1979 cover art

1979

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About this listen

The first in a thrilling new series from the queen of crime and an instant Sunday Times best seller narrated by acclaimed Scottish actress and Harry Potter star Katie Leung.

The shadows hide a deadly story....

1979. It is the winter of discontent, and reporter Allie Burns is chasing her first big scoop. There are few women in the newsroom, and she needs something explosive for the boys' club to take her seriously. Soon Allie and fellow journalist Danny Sullivan are exposing the criminal underbelly of respectable Scotland. They risk making powerful enemies - and Allie won't stop there. When she discovers a home-grown terrorist threat, Allie comes up with a plan to infiltrate the group and make her name. But she's a woman in a man's world...and putting a foot wrong could be fatal.

©2021 Val McDermid (P)2021 W F Howe Crime Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction Historical Mystery Psychological Thriller Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Exciting Suspense

Critic reviews

“McDermid is at her considerable best.” (Guardian)

"No one can plot or tell a story like she can." (Daily Express)

"One of today's most accomplished crime writers." (Literary Review)

"'As good a psychological thriller as it is possible to get." (Sunday Express)
All stars
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I love Val McDermid and this was a good book. The narrator didn't do a bad job but there were some avoidable mispronuniciations of fairly common words and in addition her Northern Irish accent was appallingly bad. Someone else could have voiced those characters or she could have got an accent coach for those bits. Took me right out of the story.

Issues with accents

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So sad to finish - really enjoyable book. Writing and narration are excellent. Loving the references to the period it’s set in

Brilliant listen.

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It's not often I see a story about newspaper reporters, but this is a very good one. With strong characters, and backbiting story pinchets, this story moves on apace. Some gory murders, and great reporting. This is one not to miss. Very well narrated

Brilliant storyline

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Val McDermid always writes a good yarn, and I have read most of those she has written. I think this is the first one I have listened to, and it was spoiled for me by mispronunciations, wrongly placed emphasis, and worst of all, an execrable attempt at a Belfast accent. I think in future I will stick to reading her books

Enjoyment spoiled by poor narration.

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Loved the story and characters. Narration was good but as someone from the area I have to agree that the Belfast accent wasn't great. More like a Dublin/American accent than Belfast. The different colloquial Scottish accents were great. I don't agree with some other reviews that the narrator was monotone. I enjoyed her narration generally. The book however ended a bit prematurely. I was genuinely shocked that it was over. These characters could definitely be built upon. Definitely worth a credit 👍

Great story

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