequel to 1979 is as good on the social context and historical placement, but not so good as a story: McDermid goes wildly macro, taking on the Iron Curtain, placing her characters in outlandish peril and, in some ways, recycling herself.
1989 tells two stories: frustrated investigative reporter Allie Burns decides to research shoddy AIDS treatments off her own bat, while her Murdoch-rival boss (and architect of her professional misery), Ace Lockhart, despatches his daughter Genevieve on a tour of the Eastern Bloc to secure publishing support in anticipation of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Allie, a nascent lesbian by the end of 1979, emerges here as a veteran lesbian of nigh on a decade, with a committed relationship, a dog, and an immaculately maintained garden to her name. McDermid is clearly comfortable with Allie and Rhona duo (politely ignoring that they are at least in part modeled after herself), and they make the book feel lived in. For domesticity and the day to day of their life in the eighties, 1989 can’t be beaten.
However, once Allie crosses a certain Rubicon in the story, it’s difficult to take the narrative seriously. The level of risk does not really match the level of reward, and it’s difficult to say whether the story that Allie pursues would have had an impact at the time; at the very least, it’s out of the purview of the book. The Lockhart thread shows promise but in its attempt to dovetail with Allie’s story it bogs itself down: its conclusion is one that McDermid has used herself in the last decade, mixed with another; it lacks the capacity to surprise. Despite this, 1989 has that compulsive McDermid spice, so there’s no problem in finishing it.
This is the sort of book that you want to believe is well-researched, but when it touches on a field of special interest or knowledge of your own, you have to challenge it. Unable to sleep, Allie picks up a Discworld novel – specifically Carpe Jugulum. This one could be put down to a simple transposition in research, as Carpe Jugulum was published in 1998. For future reprints, McDermid could get away with saying that Allie read Wyrd Systers (1988), without having to change any other text. Or nobody other than me will notice or care about the error – a possibility that I’m entirely prepared to live with.
McDermid is almost always readable, and while Allie takes some stupid risks none of the character actions between these pages come close to the nadir of the Carol Jordan series. 1989 is a worthwhile read, even as you wait for a series of pennies to drop (if you don’t know that the Berlin Wall fell, you’re going to be in for a shock at the end of 1989).
1989 tells two stories: frustrated investigative reporter Allie Burns decides to research shoddy AIDS treatments off her own bat, while her Murdoch-rival boss (and architect of her professional misery), Ace Lockhart, despatches his daughter Genevieve on a tour of the Eastern Bloc to secure publishing support in anticipation of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Allie, a nascent lesbian by the end of 1979, emerges here as a veteran lesbian of nigh on a decade, with a committed relationship, a dog, and an immaculately maintained garden to her name. McDermid is clearly comfortable with Allie and Rhona duo (politely ignoring that they are at least in part modeled after herself), and they make the book feel lived in. For domesticity and the day to day of their life in the eighties, 1989 can’t be beaten.
However, once Allie crosses a certain Rubicon in the story, it’s difficult to take the narrative seriously. The level of risk does not really match the level of reward, and it’s difficult to say whether the story that Allie pursues would have had an impact at the time; at the very least, it’s out of the purview of the book. The Lockhart thread shows promise but in its attempt to dovetail with Allie’s story it bogs itself down: its conclusion is one that McDermid has used herself in the last decade, mixed with another; it lacks the capacity to surprise. Despite this, 1989 has that compulsive McDermid spice, so there’s no problem in finishing it.
This is the sort of book that you want to believe is well-researched, but when it touches on a field of special interest or knowledge of your own, you have to challenge it. Unable to sleep, Allie picks up a Discworld novel – specifically Carpe Jugulum. This one could be put down to a simple transposition in research, as Carpe Jugulum was published in 1998. For future reprints, McDermid could get away with saying that Allie read Wyrd Systers (1988), without having to change any other text. Or nobody other than me will notice or care about the error – a possibility that I’m entirely prepared to live with.
McDermid is almost always readable, and while Allie takes some stupid risks none of the character actions between these pages come close to the nadir of the Carol Jordan series. 1989 is a worthwhile read, even as you wait for a series of pennies to drop (if you don’t know that the Berlin Wall fell, you’re going to be in for a shock at the end of 1989).
September 24, 2022
A harsh marking from me - ideally 2.5 to be honest. Didn’t seem well written and the story was a bit naff. A big disappointment after I enjoyed 1979.
December 18, 2022
This is the second book in the Allie Burns series and whilst you can read them out of order due to the significant time gap, I recommend reading 1979 prior to this one, purely for the fact I think Allies life takes a partnering role alongside the plot in a way that McDermids other series don't. I'm a fan of McDermids other works but I think this series is my new favorite and I will definitely be reading the next once it's released.
A significant portion of the book discusses the HIV/AIDs crisis that was happening at the time. I'm a queer reader myself, although granted not one who was alive during this time, however I thought the topic was handled well whilst remaining relevant to the story being told.
Naturally with these sorts of novels, there is little I can say regarding the story itself without spoilers so I will simply say the narrative was engaging and the ending felt satisfying. There is a decision the protagonist makes right at the end of the novel which I think may be slightly controversial however I thought it fit really well with our characters and im glad it didn't go the other way.
I will say that some plot threads seemed to be introduced and then dropped for a while throughout and I would have perhaps like a bit more 'thrill' in my thriller. However overall, a great read that I definitely recommend.
A significant portion of the book discusses the HIV/AIDs crisis that was happening at the time. I'm a queer reader myself, although granted not one who was alive during this time, however I thought the topic was handled well whilst remaining relevant to the story being told.
Naturally with these sorts of novels, there is little I can say regarding the story itself without spoilers so I will simply say the narrative was engaging and the ending felt satisfying. There is a decision the protagonist makes right at the end of the novel which I think may be slightly controversial however I thought it fit really well with our characters and im glad it didn't go the other way.
I will say that some plot threads seemed to be introduced and then dropped for a while throughout and I would have perhaps like a bit more 'thrill' in my thriller. However overall, a great read that I definitely recommend.
April 20, 2023
This was not a good book. My little big sister warned me and I should have heeded her advice.
Whatever plot there was jumped all over the place with no real pattern and the thrilling element of what was described as a "thriller" was nowhere to be found.
Avoid.
Whatever plot there was jumped all over the place with no real pattern and the thrilling element of what was described as a "thriller" was nowhere to be found.
Avoid.
September 4, 2022
I had high expectations but found it meandered a bit and felt too long.
July 22, 2025
4.5 Stars!
I picked this up on a total whim in a random discount section of a wonderful bookshop in Bratislava and it proved to be a hugely entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable read. This reminded me of a couple of things, how many fine crime writers there are in Scotland and how I should really get round to reading more of Val McDermid's work in the near future.
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October 6, 20221989 - Val McDermid
When last the reader saw Allie Burns, in the first book of this series, it was 1979 and she was a fledgling reporter chasing her first big scoop. Ten years later, she is a decent journalist stuck working for the tabloid Sunday Globe. She has settled in to a loving relationship with Rona and is now living in Manchester. Her boss is the disreputable Ace Lockhart, in a race with Rupert Murdock to see how low journalism can sink. There are a few storylines here that center around these main characters along with Lockhart’s daughter, the very spoiled Genevieve.
The book is quite atmospheric in giving a good sense of the time, highlighting some of the historical events. It was a fun trip down memory lane for those of us who do remember the first “mobile” phones being the size of a car battery with a handset on top! I recall using one of those!
1989 was a time of tragedies as well including the Lockerbie explosion and the poor treatment of HIV/AIDs patients due to ignorance, fear, and discrimination. But it was also a time of hope as Glasnost seemed to be the harbinger of the break down of the Iron Curtain. The book was at its most compelling near the end as a murder occurs and Allie tries to track down the truth about both the victim and the killer.
Thanks to @netgalley and #groveatlantic for the arc.
When last the reader saw Allie Burns, in the first book of this series, it was 1979 and she was a fledgling reporter chasing her first big scoop. Ten years later, she is a decent journalist stuck working for the tabloid Sunday Globe. She has settled in to a loving relationship with Rona and is now living in Manchester. Her boss is the disreputable Ace Lockhart, in a race with Rupert Murdock to see how low journalism can sink. There are a few storylines here that center around these main characters along with Lockhart’s daughter, the very spoiled Genevieve.
The book is quite atmospheric in giving a good sense of the time, highlighting some of the historical events. It was a fun trip down memory lane for those of us who do remember the first “mobile” phones being the size of a car battery with a handset on top! I recall using one of those!
1989 was a time of tragedies as well including the Lockerbie explosion and the poor treatment of HIV/AIDs patients due to ignorance, fear, and discrimination. But it was also a time of hope as Glasnost seemed to be the harbinger of the break down of the Iron Curtain. The book was at its most compelling near the end as a murder occurs and Allie tries to track down the truth about both the victim and the killer.
Thanks to @netgalley and #groveatlantic for the arc.
November 19, 2022
It's Val McDermid, so you know it's good (and gay!), but WOW did she try to pack a lot into one book. HIV and the Berlin Wall and Nazi atrocities all tied together with newspaper string, and there's also a murder mystery sprinkled in at the beginning and then picked up again in the last third. I almost said "sloppily," but we're talking about Val McDermid. She doesn't really do sloppy. But in anyone else's hands this would have been a huge mess. As it is, it just manages to be all right.
August 22, 2022
Reminder to myself NOT to buy the next instalment. Hates this with a passion.
November 21, 2022
The flashback to the world of 1989 was a clever way to set the story and revisit the events and cultural attitudes I grew up with. The prologue was excellent and had me hoping for a twisty murder mystery. However, for me, it did not live up to the promise. Allie bemoans the plight of AIDS victims. Allie bemoans prejudice against women and homosexuals. Allie uses lies and poor subterfuge to get a story about corporate corruption but doesn’t hesitate to accept the help of corporate billionaire Ace Lockhart to save herself and then is dismissive of needing it. Bottom lines: I enjoyed the look back at the world of 1989; I didn’t care for the Allie character; the murder was basically a footnote to Allie’s oh so special investigative skills. If a PE teacher uncovered the truth about Ace, it didn’t take any special skills in Allie’s part.
November 2, 2022
Despite a very slow start, I think the novel redeems itself by the end—just barely.
April 26, 2024
3.5 rounded up.
October 10, 2022
1989 by Val McDermid is a highly recommended second novel featuring investigative journalist Allie Burns and following events in 1989.
Allie Burns is running the northern news operation of the Sunday Globe, but she is till an investigative reporter at heart. While covering the memorial service for Lockerbie Pan Am bombing victims, she receives a lead over another story about HIV/AIDS patients and pharmaceutical companies. This is just the start as Allie covers 1989, an unsettling year that I wasn't sure I wanted to return to, but following Allie through the events was interesting. The plot mainly focuses on the Aids/HIV crisis, but also sends Allie to East Germany, covers Gorbachev, perestroika to the Berlin Wall coming down and numerous events in-between.
Allie and her girlfriend, Rona, are both fully realized characters who work well together in the narrative and help add depth to the plot. There are little details included in the plot that will take readers who remember back in time while the narrative also covers the bigger, news worthy topics from the time. There are plenty of little pop culture references included in the plot. The writing is excellent, as expected, but the novel did feel a little overly long and slow-moving. Perhaps covering so many well researched events from one year was a bit too much, but 1999 will be an interesting third novel to this series that started with 1979.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Grove/Atlantic via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2022/1...
Allie Burns is running the northern news operation of the Sunday Globe, but she is till an investigative reporter at heart. While covering the memorial service for Lockerbie Pan Am bombing victims, she receives a lead over another story about HIV/AIDS patients and pharmaceutical companies. This is just the start as Allie covers 1989, an unsettling year that I wasn't sure I wanted to return to, but following Allie through the events was interesting. The plot mainly focuses on the Aids/HIV crisis, but also sends Allie to East Germany, covers Gorbachev, perestroika to the Berlin Wall coming down and numerous events in-between.
Allie and her girlfriend, Rona, are both fully realized characters who work well together in the narrative and help add depth to the plot. There are little details included in the plot that will take readers who remember back in time while the narrative also covers the bigger, news worthy topics from the time. There are plenty of little pop culture references included in the plot. The writing is excellent, as expected, but the novel did feel a little overly long and slow-moving. Perhaps covering so many well researched events from one year was a bit too much, but 1999 will be an interesting third novel to this series that started with 1979.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Grove/Atlantic via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2022/1...
October 27, 2023
I found my enjoyment of this second installment in the Allie Burns series to be mixed. I really liked the way the murder of a Murdoch-esque newspaper magnate was set up at the beginning of the novel but I find the main character Allie Burns to be seriously annoying. I am a feminist but Burns is just too bolshie and humourless for me. The ending was somwhat satisfying, though the killer's hail Mary pass was a bit unbelievable. McDermid is a brilliant plotmaster but her sexual and class politics are so heavy-handed at time it ruins my reading of her recent books. And most irritatingly, the Cold War shenanigans here are so implausible as to be almost laughable. Imagine if Miss Marple was to assume a part in a James Bond flick or Poirot became 007 himself. Really? I wanted to shout. Too much preaching and not enough mystery for me.
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