In a departure from her great thrillers, Val McDermid has given us a peek into Scotland in 1979. The story features two young reporters eager to make their mark as journalists.

When a chance remark puts them on the trail of a tax evasion scam, they’re on their way.

McDermid paints a picture of her homeland on the verge of voting for devolution or independence; a country where homosexuality is still illegal; at a time before cell phones, Google, and Facebook. Highly recommended.

A new series by Val McDermid begins with 1979. Calling on her own experience as a reporter during that time, it recalls an era in Scotland, far more turbulent than memory would have it. Allie Burns is a new reporter, highly intelligent and anxious to work on stories with more meat on their bones than women's interest. Thanks to a fortuitous meeting on a train with another young, idealistic reporter, she almost has more than she bargained for, and comes of reporting age. Since this is first of a series, it isn't as tightly plotted as other works by McDermid, since a lot of pages are devoted to setting a stage for future installments. Still, it holds a lot of promise from this master.

1979 is the first instalment in the Allie Burns series set against the bustling backdrop of 1970’s Glasgow. The story begins when we are introduced to Allie Burns, a young investigative journalist whose work leads her into a world of corruption, terror, and murder. It’s only January, and the year 1979 has already brought blizzards, strikes, power cuts, and political unrest. For Allie Burns, however, someone else’s bad news is the unmistakable sound of opportunity knocking, a chance to escape the “women’s stories” to which her editors at the Scottish daily The Clarion have confined her. Striking up an alliance with budding investigative journalist Danny Sullivan, Allie begins covering international tax fraud and a group of Scottish ultranationalists aiming to cause mayhem ahead of a referendum on breaking away from the United Kingdom. Their stories quickly get attention and create enemies for the two young up-and-comers. As they get closer to the bleeding edge of breaking news, Allie and Danny may find their own lives on the line.

Drawing on McDermid’s own experiences as a young journalist, 1979 is redolent of the thundering presses, hammering typewriters and wreaths of smoke of the Clarion newsroom. A journey to the past with much to say about the present, it is the latest pitch-perfect, suspenseful addition to McDermid’s crime pantheon. It's compulsive, enthralling and atmospheric and not only looks at crime and the gritty underbelly of the city but also touches on the changes there have been in technology, fashion, music, detection and the things we consume. The novel explores issues of class, gender, sexuality and politics alongside a high-stakes investigation into corruption and unrest in Glasgow in the Seventies. Allie’s story will be told in five instalments, each set a decade apart, tracking the changing state of Scotland’s criminal, social and political landscape, as well as this memorable protagonist’s life right up until 2019. A riveting, captivating and propulsive start to a series that shows a hell of a lot of promise. Highly recommended.

Val McDermid's versatility certainly keeps her readers from getting bored with her prodigious output -- from the Carol Jordan/Tony Hill psychological thrillers, to the more straightforward police procedurals featuring Karen Pirie, to the shorter series led by Kate Brannigan,a private detective, and Lindsay Gordon, a journalist.

1979 is the first in a new series, starring another journalist, Allison Burns, and set in Glasgow. Reading it was as close to time travel as I'm likely to get, and the "news procedural" and political aspects were informative but didn't slow down the story.

A bit farther in the background were some family dynamics for a couple of the main characters, which humanized them and served the plot as well.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance readers copy.

Set in the 1970’s Glasgow, the book introduces us to Allie, the only woman reporter at the Clarion. In this male dominated newsroom, Allie wants to prove her worth as a good investigative reporter but finds herself thwarted by her male colleagues.That is till one of her colleague Danny asks for her help in collaborating with him in one of his own investigation on a tax evasion scheme. This also leads to them working together in another explosive story where a group of people are planning to use deadly force to highlight the cause of Scottish independence.

Val McDermid has churned out another best seller here, with an excellent start of a good series, the story rhythm and pace both intriguing and exciting and setting the relationships between the characters with the right dose of tension and conflict. Thank you Netgalley for providing me an advance copy of this book for my unbiased review.

I’d like to thank Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘1979’ , the first novel in a new series by Val McDermid, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Investigative journalist Danny Sullivan is following up what could be a big tax fraud story and persuades colleague Allie Burns to help write the story for The Clarion newspaper. Allie attends a meeting being held about devolution in Scotland and when she hears a conversation between three men she gets Danny to infiltrate the group. He learns how they intend to cause mayhem prior to the referendum by buying explosives and using it on Scottish parliament buildings. The successful outcome of both stories gives Allie and Danny much-deserved kudos but not everyone’s happy with the results and Danny’s worried that their lives could be at risk.

‘1979’ is a gripping and powerful thriller of two journalists who have a sixth sense for discovering important stories and digging up the evidence. The story takes place in the year 1979 before mobile phones are commonplace and phone-boxes are essential for making contact. From page one I’ve been caught up in the tension of the story which grew more compelling the further I read. The descriptions of the old typewriters brought back so many memories and are evocative of past times, the click of the keys and the ding at the end of the line, swiping the lever to move the carriage to the next line, carbon paper and tippex, so realistic that it made me feel I was with them in the newspaper office. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading this brilliant thriller that’s compulsive reading, packed full of drama, suspense, intrigue, and beautifully written as only Ms McDermid can. I’m really looking forward to reading the second in the series and seeing how Allie Burns’ character develops. Five stars from me and well deserved!

The setting and the theme for a new series is good and different. But the pace is slow and more like a literary fiction showcasing how a story breaks in a newspaper. The murder and the reveal towards the conclusion feels like an afterthought. The misogynistic atmosphere in workplace doesn’t seem to be much different from now. 3.5 stars

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is set in a newspaper office and features Allie and Danny, young journalists eager to make a name for themselves. I didn't really warm to either of them and Danny seemed almost wilfully naive at times. There was much more telling than showing, and the stories they worked on (there were two unconnected main storylines, which followed one after the other, almost like two distinct novels) managed to be simultaneously unbelievable and underwhelming.

Depressing and disappointing.

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.

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!

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.

Allie (Alison) Burns is a Scottish journalist, new to the Stratclyde section of Glasgow in 1979, when she meets fellow journalist Danny Sullivan. They strike up a friendship, and try to thwart two threats: the Tartan Terrorist's plans to effect bomb political targets like their IRA counterparts, and tax evasion by Paragon operatives which include Danny's brother. Allie deals with misogynistic colleagues, and many other obstacles during her investigations, and is a very relatable protagonist. Good read!

McDermid is always fantastic, and the launch of this new series is no exception. While I always love WIRE IN THE BLOOD the most, Allie Burns is a fantastic new character, and I enjoyed the inside view to the newspaper world. The corruption, potential terrorism, and the basic powder keg of 1979 rang through, and the book was a great weekend read, that I am happy to champion. The one note I have is that I found Danny’s murderer was obvious, but then again, maybe I read to much!

Fans of Val McDermid are in for a treat with her new series. 1979 is the first in a series featuring Allie Burns, an investigative journalist whose stories lead her into world of corruption, terror, and murder.