1989 by Val McDermid is a look at life in the 1980’s, the news story covered by journalist, Allie Burns in this storyline are real and did happen; The Lockerbie Memorial, the scandal regarding the AIDS epidemic and medical research, the Hillsborough Disaster and the news proprietor who uses the newspaper workers pension money for his own use and the collapse of the Berlin Wall. When read as a work of fiction they seem improbable but these events were real and did happen in that timespan. An enjoyable read written by the mistress of crime thrillers. Highly recommended.

Wonderful, another story starring Allie Burns, I enjoyed it as much as the other (1979), keep going she is like someone you could meet.An intriguing story which holds your attention . Hope there is a series of Allie Burns. Great book.

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. Over the course of the novel, our heroine - journalist Alison "Allie" Burns – pursues contemporary news stories including the aftermath of the bombing of PanAm Flight 103 over Lockerbie, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and later in the book the Hillsborough Stadium disaster in Sheffield. A story lead takes Allie to East Berlin prior to the fall of the infamous wall, where she's reluctantly persuaded to participate in a plan to allow her source's girlfriend to defect to the west. The daughter of media baron - and Allie’s boss – Wallace “Ace” Lockhart becomes embroiled in a dangerous caper of her own, and Allie is called upon to put her superlative investigative skills to the test in bringing events to a dramatic climax. While my personal preference is for McDermid's police-based crime series (Tony Hill/Carol Jordan and Karen Pirie) and several of her standalones, I still found 1989 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.

Queen Val does it again and '1989' is another great installment into the Allie Burns series. 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. Once I picked up this book I literally couldn't put it down. It continues the story of Allie Burns and the investigations she gets caught up in and it really is a great storyline. What really jumped out to me was how Val McDermid had pulled events from that year and very compassionately included them in them storyline. A great novel and highly recommended!

1989 is a hard hitting page turning read that you soon lose yourself in the story. This book would be an excellent Book Club choice which I am sure we will see. Allie Burns is back and I cant help but admire her and her partner Rona. The book starts with the Lockerbie bombing , AIDS?HIV that was so horrific as it became world wide known, the regime of East Berlin and so much more. All before we get to the murder that only adds to the intrigue and the depth of the novel. Val McDermid always writes a thought provoking hard hitting novel and 1989 is no exception. Allie Burns has grown so much since the book of 1979 and I can only hope we get to see her again soon. You can certainly read this book as a stand alone but I would suggest that you start with 1979. I cant wait to get my hard copy of 1989 to sit on my shelf with the rest of my Val McDermid books.