A gripping "recent history" investigative thriller
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.