1979: The unmissable first thriller in an electrifying, brand-new series from the Queen of Crime
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- Create Date：2021-07-29 00:51:16
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Val McDermid
- ISBN：075158309X
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Summary
Hailed as Britain's Queen of Crime， Val McDermid's award-winning， internationally bestselling novels have captivated readers for more than thirty years。 Now， in 1979， she returns to the past with the story of Allie Burns， an investigative journalist whose stories lead her into world a corruption， terror， and murder。
The year started badly and only got worse–blizzards， strikes， power cuts， and political unrest were the norm。 For journalist Allie Burns， however， someone else's bad news was the unmistakable sound of opportunity knocking， and the year is ripe with possibilities。 But Allie is a woman in a man's world。 Desperate to get away from the "women's stories" the Glasgow desk keeps assigning her， she strikes up an alliance with wannabe investigative journalist Danny Sullivan。 From the start， their stories create enemies。 First an international tax fraud， then a potential Scottish terrorist group aiming to cause mayhem ahead of the impending devolution referendum。 And then Danny is found murdered in his flat。 For Allie， investigative journalism just got personal。
The first novel in McDermid's newest series， 1979 is an atmospheric journey into the past with intriguing insight into the present， and the latest addition to McDermid's crime pantheon。
The year started badly and only got worse–blizzards， strikes， power cuts， and political unrest were the norm。 For journalist Allie Burns， however， someone else's bad news was the unmistakable sound of opportunity knocking， and the year is ripe with possibilities。 But Allie is a woman in a man's world。 Desperate to get away from the "women's stories" the Glasgow desk keeps assigning her， she strikes up an alliance with wannabe investigative journalist Danny Sullivan。 From the start， their stories create enemies。 First an international tax fraud， then a potential Scottish terrorist group aiming to cause mayhem ahead of the impending devolution referendum。 And then Danny is found murdered in his flat。 For Allie， investigative journalism just got personal。
The first novel in McDermid's newest series， 1979 is an atmospheric journey into the past with intriguing insight into the present， and the latest addition to McDermid's crime pantheon。
Reviews
Ralph Blackburn
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1979 by Val McDermid（Allie Burns #1）- A new series from Val McDermid begins with a female journalist， Allie Burns， moving to Glasgow， Scotland to work as a reporter for a local newspaper。 There she finds herself either clueless about how to carry on or too smart for her own good。 She makes friends with a young reporter， Danny Sullivan， who is aching for a big break as well。 Danny has a plan for a story， but Allie sees that if he goes through with it， his loving family will toss him aside。 She tr 1979 by Val McDermid（Allie Burns #1）- A new series from Val McDermid begins with a female journalist， Allie Burns， moving to Glasgow， Scotland to work as a reporter for a local newspaper。 There she finds herself either clueless about how to carry on or too smart for her own good。 She makes friends with a young reporter， Danny Sullivan， who is aching for a big break as well。 Danny has a plan for a story， but Allie sees that if he goes through with it， his loving family will toss him aside。 She tries to help him， steer him away from trouble， but its to no avail。 This leads them both into danger from someone they were unaware of at the time。Pop culture references to music， films and even TV shows are scattered here and there。 So is the political climate of Scotland during this tumultuous year。 The story is well written and will definitely find an audience。 For me there was too many long， drawn-out， conversations between Allie and almost everyone else。 Also， I'm used to a Val McDermid novel being more dark and sinister。 。。。more
Liz Filleul
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3。5 starsI have mixed feelings about this book。 It's the first in a new series by Val McDermid， one of my all-time favourite authors， and I really like the concept， which will show the changes in Scotland （I assume） over a 40-year period through the eyes of news journalist Allie Burns。 Tumultuous years for journalism， and it will be interesting to see how Allie's career develops。As a former journalist， I'm always captured by a newspaper setting， so I really enjoyed 1979 from that perspective。 An 3。5 starsI have mixed feelings about this book。 It's the first in a new series by Val McDermid， one of my all-time favourite authors， and I really like the concept， which will show the changes in Scotland （I assume） over a 40-year period through the eyes of news journalist Allie Burns。 Tumultuous years for journalism， and it will be interesting to see how Allie's career develops。As a former journalist， I'm always captured by a newspaper setting， so I really enjoyed 1979 from that perspective。 And I liked the two main characters， Allie and her colleague Danny， a lot， so 1979 was an easy read。But！ There were so many expressions the characters used that I'm sure people just didn't say in 1979。 I was a teenager during the Winter of Discontent， but cannot recall expressions like "getting all my ducks in a row" and "but here's the thing" being used back then。 They sound very 21st century and were very jarring。While I enjoyed the two investigations carried out by Allie and Danny， I thought the second one was too set up by Danny， and lost some sympathy with the characters at that point。 Finally， having the （view spoiler）[murder near the end of the book （hide spoiler）] meant that the denouement felt rushed。 I also thought the identity of the murderer was obvious， but that could be because I've read a lot of crime fiction。 I shall read the next in the series， because I'm invested in Allie's career and the continued social history of Scotland/the UK。 But I don't think Val's more recent work， including this book， is as good as her 1990s/early 2000s novels。 She did set the bar extremely high for herself， though。 Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an ARC of the book。 。。。more
Jennifer
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I love all the Val McDermid books and really enjoy how she builds the series over time。 I was a little worried about the switch from crime to investigative news but should have had faith。 As usual， she builds compelling characters， interesting stories and keeps a nice thread of suspense and mystery through the whole story。 I also love how she lets the location play as part of the story。 I'm not the biggest fan of 70s era stories but I think she does a great job setting the tone （I also loved her I love all the Val McDermid books and really enjoy how she builds the series over time。 I was a little worried about the switch from crime to investigative news but should have had faith。 As usual， she builds compelling characters， interesting stories and keeps a nice thread of suspense and mystery through the whole story。 I also love how she lets the location play as part of the story。 I'm not the biggest fan of 70s era stories but I think she does a great job setting the tone （I also loved her inclusion of the 70s-ish soundtrack she listened to in the end notes）。This new series centers around Allie Burns， an early in her career journalist， looking to make a name for herself。 It goes through the process of 2 investigative stories， with a third mystery breaking out mid novel。 In some ways the story of Allie and her fight to be respected by her colleagues shows how far we've come since 1979。。。and in others， how little has really changed。 That is a great perspective from the setting back in time。Definitely look forward to more of Allie's adventures in the future！I received an advance copy from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Barbara Fisher
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So sorry but not a great read！ Yes， there’s an atmospheric build-up but the core of the book’s setting is wrong （for me）。 A novel without the Internet， where the characters “call on the telephone”rather than message via mobile， or send a letter rather than email is a distraction。 To “get” the social， political， economic and technological setting of the 70s you’d have to have been born in 1961 to even have reached the tender age of 18 in 1979 - so we are looking at a current readership of a post So sorry but not a great read！ Yes， there’s an atmospheric build-up but the core of the book’s setting is wrong （for me）。 A novel without the Internet， where the characters “call on the telephone”rather than message via mobile， or send a letter rather than email is a distraction。 To “get” the social， political， economic and technological setting of the 70s you’d have to have been born in 1961 to even have reached the tender age of 18 in 1979 - so we are looking at a current readership of a post aged 60 age group who could begin to find this era relatable。 Of course age becomes irrelevant when looking at an era of more widespread interest historically e。g。 World War One。。。But the 70s？？！！ Hardly an era of general fascination。 And the IRA？ When today’s terrorism is so very different？ How many under 55s can relate to that。 It’s a poor choice of era/setting for most to relate to I’m afraid。 。。。more
Louise Gray
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Val McDermid is yet to write a book I have not enjoyed。 Her ability to build tension in the context of “normal” life is astonishing。 To go into some of the really clever aspects of this particular work would be to reveal spoilers， but suffice to say that every character has many sides。 Setting the story in the context of the late seventies， with the rampant （and legally supported…） homophobia and a hot political climate was an added bonus， especially for those readers who grew up in that era。
Jennybeast
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I wondered whether I'd like this one， and it turns out the answer is no。 Even Val McDermid cannot overcome my indifference to the 70's and my dislike of the lives of journalists。 The two together are insurmountable。 It's not you， it's me。 Advanced reader's copy provided by Edelweiss。 I wondered whether I'd like this one， and it turns out the answer is no。 Even Val McDermid cannot overcome my indifference to the 70's and my dislike of the lives of journalists。 The two together are insurmountable。 It's not you， it's me。 Advanced reader's copy provided by Edelweiss。 。。。more
Jackie
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