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1989
- Narrated by: Katie Leung
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
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1989
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Summary
The second thrilling novel in Val McDermid's new Sunday Times best-selling series.
It's 1989, and Allie Burns is back.
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.
Critic reviews
"McDermid is at her considerable best." (Guardian)
"Irresistible." (Patricia Cornwell)
"A brilliant novel by a supremo of the genre." (Peter James)
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What listeners say about 1989
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- T. Morphy
- 23-11-22
Loved the characters
I favourite Val McDermid so far. Great story, and although I was I my early teens in 1989 I felt close to the descriptions of the scene and recognised the excitement of a sat night out dancing.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs Almond
- 25-01-23
Couldn't put it down!
Great narrator! Gripping story and really connected with the characters.
Really enjoyable, at times emotional, mix of fiction and fact, made the book difficult to pause. Every time I had to stop, I felt I was waiting for my next quiet moment to be able to pick it up again.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Patti O'Kane
- 25-03-24
Recommend listening
Great story. Characters are interesting and complicated. Recommend listening. I’m new to Val McDermid and enjoyed this book.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Donna Mac
- 20-01-23
Not her best
I found this storyline less gripping than 1979. It might have been partly due to the narrator - very monotonous and so quiet that I had to turn the volume up full at times.
I also got the characters muddled up.
Much prefer the narrator in the Karen Pirie series.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Richard Maidment
- 18-11-22
A Race Against Time.
After listening to 1979 and the world of Allie Burns the Journalist, I eagerly anticipated Book 2. It was packed full of action and quite a few different countries and locations were used this time, with Manchester being a focal point ,introducing Allie's new house as she moved from Glasgow. The Narrator was very good , however I didn't really like her German accents but this did not spoil my enjoyment of this audible.The transition from Journalism to Private Investigator was exciting as she tried to meet her deadlines. I loved the Epilogue where the playlist in the top 40 for 1989 was read out -memories!Looking forward to Book 3 in the series.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 27-05-23
Note to self
This was a very slow burn, I listened to another book in the middle because it was getting tedious. However the last maybe third seemed to pick up and engage me and I quite enjoyed it.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- GAIL MCGOWAN
- 01-12-22
So so.
This is better than 1979 but not up to Val McDermid’s earlier work. Not fussed on the narration either.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- John
- 17-11-23
Overrated
The predictable characters, the lecturing and the clunky dialogue could have been forgiven if the story had been worth it. But it wasn’t. All over the place. Not helped by a narrator whose accents were patchy. Disappointing.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- SUSAN JJ
- 15-10-23
Not a favourite
I usually enjoy a Val book very much but this one lacked something for me. Story didn't flow for me and felt a bit unconvincing.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Caroline Docherty
- 08-02-23
Another good McDermid “page turner”
I really like the Ali Burns, journalist, character, and I am sure she will appeal in particular to many readers/listeners who were, like me, born around the same time. All the music references, and work practices from the period are so familiar. A good, entertaining story which perhaps involves the suspension of belief in parts, but then that’s what we are here for, aren’t we?
I was pleased to see the development of the relationship with girlfriend Rona, though I did feel she might need a bit of development as a character.
Katie Leung’s performance is good with the Ali and Rona voices, and other Scots characters. The accents needed for this book though I thought were disappointing. The “posh” older man Ace Lockhart, and his daughter were just about tolerable, but the (many) German characters were laugh out loud. My main criticism though is the very many, bizarre examples of emphasis being put in the wrong place. A lot were obviously expressions of the period, probably unknown to Leung. But some were perfectly normal expressions that left you baffled. For example someone was wearing a “crew neck sweater”. The emphasis was heavily placed on the word “neck” and I actually had to pause and ask myself “what is a neck sweater, and who are the crew?” There were so many examples of this that it became something you were listening out for, and thus distracting.
But I am already looking forward to the next Ali Burns.
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9 people found this helpful