1979 by Val McDermid. Rating ***** I Ms McDermid does it again in her novel 1979. Great characters, had me chuckling at times, fantastic broody, chaotic settings and a thoroughly good plot. Could almost taste the cigarette smoke. Thoroughly recommended.

Oh it was great to be transported back to 1979, away from current COVID restrictions. I’d truly forgotten what we worried about in the 1970s but Val McDermid’s new crime thriller certainly jogged my memory. It also reminded me of the fabulous pop stars and music of the day- I was a big Bay City Roller fan and I could just imagine driving along with the Tom Robinson Band on the car radio as Danny does! Allie Burns is a young reporter working in Glasgow for The Clarion, fresh from Cambridge and a journalism course she is keen to make an impression with her new colleagues. However this is not 2021 and she is a woman working in a man’s world. She is tough and does not suffer fools gladly but has to put up with poor assignments which are apparently “suitable for a woman” as well as a level of mysogony from her male colleagues. She is drawn to Danny, another young reporter. He treats her well and once trust has been established he invites her to help him on an assignment to bring down an insurance company that is committing fraud by aiding clients to evade tax. His own brother is involved and he is very torn about how to investigate the story without revealing that Joseph is involved. Scotland in the 1970s is looking towards devolution and some want independence- not so different from nowadays. However Danny and Ally get involved in a nationalist terrorist plot involving the IRA as they go undercover to research their story. This is a gritty and compelling read with a fabulous cast of characters. Allie Burns really got under my skin and I’m definitely looking forward to her next outing as this book has been advertised as the first in a new series. The setting was well described, and I really felt that I was walking the streets of 1970s Glasgow. The cold of the freezing Winter was almost like another character in the book. The prejudices of this time were many and it’s hard to believe that it was only 40 years ago. How glad I am that things have changed in a more positive way in 2021. The newspaper setting was very authentic- it was obvious that the author had first hand knowledge of working for the press at this time. My overall impression was that this was a fabulous read and I highly recommend it . Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

Val McDermid does it again with this great start to a new series. Alie Burns is a new journalist and is desperate to get her big break but is finding it hard being a woman in a male surrounded environment. It may not be a detective story but it certainly grips you as is Val McDermids style. The characters are great and the story keeps you guessing right up until the end. Highly recommended.

4.5 stars that I gladly rounded up to 5 as the ending left me wanting to read Book 2 in the Allie Burns Series. It is 1979 and newspaper reporters Allie Burns and Danny Sullivan are on to what appears to be 2 of the biggest stories of their young career. There is an element of danger and the book is so atmospheric I could hear the typewriter bells dinging and the carriage returning. You can almost smell the press room and the smoke in the office. You could feel the cold from the blizzards and the danger in the air as Allie and Danny investigate It was an interesting and dangerous time in Scotland as they were heading to a controversial vote. I can't wait for Book 2 in the Allie Burns series and see how the characters develop. I will be first in line to get my copy. Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic Atlantic Monthly Press for a mesmerizing read.

Val McDermid has magic flowing from her fingers. The Queen of Crime is in her element in 1979, the first book in her latest series. This one has Allie Burns, news journalist as its protagonist and in introducing us to Allie’s world in the Glasgow Clarion, McDermid beautifully and evocatively recreates the smells sounds and attitudes prevalent in a Glasgow newsroom in that era. For all the smoky atmosphere, the male cocks o’the walk, the reliance on drink to get you through a shift; this is a love letter to journalism and she makes you mourn its passing just as you recognise the days of bigotry, misogyny and rampant sexism. These are the times in which newsrooms thrum with staff; where there is an expenses budget and reporters are expected to go out looking for stories rather than be chained to a desk with a telephone. Set at a pivotal moment in history, 1979 has the first devolution referendum in Scotland as the backdrop with the winter of discontent and a Callaghan Labour Government paving the way for the rise of Thatcherism. The Provisional IRA are conducting their terror campaign with car bombs and shootings and the Shankhill Butchers, a group of 11 loyalists, have been sentenced for 19 sectarian murders. McDermid, whose own journalism experience informs this book and whose spirit runs through it like Blackpool in a stick of rock, brings it all gloriously to life, capturing the essence of the times and places enhanced by references to the music, films, and theatre of the day. It is this world that Allie Burns, a Cambridge graduate from a working class background, has to negotiate as she strives to carve out a place in her new place of employment, The Clarion. Smart, ambitious and a good writer with a sub’s flair for intros and snappy paragraphs, Allie is ambitious and determined. She is also isolated in the male dominated newsroom and a wee bit lonely. Allie makes a friend on whom she comes to rely. Rhona Dunsyre is on the features desk and is keen to help another woman in the newsroom. It’s a welcome friendship for Allie whose social life is non-existent. She quickly realises that she’s never going to be handed the interesting jobs; in fact even when she finds a story its more likely to be taken away from her and handed to a more experienced (ie male) journo. Allie is fed up doing the soft and human interest stories. She wants something she can get her teeth into. So, when she is approached by the one male journalist with whom she has some rapport, Danny Sullivan, to help him craft a story he is working on the QT, she agrees. It is the first of two major stories that form the backbone of this murder mystery. The second is a story that Allie brings to Danny; an explosive scoop that carries serious risk. Both stories are hard journalism; both have some very shady characters at their heart and Allie and Danny know that these are the stories that will make their careers if handled correctly. Their challenge is to get the stories far enough along before taking them to their editor, so that there’s no danger that they can be taken away from the pair. That means sticking their necks out rather further than they might like, but no pain, no gain, as they say. Val McDermid’s book is beautifully paced to allow you to steep yourself in the culture of the times and in the characters that populate the book. As a reader you gain an appreciation of what both Allie and Danny are up against as their personal lives and their professional ones become intertwined. The tension – and it is there in spades, comes from the danger inherent in the stories and the fear for these two characters as they pursue their stories. Verdict: I really loved this book. Val McDermid’s sharp and incisive writing brings the characters and the settings to life in vivid, three dimensional colour – so tangible you can smell it. 1979 has tremendous heart and a lot of wit. You care about Allie and Danny and Danny’s family difficulties tear at your emotions. Tense, thrilling, rich with atmosphere and crackling with authenticity, this is at once a shocking and thrilling mystery and a love letter to journalism, warts and all. This is a five star must read start to an unmissable new series. I can’t wait to meet Allie Burns again.