THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
Karen Pirie returns . . . Pre-order Past Lying, the eagerly-awaited new Karen Pirie thriller, publishing October 2023
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1989. The world is on the brink of revolution and journalist Allie Burns is a woman on a mission. When she discovers a lead about the exploitation of society’s most vulnerable, Allie is determined to investigate and give voice to the silenced.
Elsewhere, a ticking clock begins the countdown to a murder. As Allie begins to connect the dots and edges closer to exposing the truth, it is more shocking than she ever imagined. There’s nothing like a killer story, and to tell it, Allie must risk her freedom and her life . . .
The brand-new unmissable, heart-stopping thriller from number one bestseller, Val McDermid
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Praise for the Allie Burns series
‘McDermid is at her considerable best’ GUARDIAN
‘Irresistible’ PATRICIA CORNWELL
‘A brilliant novel by a supremo of the genre’ PETER JAMES
‘Outstanding’ SPECTATOR
‘Another masterpiece’ DAVID BALDACCI
‘Sensational. One of Britain’s most accomplished writers’ SUNDAY EXPRESS
‘A masterly setter of scene’ SCOTSMAN
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Reviews
McDermid convincingly recreates the grim era of AIDS, Lockerbie and Hillsborough while providing several juicy mysteries for the reader to gnaw on
A new series from Val McDermid promises to be an event - and 1979 delivers . . . A marvellous new character to follow through the years to come
There is a great deal to enjoy in this novel . . . McDermid remains a masterly setter of a scene and developer of a storyline. There is an agreeable warmth to much of the book, and the evocation of the world of journalism and politics of the late 20th century is convincing . . . [A book] that will be deeply enjoyed
Praise for 1979
1989, by reigning queen of UK crime Val McDermid, is a sequel to her change-of-pace 1979 , the memorable beginning to a quintet of books set in a Glaswegian tabloid office . . . This is every bit as accomplished as its predecessor, with the same crisp sense of an increasingly distant era
Allie Burns is off to a flying start, and well worth following down the decades
While "gripping" is an adjective over-used in book reviews, it's a fitting description of a sensational novel. A surefire bestseller from one of Britain's most accomplished writers
A supremo of the genre at the height of her powers . . . An unmissable new series
Studded with a wealth of period detail . . . It whips along like bushfire
A book of many parts . . . [McDermid is] subverting the crime genre to her own ends. How the remaining three volumes will turn out is anyone's guess
The Queen of Crime has done it again . . . Irresistible
Packed full of Val McDermid's trademark brilliance, 1979 is a thrilling snapshot of a fascinating era
McDermid can do edge-of-seat suspense better than most novelists . . . An excellent opener to what promises to be an outstanding series
A tour-de-force . . . The Queen of Crime has delivered another masterpiece
Allie is a fabulous character, I'll go wherever she takes me and I'm dying to see what she does next
A nail-biting new series
One of Britain's most successful crime novelists . . . The novel evokes glorious nostalgia for those who recall mobile phones like house bricks and laptops the size of suitcases
McDermid is at her considerable best here
